Dangerous Pleasures Read Online Free PDF Page B

he told her earnestly.
    “Oh.” A few decidedly wicked thoughts, very un-Annie-like came to mind. Lizzie would definitely approve, she decided.
    “If you’ll allow me to escort you inside, you’ll need to register, even if you are our grand-prize winner,” Devyn told her, and, his hand beneath her elbow, he led her into the Greek temple. “Ms. Buckley, who is currently overseeing the opening of the spa, is waiting to greet you. Actually she’s a bigwig with the Channel Corp., which is why I think they sent her to do this. The company really wants this to succeed.”
    The lobby was both intimate and elegant. The carpeting was deep green, and so plush Annie thought she might sink up to her knees in it. The chairs and couches were in shades of ivory and green, both solids and stripes. An elegant stained-glass dome in the lobby’s low ceiling allowed natural light to flood the room. But there were also lamps set upon Brazilian rosewood tables too. Annie registered at the marble front desk.
    “Welcome to the Spa, Mrs. Miller,” the girl at the desk said. She was pretty and perky, and dressed in a flattering pale rose-colored raw-silk blazer. “You are, as you can see, our very first guest. We hope your stay will be everything you wish it to be. Devyn has your keys, and he’ll get you to your suite,” she chirped.
    “Thank you,” Annie replied. A suite, no less. She turned, and coming across the lobby toward her was a vaguely familiar woman, her hands stretched out in welcome.
    “Annie, do you remember me? I’m Nora Buckley, and for the interim I’m the general manager here at the spa. I wanted to welcome you officially as the grand-prize winner of our contest. With all the entries we got, it’s amazing that a woman from Egret Pointe itself would win.” She smiled.
    Nora Buckley. Of course, Annie thought. There had been some sort of scandal a few years back. Nora and her husband had been in some kind of fuss over their divorce. Nora had fallen into some kind of mysterious coma, but she had recovered. There had been another woman involved, Annie recalled. The husband had ended up in the local poky after an altercation with the girlfriend, and he had died in the night. The gossip had been all over the country club. Everyone had said the husband was a shit and Nora was victimized, but in the end it had all worked out for her.
    “Of course I remember you,” Annie fibbed. “The club, right?”
    Nora Buckley nodded, a faintly amused smile on her lips. She was a beautiful woman with one of those ageless faces, that flawless pale, creamy skin that redheads seemed to possess, and limpid gray-green eyes. “Yes, the club,” she replied.
    “Didn’t you used to work at that antique shop in town?” Annie asked.
    “Yes, I did, but then I was offered a job with the Channel Corp. It was too good an offer to turn down,” Nora responded. “I don’t recall ever seeing you there.”
    “Too pricey for me,” Annie told her, “but my sister met you there several times. She’s a lawyer, and has the income for antiques. I remember she always said the owner of the shop was very knowledgeable, and very dishy, if I may quote her.”
    Nora laughed. “Yes, Kyle is very dishy. I did love the place, but when opportunity knocks it’s always smart to answer. I did find him a lovely older lady to assist him. Kyle has an eye for women, and it wouldn’t have done to have some young thing in there with him. She would have spent more time on her back than at the front desk.” And Nora laughed again. “Bad for his business,” she noted. “But enough of my past. I’d like you to have dinner with me tonight, Annie. Part of the perks of being our grand-prize winner. It will give me a chance to answer all your questions about the Spa.”
    An efficient young woman hurried up and said, “Ms. Buckley, the press limo and the other guests are just coming through the gates.”
    “I must go,” Nora told Annie. “I’ll see you tonight