Eternal Vows (Hideaway (Kimani)) Read Online Free Page A

end of a live oak allée. A full-height, columned porch wrapping around the front and sides of the magnificent Greek Revival mansion was something she’d only seen in books and magazines.
    When she and Celia met to discuss wedding plans, the E.R. doctor revealed that Nicholas had spent most of his inheritance to set up his enterprise. Celia also said she thought her younger brother frivolous, but after seeing the farm she was forced to admit he’d proven her wrong.
    Peyton parked the pickup behind Nicholas’s late-model Lincoln sedan in the circular driveway. Alighting from the truck, she walked up the steps to the porch. She lifted the massive lion’s head door knocker, letting it fall against the door painted a glossy navy blue. Seconds later it opened and she curbed the urge to take a backward step when Nicholas loomed over her. She didn’t know why, but she hadn’t expected him to answer his own door.
    Peyton held her breath when she stared at the white T-shirt stretched over his broad, muscled chest. Her gaze moved slowly from his throat to the faded relaxed jeans riding dangerously low on a pair of slim hips. Her gaze reversed itself when she stared boldly at his face. There was something in his large, dark eyes that wouldn’t permit her to glance away. The nostrils of his delicate nose flared slightly when their eyes met and held.
    “Good morning, Nicholas.” Peyton didn’t recognize her own voice when she stared at the stubble on his jaw. The timbre was low and breathless as if she’d run a grueling race.
    Peyton failed to understand her own reaction to a man who was always seated next to her whenever Sheldon invited him for dinner. Except for a request to pass a plate or dish hardly a word was exchanged between them other than polite greetings. Their strained association had continued at the restaurant. She’d interacted with Celia and Gavin more than she had with Nicholas. However, she did get to see another side of him, a softer, relaxed part of him as he smiled at his sister’s enthusiasm whenever she talked about her upcoming nuptials. He also appeared to be amused watching Celia and Gavin share surreptitious glances, endearments and an occasional caress.
    She didn’t know what it was about this reserved man that made her heart beat a little too quickly. It wasn’t only because he was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, but the way he looked through her rather than at her, which led her to ask herself if he found something about her that turned him off. She’d begun to ruminate on various reasons for his coldness, and the only thing she could come up with was perhaps she’d reminded him of someone in his past.
    * * *
    Nicholas opened the door wider. “Good morning, Peyton. Please come in.” He noticed her looking at his bare feet.
    “How is Celia holding up?” she asked.
    “She’s not.”
    Her head popped up. “What!”
    Nicholas almost laughed aloud when he saw Peyton’s shocked expression. The thick, charcoal-gray lashes shadowing her cheeks flew up. There was something so young and innocent about her that he suddenly didn’t want to believe she was in her twenties. She reminded him of a high-school cheerleader with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
    “When I saw her earlier she was so nervous she refused to eat. I’d like for you to try and get her to drink something.”
    “Don’t worry, I will.”
    He watched Peyton glance around the entryway. “You’ve never been here?”
    “No.”
    “Would you like a quick tour?” Nicholas asked.
    “Perhaps another time. Celia and I have to be at the salon by eleven. But, there is something I’d like to talk to you about that I didn’t get a chance to do at the restaurant.”
    Nicholas studied the petite blonde woman with incredibly beautiful gray eyes and a killer, compact body. Even though Peyton Blackstone was physically the complete opposite of what he considered his type, he had to acknowledge she was stunning. Resting a hand