To Tempt an Irish Rogue Read Online Free PDF

Paulette said, reaching beneath the red-checkered cloth and retrieving a shortbread biscuit. She couldn’t wait to have one.
    “She knows how much you like them.”
    “Thank her for me, please.” Paulette grinned. “I miss having you both here.”
    “We miss it too, but we love the new house. And with Mother getting married soon, the house is a better place for us.”
    Paulette nodded as she ate the cookie, delighting in the sweet buttery flavor. She was happy that Anna Alcott was finally getting remarried, after all the heartache she’d been through in her life. Jack Harris, a grocer, was a fine man and would take care of her and her son. Thirteen-year-old Tom still helped out in the bookshop when he wasn’t in school.
    “Do you have anything for me to do today?” Tom asked.
    Wiping the crumbs from her lips, Paulette nodded. “Yes, if you could just take that package over there to the printer I would appreciate it.” She pointed to the shelf near the door.
    “That’s it?”
    “For now, yes. Get going to school or you’ll be late.” She smiled at him. Tom was a good boy and she didn’t want him to miss a minute of his education.
    “Thank you, Miss Paulette.” He flashed her one of his broad grins, grabbed the package wrapped in brown paper, and moved to the door. “I’ll drop this off on my way to school.”
    “Thank you, Tom. And good-bye.”
    Alone in the shop once more, Paulette stepped behind the counter and sat upon one of the high stools. Her assistant, Lizzie Parker, wouldn’t arrive for another hour. She took another cookie from the basket. Taking a bite, she opened the thick accounts ledger, bound in red leather, and glanced at the long columns of figures.
    Hamilton’s Book Shoppe was doing very well and she was certain the new shop would do even better. With quick efficiency she added up each column, her numbers neatly arranged in her precise handwriting. Without thinking she grabbed another cookie from the basket and popped it into her mouth. Heavenly. She had to stop herself or she would eat the entire basket!
    The bells above the door jingled and she glanced over to see who entered the shop. Her heart did a little flutter at the sight of Declan Reeves. His tall form blocked the sunlight and for the briefest moment outlined him in silhouette. Paulette had trouble swallowing the last of the shortbread.
    “Good morning.”
    His lyrical voice sent a shiver through her. Unable to speak, she nodded her head and managed a weak smile in greeting. The cookie suddenly felt like sawdust in her mouth. She forced herself to choke it down.
    “It’s nice to see the sun again. Don’t you agree, Miss Hamilton?”
    “Why, yes.” How her lips formed the words, she had no idea. Her heart was beating ridiculously fast. For lack of anything else to say, she offered, “It’s quite early yet.”
    He responded, “I prefer to start my days early.”
    “So do I.”
    An awkward silence ensued as they stood there, staring at each other. The usual bookseller patter that always came to her so naturally abandoned her in his presence.
    Declan Reeves was much handsomer than she remembered. Younger looking, too. Perhaps it was the morning light. He seemed less foreboding and for some reason that made her even more nervous. Why was he back in the shop so soon? Was it only two days ago that he had been in the bookshop with his daughter? His daughter! Now she had something to talk about!
    “Where is your little girl?” she asked, surprised by the normal tone of her voice. She wished she had a cool glass of water.
    “She’s at home with her nurse.”
    The lyrical sound of his Irish accent made Paulette’s pulse quicken. “Did she enjoy the book of fairy tales I selected for her?”
    “Yes, thank you very much. Mara loves it. I’ve read it to her at least a hundred times before bed the past two nights.”
    The image of this man reading a story to his little girl made her heart flip over in her chest.
    “I’m