The Pretender Read Online Free PDF

phones glued to their ears; an older couplelooking annoyed—he wondered if that was because it had been a rough flight, or if it was just their normal way. An elderly lady towing an oxygen bottle. A very tall black man wearing a suit Sage was pretty sure had cost more than his pickup. He waited patiently and watched them all go by, not the least bit concerned he’d have trouble spotting the passenger he’d come to meet. How many young, blondwomen carrying a pet crate could there be on one flight?
    Turned out, she’d have drawn his eye even if he hadn’t been there specifically to pick her up. She was that kind of woman, tall and slim, with long legs that looked even longer in the skinny jeans and knee boots she wore. She had on a sleeveless top made of some kind of slithery material the color of old brandy, in a style that hadthe look of another time, and carried a black jacket thrown over one arm—the right. She carried the crate in her left. As he watched, she halted in the middle of the walkway, set the carrier on the floor and slipped the jacket on.
    He couldn’t blame her for that. Like most places where the weather could get hot, Bakersfield had a tendency to overdo the air-conditioning.
    Then his breathcaught.
    He could see now that the jacket was of roughly the same vintage as the silky top, with padded shoulders, fitted in at the waist and flared out over the hips. From that point upward, with her blond hair tumbled all around her shoulders, she looked like a 1940s movie star. Looked, in fact, exactly like the pictures he’d seen of Sam’s second wife, Barbara Chase. Not so surprising,though, he thought, considering Barbara would be this woman’s grandmother.
    Realizing the woman was just standing there looking around her—looking for him, no doubt—he pushed off from the pillar and moved purposefully forward.
    “Sunny?”
    Her gaze jerked toward him and her mouth opened; he could hear her suck in air. The look on her face made his stomach clench. Not because she wasthe most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, although she was, but because she looked absolutely terrified. Not the way most people look when they’re scared, but like an animal with nowhere to run. He’d never had a woman look at him that way before. He had to say, he didn’t much like it.
    He smiled—he hoped in a reassuring way—and held out his hand. “Sunny Wells? Sage Rivera. Welcome to California.”
    “I’m, uh… Thanks.” She let out the breath and a smile flashed, although the wariness didn’t leave her eyes. Striking…mesmerizing eyes. Silvery blue eyes, with just a hint of green.
    She thrust out her right hand, and he saw it was bandaged—a fact she seemed to remember at the same moment, because she jerked it back with a little shrug and a breathless, “Um…hi, nice to meet you.”
    As he answered the shrug with one of his own, he realized he was experiencing something he wasn’t used to. Which was awkwardness. He felt uneasy in his own skin. He didn’t like that much, either.
    Feeling a need to be doing something, he bent to pick up the cat carrier. A low growl issued from its depths. He looked at Sunny and raised his eyebrows.
    “Meet Pia,” she said darkly. “Otherwiseknown as the Cat from Hell.”
    He nodded toward her bandaged hand, which, he now realized, did look very white and fresh. “That what happened to your hand?”
    She made a sound that wasn’t really a laugh—more like a snort. “Yeah. They said I could take her onboard as my carry-on. They forgot to mention they were going to make me take her out of the carrier going through security.”
    “Ah.” He dropped to one knee beside the carrier and placed his hand on the wire door. The growl from inside rose in pitch and volume. Okay, fair warning. He laughed softly. Can’t say I blame you, kitty cat…don’t care much for flying myself.
    “Freaked her out,” Sunny said with a breathless laugh. “I mean, totally. You should have heard her.