Love Is Lovelier Read Online Free PDF

daughters tended to gloss over many of the details of what was happening, attempting to protect her from worry.
    He understood the urge; he felt it himself. The more he knew of today’s Anne Marchand, the more she appealed to him on a personal level. She was the diametric opposite of his late wife; where Isabel had deferred to him, Anne challenged. Isabel had put her energies into the social scene; Anne had built a business. He’d begun to realize that far from being merely Remy’s helpmeet, as many thought, she’d been the driving force behind the hotel’s success. Remy, true to his culinary genius, had been absorbed by the restaurant and only marginally interested in the guest quarters.
    Both women were fiercely devoted to their offspring, but Isabel had tended to live through their daughter, Judith, while Anne’s relationships with her girls had allowed them freedom to spread their wings.
    Isabel had made William the center of her world, and he’d enjoyed all the benefits, he saw now. He’d never held her back from the pursuits that interested her, he was certain. Her ambitions were simply more modest than Anne’s.
    Anne Marchand operated on a grander scale. Understood, in a way Isabel never could have, what he’d faced as he created his empire.
    The same way he understood the obstacles confronting her now. In her own way, quieter than his, she was every bit as proud and, he smiled at the thought, just possibly as headstrong.
    Far from the takeover of the Hotel Marchand that he’d once envisioned, what he now wanted was to help Anne hold on to what she’d put her life’s blood into creating.
    He could offer the money required to retire the second mortgage she’d had to take out after Remy’s death—but he was certain he could predict her reaction. He would still offer at some point, but he’d hedged his bets in the meantime.
    He was positive Anne would do almost anything to avoid selling the hotel to the group that had submitted an offer and was having a hard time taking no for an answer.
    But just in case, he’d initiated steps to submit one himself. Not as William Armstrong, no, and not as Regency Corporation. He’d resorted to subterfuge, using a law firm recommended by his own chief counsel to keep his identity secret. He was doing it to help her, but he suspected that if Anne knew, she wouldn’t have spoken to him this morning, much less let him kiss her.
    And what a kiss that had been. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his heart. He might be sixty-five, but his body sure hadn’t responded like it a few hours ago. He felt like a damn stallion scenting a mare.
    And wasn’t that just a fine way to start out a morning?
    “Daddy?”
    Grin still in place, he turned to see his daughter in the doorway. “Hi, sweetheart.”
    “Got a minute?”
    “For you, always.” He gestured to the leather sofa. “Shall I have Margo bring coffee?”
    “No, thanks. I’m way past my limit already.”
    Though he’d originally given her a job just for something to do after her husband left her, Judith had exceeded his expectations. She worked very hard—too hard sometimes. He settled beside her. “Problem?”
    “You tell me.” She met his gaze head-on. “I came by your house this morning early. I thought we’d have breakfast, but you were already gone.”
    She wouldn’t want to hear that he’d been restless and gone in search of Anne. “I got a jump on the day. What did you need?”
    “We had a—”
    “—meeting.” As quickly as recollection hit him, he mentally groaned. He’d gotten distracted by Anne. Lingered over breakfast and completely forgotten that he’d agreed to meet with Judith at eight for a reason she hadn’t divulged. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. There’s no excuse. Guess I’m getting older than I thought.” Though he hadn’t felt this young in years.
    “You’ll never be old, Daddy.” His own blue eyes looked back at him out of a face framed by Isabel’s blond hair, sleek and