Promoted to Wife (Destiny Bay) Read Online Free PDF Page B

pictured him to be. He was actually turning out to be something of a workaholic.
    He glanced up and nodded, as though he was thinking about something else and hardly recognized her. And that, she thought to herself as she went on down the hall, was probably a good thing.  
    She slipped out shortly after lunch and drove down into the shopping district. Destiny Bay was a typical California beach town, with its little pastel houses, a fully operational marina, beachfront shops, a downtown section with two department stores and several wealthy enclaves.  
    Terry had spent most of the summers of her teenaged years here, when her father was working for the elder Carrington and the place hadn’t changed much. She smiled as she recognized stores from the old days, and especially as she passed by Mickey’s on the Bay, a simple seaside café that was run by a second cousin of hers. She didn’t have time to stop in now, but she made a note to do so soon. She hadn’t seen her in years, but Mickey had always been one of her favorite relatives.  
    She found a quick-print shop easily and had business cards made. “Terry Yardley, Professional Butler, White Glove Service Guaranteed” , with her cell phone number. She smiled, looking them over. That ought to do it.  
    She raced back to the Carrington estate and began hunting down her boss. The car was still in the driveway, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. That was odd. She went upstairs and looked out from the music room, a round space that was all windows and looked out over the entire estate. There was someone outlined in black against the blue sky, standing on the cliffs that jutted out over the surf below.  
    Something about the way he was standing there, slightly leaning out, as though against the wind, made her heart skip a beat. He wouldn’t jump, would he?  
    She bit her lower lip. What a dumb thing to think. The man had it all——money and a place in society that pretty much let him do whatever he wanted to do. That was the way it looked from here at any rate.  
    “Don’t be silly,” she muttered to herself.  
    And yet—a memory of the way his eyes had glazed over with sadness swam back into her mind. There was something putting a damper on his happiness. That must have been what had given her the idea he might be contemplating a leap into the sea.  
    “Fat chance,” she muttered as she began to make her way down the stairs. And just to prove it, she decided to go out onto the cliffs herself and see if he needed anything. Just to be safe.  
    “Hey there,” she called as she came within hailing distance. “I’ve got something for you.”
    He spun and stared at her, almost as though she’d awakened him from a dream. “No kidding,” he said, but he looked puzzled, as though he wasn’t sure why she had come out such a way from the house and wished she hadn’t. Now she really felt foolish, because all she’d brought him was the card she’d had printed up.
    Then he shook his head, shaking the mood away, and smiled at her. “You came back. I thought you’d gone.”
    “Gone? Why would I go?”
    He shrugged. “I saw you drive off. I thought maybe you’d had second thoughts about this whole butler thing.”
    “Au contraire,” she told him with a flip look. “In fact, I went to get these made. Look.” She handed one to him.  
    He stared at the card for a moment, then looked at her and laughed. “So that makes it official, does it? Now that you have cards.”
    “Exactly.” Her smile was definitely impertinent and she meant it to be. “And who are you to say otherwise?”
    He shook his head, bemused. “I wish all careers were that easy to establish,” he said. “Just print up a card and off you go.”
    “Why not?”
    His gaze met hers and he frowned, searching her eyes. “Why not?” he whispered. “Why the hell not?”  
    There was something in his intensity that disturbed her. She knew she ought to head back toward the house. But she