Her Kind of Man Read Online Free Page A

warning in his tone, the hard glimmer in his eyes, told her he would hurt her and her parents. She warred with her thoughts. How can I be so sure he won’t hurt them anyway?
    Once she was dressed, the smiling women nudged her toward the full-length mirror on the bathroom door. Allina studied her reflection. She’d straightened her natural curls for the occasion and put a simple, decorative clip at the base of her scalp. The women had suggested a light foundation and blush, but Allina had decided against it. Makeup wasn’t her thing.
    “There you are,” her mother said, entering the room.
    Allina’s gaze snapped over to the doorway. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her mother fiddling with a handmade bouquet as she made her way to the far corner of the room. When Sharon looked up, she gasped. “Oh my goodness. You’re beautiful.”
    Sharon’s chin trembled and she gave Allina a wobbly smile. “I hate that I missed helping you get dressed.” She waved the bouquet in her hand. “It took longer than I thought at the florist.”
    Allina rushed over to her and hugged her, holding on to her as if her life depended on it.
    She closed her eyes as her mother’s arms wrapped around her. The smell of her mother’s signature cologne comforted her as it always did. Sharon told the two women to give them a moment and Allina heard the sound of the door closing.
    Can I tell her what happened? But Sharon Parker was a worrywart, and she knew her mother would be crushed. Isaac had told her that he’d hurt her, but he’d also threatened her parents. If anything happened to them because of her—
    “Allina? Babe, are you okay?” her mother asked, leaning back to meet Allina’s gaze, concern in her eyes. “I tried to call your cell phone. Sydney called, too. She’s been trying to reach you. Is your phone dead or something?”
    She smiled sadly at her mother. “Mom, I…”
    Her mother caressed her face, brushing her thumb over her cheek. “I remember when you were a little girl, and you would dance around the house with my white towel on your head. You told me it was your veil. Now I have the honor of watching you realize that dream. I always knew you’d make a lovely bride.”
    Stepping back, her mother dabbed her eyes with a piece of tissue and fiddled with the bouquet she’d brought in with her. Sharon Parker was beautiful from head to toe. Her long gray dress flattered her small frame and loose tendrils of her light brown hair framed her face. Sharon used to joke that Allina was her “mini-me,” and as she grew older, Allina had to agree. They had the same fair skin and light brown eyes. Both were thin, but Sharon was petite while Allina was pretty tall at five-foot-nine. And both had heads full of thick brown hair.
    They’d been through so much together and shared a special bond. Allina remembered her mother showing her how, after her sixth birthday, to sew a button on a blouse. Growing up, her mother had always told her she’d do anything for her—and she had. The woman had risked her own freedom to save Allina. Watching her mom, standing before her with a straight pin in her mouth and a determined look in her eyes as she wrapped gray ribbon around the stem of the bouquet, Allina choked back a sob. Calling off the wedding would devastate her mother. Ever since Isaac had asked her father’s permission for Allina’s hand in marriage, Sharon had been giddy with excitement and the prospect of grandchildren.
    The situation was a mess. Sure, it was her wedding, but whatever she did would affect her parents. If she called off the wedding, her parents would be smack dab in the middle of the scandal. What if Isaac was serious? What if he made good on his threats? The thought of running, getting the heck out of there without looking back, appealed to her. But she couldn’t put her parents through that. They’d be worried sick about her if they came to get her for the wedding and she was gone.
    Her mother’s