Accidental Heiress Read Online Free Page B

to make things right.
    Tomorrow morning, she and the girls would wind their way up the serpentine road to Margeaux’s childhood home and get the placeready for her father’s homecoming later that afternoon.
    Tonight, she was free to enjoy herself.
    Though it felt a little wrong to be planning a night in the casino while her father was laid up in the hospital, that’s exactly what she intended to do. The alternative was to spend the evening holed up in her room. That wouldn’t do anyone any good.
    Her friends had come with her to act as backup support. Though they understood the situation—on all levels—she wanted to show them how much she appreciated them circling the wagons. They’d met by chance but had remained friends by choice. They were the sisters she’d chosen. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to show them a good time St. Michel–style.
    Margeaux had called them on her way back to the hotel. They graciously waited as she raced to clean up and put on one of the many dresses that Pepper had carted over.
    â€œSo, now you’re happy I overpacked. ” Pepper clapped like a child who’d just found the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box. She addressed her comments to no one in particular,everyone in general. “If I’d been the practical traveler that y’all had tried to convert me into, just imagine the fix we’d be in right now.”
    â€œOh, horrors, we might’ve had to go shopping so that Margeaux could look presentable.” Caroline sipped champagne from a crystal flute. “Imagine that.”
    The number of bags Pepper Meriweather had brought might suggest that she intended to stay for the summer, rather than the planned two weeks.
    Right now, the fifteen evening dresses and twenty-five pairs of shoes and sandals Pepper couldn’t leave home without were proving to be a lifesaver.
    Margeaux chose a slinky little black dress and a pair of sexy, strappy sandals to complement it. As they made their way down to the casino, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirrored hallway leading to the grand lobby of the Hotel de St. Michel. It had been a while since she’d dressed for a night out. Pepper had styled Margeaux’s long, blond hair into a chignon that looked as if she’d gone to the salon.
    The sexy black dress made Margeaux’s skinlook a little paler than she would’ve liked, but she’d been working so much lately that she hadn’t had time to build the deep bronze glow that had been her trademark.
    Even so, seeing her reflection made her check her posture and hold her head a little higher. She was still pushing against the inner struggle of whether going down to the casino was the right thing to do with her father in the hospital. It smacked of fodder for tabloid headlines: Margeaux Broussard Parties while Father Lies in Hospital Bed. Tonight, the only thing better than being anonymous would be rendering herself invisible. But her father was fine. She’d done her duty by him tonight and would follow his wishes to come back and get him tomorrow.
    Besides, this dress was far too fabulous for invisible.
    Bottom line: Margeaux Broussard had never shied away from life, and she didn’t intend to start now. Tonight would simply be a nice night out with friends.
    Nothing scandalous about that.
    â€œWe all look like Bond girls,” said A.J. “Iwonder if we’ll meet any spies in the casino tonight?”
    The girls laughed and as they forged ahead toward the casino, Margeaux hung back in the lobby, reacquainting herself with the hotel’s ornate beauty. The chandeliers hung from frescoed ceilings, dripping honeyed light, warming the gold-and-marble atrium. She took in the sculptures, the caryatids and the bas-relief motifs etched into the walls.
    Throughout her youth, she’d seen this place dozens of times. The memory had her gaze shifting until she’d located a certain