Million Dollar Mistake Read Online Free Page B

already set.
    “Point taken.” She pasted a smile on her face. “My cousin, actually.”
    Oh, why couldn’t she hit rewind? Tell everyone the kiss was a mistake, that it was just a joke. Before she could say a word, everyone started speaking at once, but one imperious voice cut through the din.
    “Child, are you telling us that this is your cousin ?”
    “Kissing cousin, I’ll bet,” Lorianne giggled. Then she shut up as everyone sent her a look that could have fried eggs.
    Raven turned to look at Nana standing in the center of the staircase. She found it hard to meet the old woman’s shrewd eyes; sure she must be seeing right through her. “Um, yes, my cousin. We’re not closely related, not blood-relations or anything…” The hole was getting deeper.
    Rescue came from an unexpected source. “But we have been getting closer,” Nicholas commented with a smile. “Much closer.”
    “Obviously,” Margaret said.
    Nana looked confused. “I thought you came here with Jackson?“
    “Yes, I, um, I did.” Raven hung her head, her feigned shame a bit too real for her comfort. “Nicholas and I…had a fight, you see, and then I met…um, I left Nicky a message, but he didn’t, so I came… Well, anyway, I behaved in a stupid, impulsive, irrational—”
    “Oh, now there’s a surprise,” Nicholas murmured in her ear, taking a firmer grip on her arm.
    She couldn’t help but glare up at him, before turning back to Nana. “I thought we were over, but now he’s here and…” Raven allowed herself to trail off, the very picture of confused womanhood. She peeked at her audience to see their reaction, trying to avoid looking at Jackson. She knew she’d have to deal with him, but was determined to put it off as long as possible. Maybe she could just write a note? Probably not an option.
    “Now everything is just peachy fine, I suppose?” The razor sharp eyes that sliced from her to Nicholas and then back again belied Nana’s soft comment.
    Nicholas answered, “We still have a few things to sort out.” He gripped Raven’s waist, pulling her closer. “Wouldn’t you agree, sweetheart?”
    Raven had no problem recognizing the threat in that statement. “Oh, without a doubt.” She was a bit unnerved when she heard Nicholas’s soft chuckle.
    “Raven,” Jackson said, his tone tense and sharp, “I want to talk to you.”
    “I think this situation calls for a drink.” Nana took control, switching her focus from Raven to her son and daughter-in-law. “Don’t you, J.R., Margaret?”
      Always the society hostess, Margaret nodded. “Yes, of course. Shall we go in by the fire?” She and J.R. moved toward the living room. “Lorianne, dear, would you ask Tilda for some tea, coffee and those little sandwiches she does so well?”
    Lorianne placed Nicholas’s coat on a chair, sending a reluctant look over her shoulder before walking down the hall to the kitchen.
    Nana continued down the stairs. “Jackson,” she said in an autocratic voice, extending her hand to her grandson, stopping him as he stepped toward Raven and Nicholas. “Let’s give them some privacy, shall we?”
    Jackson halted mid-stride and looked back at his grandmother.
    “I’m thirsty, Jackson.”
    With a glare in Raven and Nicholas’s direction, Jackson muttered, “I could use a strong drink myself.” He sent Raven a look that promised they would talk later before tucking his grandmother’s hand into the crook of his arm and escorting her into the living room.
    Only Raven and Nicholas were left in the hall. Raven was reluctant to look at him. Escape seemed the best alternative for the moment. She started to walk toward the archway when strong fingers encircled her wrist, jerking her to a stop.
    “Oh no, you don’t.”
    Nicholas pulled her farther down the hall under the stairwell arch, out of view of the living room. “No kiss and run for this guy.”
    Raven summoned a saucy smile and tossed it over her shoulder. “I guess