Harlequin Special Edition October 2015, Box Set 1 of 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

rickrack in a rainbow of bright colors.
    Chloe ignored the fluttering sensation beneath her breastbone that came with being reminded of Quinn, and greeted the newcomers with a cheery “Hi, Manny. Annabelle. Have a look around. I’ll be right with you. Crayons and paper in the hutch by the window treatment display, in case Annabelle would like to color. And there’s coffee, too.” She gestured at the table not far from the door.
    â€œSounds good,” said Manny. He winked at Agnes. “How you doin’ there, Agnes?”
    â€œMr. Aldovino.” Agnes gave Manny an icy, dismissive nod. She’d always been a terrible snob and she looked down on anyone she didn’t consider of her social standing. Also, Quinn’s father’s first wife, Sondra, had been Agnes’s beloved niece. Agnes thoroughly disapproved of Quinn’s mother, Willow, and of all of Willow’s children. Now Agnes pointedly turned her back on Manny and said to Chloe, “Please continue, dear.”
    Agnes’s attitude could use adjusting. But Chloe reminded herself that she needed the business and she couldn’t afford to offend a customer. She sent Manny an apologetic smile and waited on the old woman, who wanted new carpet for three rooms. She’d already settled on a quality plush in a pretty dove gray. Chloe accepted her deposit and gave her the number to call to arrange a time to have the spaces measured.
    In her eighties, Agnes always dressed as though she’d been invited to tea with the Queen of England. She adjusted the giant, jeweled lizard brooch on her pink silk Chanel suit and said, “Thank you, my dear.”
    â€œHave a great day, Agnes.”
    The old lady sailed out the door.
    â€œWound a little tight, that one,” Manny remarked drily once Agnes was gone.
    With a sigh and a shrug, Chloe joined the old man and the little girl at one of the worktables. “Now. What can I do for you?”
    Annabelle glanced up from coloring an enormous, smiling yellow sun. Chloe saw Quinn in the shape of his daughter’s eyes and the directness of her gaze. Really, the little girl was downright enchanting, with that heart-shaped face and those chipmunk cheeks. Chloe felt a bittersweet tug at her heartstrings. Annabelle reminded her of the children she should have had.
    But after that first time Ted punched her, having kids had never felt right. And Ted hadn’t really cared about children anyway. He wanted his wife focused on him.
    â€œI want a princess room,” the little girl announced. Chloe gladly put away her grim thoughts of Ted to focus on the sprite in the darling dress. “Manny says you can make me one.”
    â€œYes, I can.”
    â€œI want
all
the princesses. Belle and Merida and—” Manny chuckled and tapped the little girl on the arm. She glanced up at him. “But, Manny—”
    â€œI know, I know. You want all the princesses and you’re gonna get ’em, but what did we talk about?”
    Annabelle huffed. “To wait my turn and not be rude.”
    The old man beamed. “That’s right.”
    Annabelle leaned close to him, batted those big eyes and whispered, “But I want my princess room.”
    â€œIt’s yours. Promise. But the grown-ups have to talk now.”
    â€œOkay
.
”
Annabelle bent to her smiling sun again.
    Manny spoke to Chloe then. “Quinn’s pretty busy getting the business off the ground.” His gym, Prime Sports and Fitness, was just down the street from Chloe’s showroom, at the intersection of West Central and Marmot Drive. “You know Quinn, don’t you?”
    â€œOf course. We...went to school together.”
    â€œRight. So Quinn takes care of the business. I look after Annabelle and run the house. You ever seen the inside of our house?”
    Chloe blinked away a mental image of Quinn, up on his knees between her legs. Quinn, gloriously naked, his beautiful