Sweet Child of Mine Read Online Free PDF Page A

tight “—will not happen.” He huffed out a breath. “Look, Suzanne, if you want me to put it in writing, I will. I don’t want a family. I don’t need one.”
    “Why not?” She’d often thought him some sort ofCasanova, some perpetual playboy with an Ivy League mind. Now she knew she’d judged him too quickly. There was a story here, and she wanted to know it.
    “I had a family I loved very much. They’re gone. End of story.”
    She’d heard once that he’d been a widower for years, but no details. “What happened?”
    She was shocked to see his eyes hollowed out by grief. “I don’t want to discuss it.”
    Shame washed over her again. “I’m sorry, Michael.” She reached for his hand, but he jerked it away.
    There was pain here, and it was deep. Why had she never suspected? He’d perfected his cover, that was why. She had bought the fiction of a man who was everyone’s friend, whose life was a breeze.
    “Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “I’m fine. It’s over.”
    He was dead wrong. He’d erected barriers fathoms deep and oceans wide, but he hadn’t dealt with his grief, merely buried it.
    His demeanor made it abundantly clear that the topic wasn’t up for discussion. And truthfully, he’d just given her the best assurance she could have that he wouldn’t want to claim her son. He had a child of his own who still resided in his heart, alive or not.
    She should accept this boon for what it was—a very generous gift. He had reasons to need this marriage and so did she. They were reasonable people. And it was only for a little while. Only temporary. She’d lived with a hole in her heart for ten years. She’d have her child back, the child she’d never quit missing. She could play her part in the charade that would make that possible.
    “All right. I think we understand each other and what we need and don’t need, what we want and don’t want. You’ll help me get my son, and I’ll help you make your father happy. As soon as possible, we’ll go our own ways, but in the meantime, we’ll deal together as reasonable people and try to make it as easy on each other as we can. Deal?” She held out her hand.
    His mood lightened. His mouth quirked in a grin. “You won’t strain something trying to be reasonable, will you?” He closed his large, warm hand over hers, and she felt the jolt again.
    “It depends. Do you leave wet towels on the bathroom floor?”
    He laughed then, dimples winking, his even white teeth flashing. For one second, something inside her shivered as his very maleness swamped her.
    “No. I have my faults, but that’s not one of them.”
    She pulled her hand away, but she could still feel the heat of him buzzing beneath her skin. “Have we lost our minds, trying this?”
    “Probably. But let’s do it anyway.” He stood and extended his hand to her. “Walk out with me. Weneed to get started convincing people that we’re a couple.”
    Hesitantly, she slipped her hand in his, let him tug her to her feet.
    But he didn’t stop there. He pulled her into his arms and before she could react, lowered his mouth to hers.
    The kiss was quick but lethal. Michael lifted his head and stared at her, his own confusion mirroring hers.
    Suzanne knew she should pull away, but she couldn’t seem to do it. The sense of safety in his strong arms was seductive. It felt far better than it should.
    Mistake, her mind kept trying to say to her.
    But before her voice could catch up, Michael lowered his mouth to hers once more.
    And this time it wasn’t quick. It wasn’t casual.
    It was more lethal. Devastating. When one arm tightened around her and the other hand slid into her hair, Suzanne felt her legs turn to jelly, her brain overload.
    All the fire that had sparked between them in words in the past raced to a four-alarm blaze when they touched. As though they belonged to someone else, her arms slid around his trim waist, her hands sliding over the long muscles of his back,