Seduced by Stratton (The English Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free

honestly.
    “We should do it again.”
    Amy’s face flashed through his mind. “I can’t.”
    Her eyes widened in surprise, and she took her bottom lip between her teeth. “Can’t, or won’t?”
    “Both.”
    “Taken?”
    He shrugged instead of answering her directly, and her eyes flattened a little. Stratton felt instantly sorry for being the reason Valeria Campanile’s lively expression dulled.
    “It’s not you,” he added quickly.
    “Oh, I know that. I’m a catch.”
    He couldn’t tell if she was kidding of serious, but her pluck surprised him, and his lips tilted up at her audacity.
    She leaned forward then, laughing softly as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. Stratton stood frozen on the cold sidewalk as her breasts brushed against his chest, making him feel hot and light-headed. Her soft, full lips he’d been staring at all night touched down on his cheek, and it was like throwing a match on ice. The fissures and cracks raced like tendrils to warm his whole body, making him pliant and wistful, making him lean in toward her.
    “See you soon, Stratton,” she whispered in his ear, her warm breath against his skin almost making his knees buckle.
    Drawing back, she winked at him and whirled in a rush to catch up with Barrett and Emily.
    When he finally moved from where he was rooted, he felt more confused than he could ever remember. For all intents and purposes, he’d just been out on a blind date with a girl he wished he didn’t like and was grudgingly, but wildly, attracted to, and damn, she’d just kissed him goodnight!
    Wasn’t he deeply in love with Amy?
    Wasn’t he committed to saving Amy from Étienne?
    Was he really that fickle?
    Still standing in front of Mulligan’s, watching Val’s retreating form, his buzzing phone distracted him from further thoughts. When he took it out of his pocket, he found a message from Amy.
    I had a terrible night. Wishing you were here for ice cream and a movie.
    His heart clenched painfully with worry and guilt, and he rushed to reply.
    I’ll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me.
    He hailed a cab and shoved his phone in his pocket. As the cab rushed through the streets of Philly, he boiled down the situation pretty quickly. If he was serious about Amy, he needed to stay away from Valeria Campanile. So he had. And would have indefinitely . . . until Alex’s call this morning.
    As he approached his office building, he caught his reflection in the glass of the front door. Set jaw. Serious eyes behind black-framed glasses. A no-nonsense expression in his eyes as he committed to a course of action.
    Yes, he would honor Alex’s promise to Emily and meet with Valeria this afternoon, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be drawn to her. Absolutely not. He would not allow himself be attracted to Valeria. Amy Colson owned his heart, which meant there was no room in it for anyone else.

     
 
 
 
CHAPTER 2
     
    “Thanks so much, Val,” said Mrs. Henderson, giving her a kiss on the cheek and pressing twenty dollars into her hand.
    “Too much, Mrs. H!”
    “You’re going to put a price on our fiftieth anniversary dance?”
    Valeria grinned at the white-haired lady, cocking her head to the side. “How many people are coming again?”
    “A hundred friends and family. Can you believe it?” She turned around and shouted in the direction of the restroom. “I’m getting old here, Howard!”
    Valeria chuckled softly, sitting down on a nearby stool to take off her ballroom dancing heels. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson had signed up for a ten-lesson private ballroom dance package, and they were about halfway through their Thursday afternoon lessons at Danse Allégre , where Valeria moonlighted as an instructor for extra money while she earned her doctoral degree at nearby Penn.
    “You got a boyfriend yet, Val?”
    Valeria sighed. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to answer the dreaded question this week. “Not since last Thursday, Mrs. H.”
    “I don’t get