Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

admitted.
    “There,” Kate said triumphantly. “But of course you’re learning. You know,” she said, her eye still fixed on the lampshade, “if Theo’s back in town, you might want to take the chance to get to know him better.”
    “I’ll have plenty of opportunity to do that tonight,” Avery muttered.
    “Tonight, dear?”
    “He asked me out to dinner.”
    Kate clapped her hands. “Why, that’s wonderful! Are you going to the Kitchen?”
    “It’s pretty much the only game in town,” Avery said wryly. “And I’m not sure it’s so wonderful. He makes me feel—”
    “Nervous? Unsettled? Jittery?” Kate reached for a spray bottle and misted the windows with cleaning solution.
    Avery laughed. “Has being sick given you second sight? Because you’re right on target.”
    “Darling, the Grayson men have always been a bit wild, but Theo’s a pussycat.”
    “P-pussycat?” Avery couldn’t think of a less appropriate image for the man. He was more like a dangerous leopard.
    “Oh, yes,” Kate continued, blithely ignoring Avery’s strangled tone as she wiped the windows. “Cole and Seb were quite the hell-raisers. Theo joined in, but he was more like the brains behind the operation than the muscle. Not that he isn’t large,” she said, pausing a moment as if to contemplate his size, “but he never was as wild as Cole and Seb.”
    “He seemed pretty confident to me.” Confident of the effect he’d had on her. Funny, she was usually drawn to gentle, unassuming types, not swaggering, giant men. And especially not to men who looked like Theo Grayson.
    “Of course he was confident. Have you seen the man?”
    Yes, she’d seen him all right. Who wouldn’t be confident with a face like that? Like Superman disguised as Clark Kent with those ridiculous glasses. He hadn’t needed to say much. Theo’s self-assurance had been palpable from the moment he’d leaned on the reservation desk to demand a room. “So, his brothers are … worse?” She’d only seen them together for a few short moments at Emma’s wedding. As the maid of honor, she’d been so busy dashing here and there that she’d barely had the chance to enjoy herself, let alone study the wedding guests. She’d talked briefly to Sebastian, Theo’s twin, but he hadn’t had nearly the effect on her that Theo did. Seb’s brash charm could in no way compare to his brother’s simmering intensity. And she rarely saw Val and Cole, let alone spoke with them.
    Kate laughed. “I wouldn’t use the word worse . But they do have stronger personalities.” As Kate turned away from the window, the door pushed open and Babs Kincaide, one of her aunt’s close friends, came in, her long silvery-gray hair tossed from the wind. “Babs,” Kate said, embracing the older woman. “It’s good to see you.”
    “Lemme shut the door so you don’t catch anything,” Babs replied, extricating herself from Kate’s hug and shutting the door against the chill gusts. “Don’t want you getting a cold.” Her flowing velvet skirt swung around her legs as she moved, and Avery tried not to grin at Babs’s thick eastern Massachusetts accent.
    “I’ve been doing better lately,” Kate said, smiling. “I’m lucky that Avery’s been picking up the slack around the Inn.”
    “Hi, Babs,” Avery said, giving a little wave.
    “Girl, you’re getting skinnier every time I see you,” Babs clucked, her weather-beaten brown eyes not missing a thing. “Too bad the Clam Shak’s closed for the season. You could get some meat on your bones with some of my fried fish and fresh corn.”
    During the summer when the Shak was open, she’d tried Babs’s food. It was delicious. Avery couldn’t believe that for most of the year, Babs was a sculptor, only opening the restaurant during the tourist season to pay her bills. Still, Avery didn’t think she was too skinny. Self-consciously, she grabbed her cardigan from the back of her chair and tugged it on.
    “So,” Kate