An Unlikely Alliance Read Online Free PDF Page A

do?"
    "I threw sauce on him."
    "You threw sauce on the new chef," Royce
repeated, glancing around at the guilty faces in the room. The
young man nodded, waiting for his obvious consequences.
    As Royce was opening his mouth to deliver
the sentencing, Evelyn walked in and gasped. "Is anyone hurt?"
    All eyes shifted to him. How he wished he
could have been burned in the fire, so she would at least touch
him. He shook his head and told the rest of the kitchen staff to
get cleaned up and resume their duties.
    Turning to Evelyn, he sighed. "I'm afraid I
have no food for you." He felt utterly defeated and foolish. Every
object his eyes flashed to seemed more like a torture device than
an object with which to make food. It was hopeless. Even if he knew
what to do, he was convinced anything he made would taste awful,
sealing his fate with Evelyn once and for all.
    Evelyn put her hands on her hips and sighed.
"Well, that won't do."
    "I'm sorry, Evelyn. Apparently my new
chef—whom I hired just to impress you, might I add—has a terrible
fear of rats and caught fire upon seeing one on the floor. To
prevent catastrophe, my always-able kitchen staff threw sauce on
him. That was about the moment I smelled the smoke for myself and
ran in. Though I am loathe to admit it, I did not save the
day."
    He kept his eyes downcast, waiting for her
dainty footsteps to begin to move away, telling him he had lost her
once and for all. His only bait was destroyed, and he already
admitted defeat. After what seemed like several minutes, he looked
up to find Evelyn pulling food from the nearby cupboard.
    "What are you doing?" Curiosity dripped from
every word.
    "Making you dinner." She scooted past him
and smiled. Unable to control the urge to smile, he did just that,
and helped her with a nearby apron, putting one on himself as
well.
    "So what are we cooking, my lady?" Royce
went to the stove, ready to work.
    "I had my heart set on that delicious lamb
over there with the sauce I see splattered all over creation."
    Royce laughed. "Well, we could always clean
it up." He wiped his finger across the gooey substance and lifted
it to his lips. It was delicious.
    "I want a taste," Evelyn suddenly said
behind him. He nearly forgot to breathe as he lifted the sauce to
her pink lips. Face flushed, she leaned forward and closed her eyes
as her velvet tongue licked his finger.
    It took every ounce of self-control he
possessed not to pull her into a tight embrace and never let go.
Every fiber of his being screamed at him to take her now, to make
her his, yet she wasn't like everyone else. Had any of his
mistresses seen a mess like this, they would have screamed and run
out of the house. Not Evelyn. No, she offered to cook and clean up
as if it was a normal occurrence for chefs to be set on fire. She
was truly special.
    When her eyes opened, they locked on his.
And for one brief moment he thought she might be the one to look
away. Instead it was he, the coward, who glanced down, breaking the
connection. It was too much. Impossible that he would be the weak
one, but here he was ready to flee, because for once in his life,
he found a woman he wanted for more than a week. A woman he wanted
to promise to forever. A woman his father would have wholeheartedly
approved of.
    It scared him out of his wits.

Chapter Five
     
    Evelyn tried to ignore the shortness of
breath and the sound of her own heart beating wildly out of her
chest. It proved to be difficult when her eyes locked with Royce's;
she almost looked away, but Royce—strong, egotistical Royce—was the
first to break the lingering gaze, telling her yet again the man
was a lot less confident than he seemed.
    Drat him for being so endearing. She wanted
to laugh when she saw how defeated he looked, yet when she heard
him admit his little plan, she felt nothing but sympathy for him.
He expected her to leave.
    Well, she wanted to prove him wrong. She
wasn't like those city girls he was constantly surrounded by.
Gathering