The Tycoon Takes a Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

photographer snap, snap, snapped away, the flashes damn near blinding in the dark night.
    Audrey reached for her sister. “Come on. Just smile for the camera. You’ve been hiding out here all night and I could use some fun and interesting pictures to add to my wedding album.”
    Eloisa thumbed off the band from her ponytail. Her hair slid free in a silken sheet that flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She’d never seemed vain to him, but then most women he knew primped for the camera. Even his three sisters-in-law were known to slick on lipstick before a news conference.
    Except as he watched her more closely he realized she used the hair as a curtain. The guy might be getting his photos—to deny them would have caused a scene withAudrey—but there wasn’t going to be a clear image of Eloisa’s face.
    Realization trickled through of a larger problem between them than even he had anticipated. He knew she wanted to keep her royal heritage a secret. That was obvious enough and he respected her right to live as she pleased. But until this moment he hadn’t understood just how far she would go to protect her anonymity. A damned inconvenient problem.
    Because as a Landis, he could always count on being stuck in the spotlight. Just by being with her, he’d cast her into the media’s unrelenting glare.
    He’d wanted revenge, but didn’t need to unveil her secret to repay her for her betrayal. He had other, far more enticing ways of excising her from his mind.

Three
    E loisa wished that photographer would tone down the flash on his camera. Much more of his nonstop shutter bugging and she would have a headache. As if this evening wasn’t already migraine material enough.
    Thank God the party had finally all but ended, only a few stragglers hanging on and sidling into the photo ops. Jonah—the cause of her impending headache—stood off to the side with her stepfather. Determined to keep her cool, Eloisa stacked tiny crystal cake plates left haphazardly on the dessert table. Her sister watched from her perch, lounging against the end of the table.
    Audrey balanced a plate with a wedge of the raspberry chocolate cake on one hand, swiping her finger through the frosting and licking it clean. “You should let the catering staff take care of that. It’s what they’re paid to do.”
    “I don’t mind, really. Besides, the cleaning staff charges by the hour.” She also needed a way to burn off her nervous energy from Jonah’s staged kiss.
    “That doesn’t mean you need to work yourself to the bone. Go home.”
    She wasn’t ready to be alone with Jonah. Not yet. Not with her feelings still so close to the surface. But judging from the stubborn set of his jaw as he stood under a string of white lights, he wasn’t leaving her life anywhere anytime soon.
    “I’m staying here with you.” Eloisa sidestepped a band member carrying two guitar cases. “No arguments.”
    “At least have some cake. It’s so amazing I almost don’t care that I’ll have to get my wedding gown resized.” Audrey swiped up another gob of frosting, her blue eyes trekking over to Jonah, then sliding back. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, sister dear?”
    “So you said earlier.” Eloisa placed the forks in a glass so all the plates stacked evenly and handed over the lot to a passing catering employee.
    How rare that someone accused her of being full of surprises. She’d always been the steady one, tasked to smooth things over when her more-sensitive baby sister burst into tears.
    “But it’s true. What’s the scoop with this Landis boyfriend?” Audrey gestured with her plate toward Jonah who looked at ease in his suit jacket, even in Florida’s full-out May heat.
    Eloisa had found his constant unconcern fascinating before. Now it was more than a little irritating, especially when she couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of plunging her fingers into his thick hair when they’d kissed.
    She forced her hands to