Bachelor's Bait Read Online Free PDF Page B

hadn’t been using his daughter to prevent him from making it to the meeting on time. If anything, it appeared her father was hiding his plans from Sophie.
    During their conversation last night at Patricia’s birthday party, he’d learned she’d been unable to reach Jasper to question him, though she’d stuck to her assertion that her father was innocent of any wrongdoing. Marc briefly wondered if Jasper’s leeriness over his daughter’s response could somehow be used to the community center’s benefit, but if so, he couldn’t figure out how. Sophie refused to believe her dad was trying to close the center and Jasper wasn’t around to confirm or deny it either way. In the meantime, the hourglass was running out and the center was in trouble.
    Marc wasn’t sure why he kept making excuses to see Sophie. He’d pretended their grocery store run-in was a coincidence. Truth was, he had driven by the store as Sophie was walking in. And suddenly remembered that he needed milk. He’d turned his car around for an impromptu shopping excursion.
    He didn’t have such a handy excuse for attending Patricia’s birthday party last night. When the brightly colored invitation had appeared in his mailbox a few weeks ago, he’d laughed out loud, tossed the thing aside and muttered something about hell freezing over before he went to the bash.
    Next thing he knew, he’d found himself at the party and finagling a seat next to Sophie. Patricia had completely believed that he was hoping to chat with Ms. Kennedy in order to forge a business relationship with Jasper. Patricia—ever the social-climbing gossipmonger—had bought his story hook, line and sinker, and had been only too willing to change the table arrangements.
    Marc was pleasantly surprised to discover how down-to-earth Sophie was. He’d assumed from the stories he’d read about her in the newspaper that she was another trophy-wife wannabe. He’d met enough of that type in his lifetime. It was one of the main reasons he’d walked away from a prosperous career in his family’s law firm and moved all the way across the country. He’d wanted to escape his family’s name and connections, to prove he could make it on his own.
    He and Sophie had more in common than he’d let her believe. The Garretts were to DC what the Kennedys were to Portland. He’d left DC because he’d been working himself to death—and tired of fending off women who looked at him with dollar signs in their eyes, anxious to get a piece of the Garrett pie.
    He’d expected Sophie to be shallow, more interested in her wardrobe than the needs of the community, but that wasn’t the case. And while her trust was misplaced, he’d been touched by her loyalty to her father. He’d been even more impressed by her genuine concern for the center.
    After his research, he was less surprised by Sophie’s love for the place. He’d found several old pictures of her with her mother at community events and fundraisers. The center had clearly been an important part of her childhood and the relationship she’d shared with her mother, who had died when Sophie was a teenager.
    Just seven days after running into her, Marc found himself knee-deep in an attraction he couldn’t understand, didn’t have time for, but wasn’t willing to deny. Despite the fact his pursuit of her was a freaking gigantic conflict of interest. Jesus. He’d never put his cock ahead of his career, but with Sophie, he found his sense of professionalism wavering.
    Sophia Kennedy was beautiful, sexy as sin and, more than that, she intrigued him, a trait that had been absent in his last few girlfriends.
    He recalled her response to him in the coat closet. He wasn’t sure what had prompted him to kiss her, but something in her face had told him she was equally aware of the chemistry between them.
    Sophie continued to make her way around the room, stopping at Gabriel Lawson’s table to talk to the woman sitting there. He’d heard through the