Can't Buy Me Love Read Online Free Page B

into his eyes. “I remember now. It’s early in November, right?”
    â€œYes. Another chance to dress up. I’ll be wearing a tux—kind of a preview of our wedding day.”
    â€œWonderful—but you don’t want to see my wedding dress.”
    â€œNope. It’s tradition. But no matter what you’re wearing, you’ll be the most beautiful and gracious woman there.”
    The memory of Bellamy’s kisses lingered as Reid drove home.
    How ironic that he’d found his future wife covered in dog hair—after he’d agreed to pick up Wiley, his mother’s much-loved mutt, from his weekly bath. Bellamy’s hazel eyes and welcoming smile had him volunteering to both drop off Wiley and pick him up the next week. And then he’d shown up the next day—without a dog on the leash—and invited Bellamy out for coffee after work. And she’d said no.
    â€œNo?” Reid’s skin warmed, a sure sign he was blushing like a middle-schooler—a family trait he couldn’t conquer even at almost thirty. He struggled to find a way to back out of the veterinary clinic—to retreat to the shelter of his car—and then call his mother and tell her that she could take her mangy mutt to the groomer herself.
    â€œI mean, I’d love to have coffee with you.” Bellamy’s smile appeared again as she reached out her hand across the counter that separated them, as if sensing his desire to escape. “But I, um, have to clean the kennels in the back first. You don’t want to wait around while I do that.” She motioned to his pressed pants and button-down dress shirt. “It’ll take me a couple of hours.”
    â€œI could help—”
    His offer sparked a quick laugh that held the sound of wind chimes—but somehow he knew she wasn’t laughing at him. “I can’t let you help me clean animal kennels! What kind of woman do you think I am?”
    The word “intriguing” crossed his mind, but he didn’t tell her—not that night, anyway. “Well, how about if I find something to do and come pick you up and take you to dinner once you’re done here?”
    â€œYou’re serious . . .” Her eyes glinted like rare emeralds.
    â€œYes, I am.”
    â€œAll right, then. Dinner it is.”
    â€œWhat’s your preference?”
    â€œSurprise me. I like surprises.”
    â€œMe, too.” And he did—particularly ones with long black hair and eyes framed by thick black lashes. And a musical laugh that reminded him how he’d forgotten to laugh. And smile.
    Their relationship had moved fast—a whirlwind romance to be sure—with him proposing and her saying yes as he slipped an heirloom diamond ring on her finger three months after they met.
    Bellamy restored his belief in love—and in himself. Something he’d lost and feared he’d never regain. In a few short months, he’d reclaim his parents’ trust—and then he and Bellamy would be married. Life would be everything he’d ever hoped it would be. And more.

THREE

    H ow had she lost two hours looking at Pinterest?
    Bellamy pressed her fingertips to her eyes, releasing a soft groan that turned into a yawn. One in the morning—and she had to be at work at eight.
    Reid’s last enticing kiss, with a whispered “sweet dreams,” happened at ten thirty. She’d changed into her pajamas, flipped open her laptop for a quick check of her email, and then Facebook . . . and then wandered over to her Pinterest boards.
    First stop, of course, was the Destination Wedding Gowns board overflowing with dresses. Long gowns. Tea-length gowns. Ivory gowns. White gowns. Romantic. Outrageous. This board had given her the courage to stand up to her mother’s and sisters’ suggestion that she use one of their wedding gowns.
    â€œWhy waste money on a new dress when there are three