Chasing Perfect Read Online Free PDF Page B

She walked quickly out onto the street where a cool breeze made her wish for a slightly thicker coat. The coldest day of winter in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, had been warmer than this early-spring evening in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
    Fortunately, the hotel was only a couple of blocksaway. Charity hurried along the sidewalk. When she reached the corner, she saw an old man sweeping the front steps of the bookshop she’d already visited at lunch. He nodded at her, then paused.
    â€œNow, I don’t know you,” he said, squinting at her in the light from the streetlamp. “Do I?”
    His tone was friendly. She smiled.
    â€œI’m Charity Jones, the new city planner.”
    â€œAre you now? You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you? All young ladies are pretty, even the ones that aren’t.” He chuckled then gave a wheezy cough. “I’m Morgan. Just Morgan. This is my bookstore.”
    â€œOh. It’s wonderful. I’ve already shopped here twice.”
    â€œI must have missed you. Next time we’ll talk. You tell me what you like to read and I’ll make sure it’s in stock.”
    Talk about small-town service, she thought, delighted. “Thank you. That’s very nice.”
    â€œMy pleasure. You know your way home?”
    â€œI’m staying at Ronan’s Lodge.”
    â€œThat’s just down two blocks. I’ll stand here and make sure you make it. You turn back and give me a wave when you reach the steps.”
    His offer was unexpected. She wasn’t worried about anything happening between here and the hotel, but it was nice to know that someone would notice if it did.
    â€œThank you,” she said. “You’re very kind.”
    He winked at her. “I’ve been called a lot of different things, Charity, but I’ll accept kind. You have yourself a nice night.”
    â€œI will.”
    She walked the rest of the way to the hotel. Once she reached the steps leading to the lobby, she turned back. Morgan was watching. She gave a wave and he raised his hand in return. Then he went back to sweeping.
    She was going to like it here, she decided. While every place had its quirks, there was a lot to appreciate in Fool’s Gold.
    She paused before pushing through the double doors leading to the inside of the hotel. They were large and heavily carved, the workmanship from another era.
    Ronan’s Lodge, also known as Ronan’s Folly, was a huge hotel on the edge of the lake. It had been built when gold flowed like the rivers the men panned it from. Ronan McGee, an Irish immigrant, had come west to make his fortune, then he’d spent much of what he’d earned to create the hotel.
    Charity had read its history the last time she’d been in town. She’d been unable to sleep the night before her interview and had read all the tourist brochures in her room.
    Now, as she walked into the large lobby, with the carved wood panels on the walls and the massive imported chandelier made of Irish crystal, she felt asense of homecoming. Eventually she would buy a house and settle in to life in Fool’s Gold, but Ronan’s Lodge was the best kind of temporary housing.
    She walked past the registration desk, toward the curved staircase that would take her to the second floor. From there a smaller staircase wound up to the third floor, where she had a small suite.
    She’d barely put her hand on the banister, had yet to take even that first step, when someone spoke. The voice came from behind her and spoke only a single word.
    â€œHello.”
    She didn’t have to look to know who was talking. All she had to do was stand there, feeling her heart race uncontrollably in her chest as heat and awareness flooded her.
    Her week had begun with a Josh Golden invasion and it seemed it would end that way, as well. The only question she had as she braced herself before turning to face him was why, of all the men