Mail Order Bride: Not What He Expected (Mail Order Brides Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

right to her very core.
    Keep calm. Lucy thought, trying to figure out how to get to the bottom of all of this in the most ladylike way possible. Perhaps she is just trying to enjoy herself here or find another admirer so that she did not have to waste the trip.
    Still, Lucy knew that she would not be able to rest until she knew what the woman was doing – or scheming. So, she made her way over to her and asked sweetly, “May I sit with you?”
    The woman looked at her with a slightly snooty glare, eyeing her up and down judgmentally. She finally nodded her assent.
    Lucy sat down and smiled at her, “Thank you.” Then, after a long moment, she asked, “Are you here with someone?”
    “Not exactly,” She answered as her nose rose up in the air, “Not yet, anyway.”
    As she spoke, Lucy tried to feel encouraged by what she was saying, but that was hard, as she gazed upon her perfect features.
    How could Levi possibly turn this gorgeous woman away? Why would he choose me over her? She thought, but still, the idea that he was trying to let her down easy hurt far more than it should have at this point.
    “Are you enrolled in the mail order bride program?” Lucy asked.
    The woman shot her a look, as though trying to seem to be looking down on her before she answered, “Yes, in fact, I am. How did you know?”
    Lucy thought about telling her that she was also in the program, but she decided against it, to approach the situation from a more practical standpoint, “Forgive me, it was just a guess. You are dressed your best out here.”
    “Oh, darling, please.” She responded condescendingly. “This is hardly me dressing my best. If I did that, I surely would not be able to stave off any of these hungry men. I would be getting a proposal from every one of them…They would be murdering one another just to prove their loyalty to me.” She laughed as her perfect face showed the kind of confidence that Lucy wished she had. However, even if Lucy had the looks to warrant such comments, she knew that she could never be so callous.
    “Well, in any case, you look lovely and you are here alone.”  
    Her eyes then brushed over Lucy, and she interrupted her again, “If you thought I looked my best, then I could say the same thing about you. I’m guessing that is your best dress. From the mere fact that you have opted to speak to me, rather than a man, I would wager a guess that you are also in the program.”
    She nodded, feeling that there was no sense in being dishonest, “Yes, I am.”
    “Are you still waiting for your man to arrive? He’s probably sleazy if he is meeting you at an inn. Poor girl.”
    She shook her head, now slightly insulted by the woman’s impudence, “No, I’m not waiting. I have already met him. We are courting.”
    The woman sneered, as though she was trying to hold back from voicing a comment, before she answered, “Well, I wish you the best of luck.”
    “Are you waiting for your man here?” She asked, trying to pry just enough so that she can figure out if Levi was being honest with her or not.
    “No. I just got back from an outing with him,” Her eyes looked a little wild as she added, “He took some convincing. I even had to pay my way, the miser, but now that he has met me, I am sure that he will have no intention of sending me away. He is going to pick me up tomorrow afternoon. We are supposed to have a date at his ranch.” Her eyes raised, and she looked Lucy directly in the eyes. “He might be a miser to start, but I have a feeling that once I win him over, he will prove to be more than generous.”
    Lucy wanted to be angry, but she also did not want to let on that she knew what was going on and so, she managed to keep her composure. She smiled at the woman and answered, “I wish you the best of luck. I hope all goes well for you tomorrow, but I will let you go now. I am sure you would prefer to get your beauty rest, instead of speaking to me.”
    As Lucy stood up, the woman