The Bound Bride Read Online Free PDF

different.
    And he was fairly certain that no one would ever want to share it with him.
    He continued scanning the gallery. He didn’t have a type. Lean and fit was preferable, but he’d take curves if the hair was right. The eyes were of no consequence. Brown or blue or hazel. It was as if he would never find—
    Or green .
    Oliver stopped at the eyes of Trixie Carol and blinked. It was like a glimpse at a yesterday he had tucked away and vowed to never revisit. Not because he didn’t want to see the eyes again. But it was too painful to think of them closed, never to reopen. Now a shiver ran up his spine at the image of the girl on the screen.
    He clicked it into larger view.
    On closer inspection, she was not a doppelganger for his ghost. She had a slim nose, high cheek bones, and straight eyebrows. The face in his memory was softer, rounder in every way possible. But the eyes had it. There was a similarity so close to identical.
    Oliver wanted to learn more about her.
    “That one’s okay,” Faye said as she scanned the profile more carefully. “Sort of plain. But pretty. I guess.”
    Oliver couldn’t even hear Faye as she whispered the girl’s particulars under her breath.
    Trixie Carol . What was her realname? Where had she come from? Where was she now? Would someone else snatch her up and pretend to show her a good time? Or was she destined to be broken before she even had a chance?
    Oliver’s head was spinning, and he grasped the edge of his desk.
    “Whoa! Ollie? You okay?”
    He reached for his water and took a slow sip. Faye rubbed his shoulder and repeated her question.
    “Of course,” he said. “Absolutely.”
    He clicked to view her video confessional. The question was always the same. What were they looking for in a man? Some were only in the market for fun. Some like to hone their more nurturing instincts. Some liked to give because it felt fantastic .
    What would Trixie Carol have to say?
    I… I want someone who’ll keep me… safe.
    Now it was about more than the eyes. Oliver’s heart crept up his throat. She wanted to be safe. Oliver had a very definite opinion on the subject. He’d tried it once before. His reasons were sound, but the girl in question didn’t understand. If nothing else, Oliver learned from his mistakes. If he was careful as he stepped into the waters, if he felt her out, if he paid for it…
    He began the process of securing Trixie Carol for a night at the opera.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    It had been nearly a week since Cassandra had signed up. And no one was biting. Cassandra scanned other ladies’ profiles, some of whom had just signed up. And their feedback showed that their dance cards were already full.
    What had she done wrong now ? Was it her raw profile pic? Her filmed segment that seemed more and more pathetic as she watched it again and again? Or was there just a type of the month that explained her empty inbox?
    She could find none.
    The ladies getting leased were barely eighteen or just turning forty. They were blondes. They were brunettes. They were every race. They possessed varied sets of interests. Why wasn’t Cassandra mixing with the bunch? She knew she wasn’t the prettiest one on display; her profile didn’t claim that she was the best cook. But she felt she stood out in other ways.
    And it stung that noone was taking notice.
    There was a knock on her door. Cassandra, still in her PJs and barefoot, didn’t move from her couch. She still expected eviction at any moment and vowed to stay silent.
    “Cass?”
    Always Iris. Just Iris. Cassandra shuffled to the door and swung it open. Iris’s smile fell at the sight of her friend.
    “Geez, Cass. You are one hot mess!”
    Cassandra rolled her eyes and started down the tiny hallway to her even tinier bathroom. She flipped the switch and stared in the mirror.
    Iris had been kind in her assessment.
    She looked tired, kind of beat up. The Trixie Carol photo actually looked good in comparison. And her