Double Dealing (2013) Read Online Free PDF Page A

soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jed couldn’t believe he had said them.
    “It’s your head,” Henry said.
    Jed gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement. He wondered how happy his conscience would be when it was standing in the unemployment line with the rest of him.
    Deftly avoiding the Brazilian consul’s fancy footwork, Rae smiled politely as he whirled her across the Warwick Hotel’s elegant ballroom. She murmured apologies when her partner bumped her into several other couples on the marble dance floor. It was easy to read the Fred Astaire gleam in Senhor Carreres’s eyes, and she sighed inwardly. She knew that if she weren’t careful, “Ginger’s” toes would be squashed bananas.
    Gazing around the gaily decorated ballroom, she decided her mother had really outdone herself in organizing the Ruby Ball. An annual charity event for UNICEF, it was one of the few Rae came back to Philadelphia to attend. In keeping with the ball’s theme, everyone was dressed in various shades of red. Her scarlet chiffon gown was strapless, and the bodice, which was covered with twinkling sequins, was little more than a band around her breasts. The skirt was high-waisted and loosely gathered so that it flowed to her ankles. She had eschewed more elaborate jewelry for pearl-stud earrings and a matching tear-shaped pendant. Her hair was done in a simple pageboy that just brushed her bare shoulders.
    From the din of cheerful voices that almost drowned out the small orchestra, she knew everyone was having a great time. Except her.
    She admitted there was no reason why she shouldn’t—barring Senhor Carreres’s attempts to buff her toenails with the bottoms of his shoes. After all, she’d generously donated to a worthy cause, done her familial duty, and caught up with some old friends. And as she specialized in investments for wealthy women who had never actually handled money, a society function was always an opportunity for her to garner new business.
    She refused to admit that it was one “old friend” who was bothering her. Still, she had expected to hear
something
from Jed in the last two days, especially after Uncle Merry’s lawyers had assured her that Atlantic Developers had no claim beyond breach of contract. Unconsciously she winced, as she remembered how she’d impulsively run to thetrash to retrieve the roses, only to discover that Burrows had taken her quite literally. The flowers were unsalvageable.
    “Eess something wrong?” asked the consul, breaking into her thoughts.
    Rae smiled and shook her head. The waltz ended in a flourish. So did Senhor Carreres, as he bent her backward over his arm. Once she was upright again, she pushed her hair off her face, stifled a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you for the dance, senhor.”
    “But it eess a medley, senhorita! Of the Beatles!” Mr. Carreres protested, as the orchestra immediately swung into the next number.
    Before she could utter a lame excuse, someone came up behind her and said, “I beg your pardon for stealing Rae away from you, sir, but this is our song.”
    In shock, she twisted around as she was expertly taken into Jed’s arms and whisked away from the surprised senhor. She’d never seen Jed in evening clothes, and he looked more than ever like a handsome stranger. Mechanically, she followed his smooth lead for a few turns, before she finally found her voice. “This is
our
song?”
    He grinned at her. “Sure is. By the way, what is it?”
    She giggled mirthfully. “
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
by the Beatles.”
    “Ah. Didn’t recognize the band’s rendition, but I knew it in my heart, Rae.”
    She burst into laughter at his sincere tone. Still grinning, he pulled her closer and swirled her around to the music. Her momentary amusementfaded as she became aware of his hand, warm and strong, against the small of her back, and how easily her steps meshed with his. She realized she’d been unconsciously clutching the black silk