Marriage by Mistake Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand.
    Kelly shifted her gaze to the sofa but didn't
dare move. She tried to go back to skeptical mode, but it wouldn't
work. He wouldn't be the other man again, the one she knew. He
was...somebody else. Somebody who'd been hypnotized, who didn't
even remember meeting her, let alone remember falling in love.
    Apparently giving up on the idea she would
sit, he plucked up something from his briefcase. It was a tiny
piece of paper, only about an inch square and soiled, as by kitchen
oil. He held it out to her.
    The insistence in his gaze finally made Kelly
move. She took a step, close enough to see he was holding a
receipt. "Duncan's Donuts," she read aloud. The prickling sensation
returned, sweeping over her tenfold.
    "Does that mean anything to you?"
    Kelly could feel a bubble of hysteria inside.
"You got the donuts."
    "I was holding a bag of them when I 'woke
up.' For you, I presume. I never eat such things, myself."
    The bubble of hysteria inside Kelly expanded.
She started to laugh. "But you were the one who noticed the store,
who wanted them    " She stopped. Biting her lip, she
looked at him, looked at the man behind the eyes. "No," she
corrected. "That wasn't you ." Kelly felt a chill replace her
hysteria. "Was it?"
    He turned. Delicately, he returned the little
piece of paper to his briefcase. "Miss Williams, I can only repeat
my heartfelt apology that you got mixed up in this...little
accident of mine. The hypnosis    well, I never actually
expected to go under, and then my cousin Troy had to get in on the
act with his amusing 'suggestions.'"
    "Suggestions." Kelly's chill grew. She'd seen
men, dignified, elderly men, bark like dogs under the suggestion of
a stage hypnotist. She could make the logical deduction. "In real
life you wouldn't have done any of it, what we did together. You
wouldn't have given me the time of day to begin with."
    He didn't say a word. He just looked at her,
looked at her with cool, unfamiliar eyes.
    Kelly whirled. A part of her wanted to laugh.
Here it was, the magical explanation she'd been hoping for. Dean
hadn't abandoned her, after all. He'd even bought the donuts.
    Yes, he'd bought them, and then vanished into
thin air. Her easy-going, sweet and charming Dean Singleton didn't
even exist!
    "Miss Williams."
    Kelly clenched her fingers on her upper arms.
Inside she was reeling. This wasn't the man she'd met Friday night.
Of course, she'd already seen as much in Boston. Her Dean was blue
jeans and tee shirts. This man was English wool and silk. Her Dean
smiled. This man looked like he hadn't cracked a grin in the past
ten years.
    She'd seen it, she just hadn't wanted to
believe it.
    "Miss Williams," he asked. "Are you all
right?"
    The question was both ludicrous, and valid.
She gave a soft laugh. "Sure, sure. I'm all right." She was just
peachy. It was no big deal to discover the man she'd fallen in love
with didn't even exist in real life.
    Instead he was an illusion, a dream,
'suggested' into being by this no-good cousin Troy.
    Her fingertips dug into her sweat jacket
sleeves. She was used to falling in love with an illusion, the
pretty picture of the guy she'd paint in her mind, but this was
ridiculous.
    She sensed the other man, the real one, take
a step in her direction. Grimacing, Kelly turned. Their eyes met. A
funny quiver went through Kelly's stomach. He still had those
amazing blue eyes, the elegantly chiseled features, the whole aura
of vital, healthy male.
    But on a stranger . The man she'd known
   even the man she'd loathed    was
nowhere.
    She tried a smile. "I guess it's my turn to
owe you an apology."
    His brows knit.
    "I didn't believe you when you said you'd
been hypnotized."
    He grunted. "Under the circumstances,
understandable."
    Kelly sighed. "Yeah, well, it did sound
pretty incredible. Add to that, the tendency of the male to slink
off once he's got what he wanted. That's why I    " She
stopped and waved a hand.
    His gaze was steady. "That's why you made
sure I