Once Upon a Proposal Read Online Free PDF Page A

to change,” he promised, smiling faintly.
    â€œNobody cares what you look like anyway,” Todd added,ever the supportive little brother. “’Specially not Jeffrey Russell,” he goaded.
    â€œShut up.” Lisette rounded on him, lifting her fist. “Or you’ll—”
    â€œMake me change my mind about the movie altogether,” Gabe warned.
    Lisette’s hand slowly dropped, though she gave Todd a killing glare. One that he returned, complete with crossed eyes.
    Fiona quickly nudged Gabe out the door. “Go on. Finish Bobbie’s door. Everything’s fine here.”
    He wouldn’t go so far as to say fine, but they were pretty much standard. The only thing Lisette and Todd could unequivocally agree on was their mutual annoyance with each another.
    That at least was something that Gabe understood. He’d grown up with two older brothers, and a day hadn’t passed when they hadn’t been squabbling about something. But as he crossed the expanse of lawn leading toward the carriage house, he hoped to hell that he could keep Lisette and Todd from growing up to be as distant from one another as he was now from Liam and Paul.
    When he reached the carriage house, he could hear dogs barking inside. Evidently the obedience class was over.
    He knocked and a moment later Bobbie pulled open the door, a phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder and her other hand latched onto Zeus’s collar. Her dark brown hair hung in dozens of long spirals around her shoulders. “Hey,” she mouthed. “Door works great.” She swung it back and forth.
    He held up the new lock set. “It’ll just take a few minutes.”
    Her mother was chattering in her ear, but Bobbie didn’t really hear her. “You’re replacing the lock, too?”
    Gabe’s deep blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “Neighborhood like this, a pretty woman should be able to lock her door securely.”
    She couldn’t help but laugh at that. Fiona Gannon’s neighborhood wasn’t exactly one prone to petty crime and break-ins. It was far too well-bred.
    â€œBobbie?” Her mother’s voice had sharpened in her ear. “Are you listening at all? ”
    â€œSorry, Mom. Can you hold on for just a second?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but tucked the receiver under her arm and focused on her landlady’s handsome grandson again. Not exactly a hardship. The man was eye candy in a serious way. And he’d taken note when she’d mentioned the troublesome lock. “You didn’t need to replace it,” she told him now. “I figured it just needed a squirt of oil or something.”
    â€œIt needs replacing,” he assured. “The tumblers are worn down to nothing.”
    â€œWell.” She moistened her lips, very aware of the fact that she was practically staring at him. “That’s really nice of you. Thanks.”
    â€œWe at Gannon-Morris are all about full service.”
    Warmth zipped through her. “I’ll bet.”
    â€œBobbie? RobertaNicoleFairchild—”
    She realized the faint voice was coming from the forgotten telephone tucked beneath her arm and felt a new flush—this one entirely from embarrassment—flood her cheeks. “Excuse me,” she told Gabe and quickly turned away, pulling Zeus with her into the kitchen. She pointed, and he trotted into the kennel cage alongside Archimedes, turned a few circles and plopped down with a noisy breath. “Sorry, Mom. I wasn’t ignoring you.” She stuck the phone back to her ear, keeping her voice low. “I just had someone at my door.”
    She heard her mother give a faint sigh. “And you still haven’t answered me. Why did I have to learn from Harry,of all people, that my own daughter is engaged again? You can imagine what he thought when it was clear I had no idea what he was talking about.” Cornelia