If The Shoe Fits Read Online Free PDF Page A

she
held on, the more the store lost, and the lower her take.
    But to buy a failing store? How could he
justify it, to himself, to his granddad? Royale Enterprises, the
family business, focused on developing property, a dream full of
hope and promise. They were not in the market of taking over an
existing operation to try to shore up a quickly plummeting bottom
line.
    His curiosity won out. “Why not sell it
yourself?”
    “And be more of a villain than I already am?”
She recoiled. “I know what they say about me. If I’m ever to keep
my head up in this town, then I must not be the one to do all the
dirty work.”
    Silently, he agreed. The society she clung to
would oust her from the fringes of their circle.
    “Despite what you’ve heard, Mr. Royale, I am
a very smart woman. I intend to come out on top, the belle of the
ball, so to speak, and with a load of money to boot.”
    The room grew even colder for Alex. Charlie
and the girls were just as much a commodity to this woman as the
store was. Everything had a dollar sign on it for her.
    Last night he’d met Charlie, a woman who’d
made him laugh, made him step outside his comfort level. Also, she
made him think that he could find a wife who didn’t want to follow
all those strict, imposed rules and become a carbon copy society
wife who would bore him to death.
    When Charlie bumped into him, she’d turned
his world upside down. And his emotions.
    In less than a minute, she’d exposed his
lonely existence, sparking a need he didn’t even know he had. He
longed for more than just a marriage of convenience. He wanted a
wife, in every sense of the word.
    He wanted her. But at what price?
    He weighed his options and made his final
decision.
    Standing up, he watched Mrs. King follow
suit. “King’s Department Store in exchange for Charlie, is that
it?”
    “Exactly,” she murmured with a sly smile.
    Grim determination took hold. He’d sell the
damn thing and be done with it. He held out his hand. “You have a
deal.”

Chapter 5
     
     
    Leaning against the doorframe to Charlie’s
charming little corner office with large windows and cozy window
seats beneath them, Alex could finally breathe fresh air again. The
arctic room and woman he’d just left was now replaced with warmth
and a sense of peace at seeing Charlie and her surroundings. He
watched her at her desk with her head bent over her work. She drew
something that held her rapt attention.
    Tendrils of her dark hair fell forward. She
brushed them back impatiently. Her teeth gnawed at her bottom lip
as she swept the charcoal pencil over the half-filled page. He
imagined soothing that tortured flesh.
    Tenderness welled up inside him.
    How in the world had she survived with that
cold hearted, emotionless woman as her stepmother all these years?
But she had. And thrived, if his guess was correct from all her
laughter and high jinks of the night before and even this morning.
A well of admiration pooled inside of him. God, she was so
adorable.
    The phone rang. “Can you get that, Peg?” she
asked, never taking her focus off the page. “Tell them I’m busy and
will call them back.”
    Peg, he assumed, was her secretary. However,
she’d stepped away from her desk. The shrill ring sounded again. He
strolled in, snatching up her phone. She looked up. Her eyes
widened and her hand stilled.
    “Hello, this is Miss King’s office.” He heard
a voice utter a sound, but didn’t let them say anything. “She’s
unable to take any calls right now. Can you please call back this
afternoon?”
    “Who’s this?” a male voice asked.
    Alex frowned. “Who’s this?”
    “Dexter. Is Charlie there?”
    He let out a slow breath. “Dexter.” He
glanced at Charlie and watched a flush creep over her cheeks. His
middle tightened. Did she have feelings for the man? Ones her
stepmother weren’t aware of?
    Doubt nagged at him. Would she agree to marry
him?
    Reluctantly, he held out the receiver toward
her, raising his