Seduced by the Baron (The Fairy Tales of New York Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

consulted his calendar. “Four o’clock?”
    “Cool,” Mercy said. “Our girls’ night starts at five. You can meet Zel and Dawn.”
    Faith glanced at her sharply. What the hell? She frowned at her friend who just smiled serenely back.
    “Excellent.” Raf downed the rest of his beer. “Does that suit you, Faith?”
    “Er…sure,” she said, reassembling her face to look less frowny as she addressed him. “I’ll give you half an hour.”
    He grinned, apparently unconcerned by her frown or the time limit. “No worries.”
    But Faith wasn’t so sure.
    *
    Raf was still thinking about Faith Sullivan the next afternoon as he stepped out of the shower and toweled off. He didn’t seem to be able to get her out of his head. He’d thought about her all day including the hour he’d spent at the Waldorf going over particulars with an Australian beer industry delegation who were holding a ball there in a month’s time.
    He didn’t know why. She wasn’t his usual type. He tended to date leggy blondes, outdoorsy kind of women. Career women in their thirties who knew what they wanted and where they were going. Women who were open and confident and not looking for anything other than a distraction in their very busy lives.
    Women who were out for a good time which he could more than provide.
    But it hadn’t taken more than a minute in her company to know that Faith Sullivan was none of those things. Faith wasn’t a player. She was serious and steady and clearly very family orientated. She was confident but not around him. In fact he’d gotten the distinct impression that she’d been glad to see the back of him.
    And yet…he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
    It didn’t make much sense. But sometimes there wasn’t any rhyme or reason to attraction. It was chemical.
    “Face it,” he said, wiping the steam off the bathroom mirror to reveal his reflection. “She didn’t fall at your feet. She’s a challenge.”
    But the idea didn’t sit right and Raf dismissed it out of hand. He wasn’t some spoiled boy who wanted something just because it was denied to him. That shit was just juvenile.
    No. It was the mysterious X factor that intrigued him and he sure as shit wanted to explore that a lot more.
    Happy that he’d defined his interest in Faith Sullivan, he picked up a bottle of aftershave that a chick at the Macy’s counter had convinced him to buy yesterday and sprayed it on his throat. She’d written her number on the sales receipt. He’d planned on ringing it.
    But not anymore.
    Today he had a beer to sell.
    And a woman to figure out.
    *
    Raf arrived at Sully’s with ten minutes to spare. With temps even colder than yesterday he’d decided to take a cab this time. He was pleased he had after he’d tipped the driver and stepped onto the sidewalk with his backpack into the frigid Brooklyn weather.
    It was so cold his lungs hurt.
    He hightailed it inside, pausing momentarily to let the warmth seep in. The three old codgers who’d greeted him the day before were in exactly the same spot. They nodded at him as he walked by heading straight for the fire. The bar was busier than yesterday with probably about a dozen patrons and he wondered absently how much busier it got after the neighborhood came alive again with returning workers.
    “Afternoon,” a husky Brooklyn accent greeted him from the direction of the bar. “Didn’t chicken out, I see?” she said as he turned.
    Raf wasn’t prepared for Faith to have the same impact as she did yesterday. There wasn’t anything different about her. She was in the same kind of blue jeans and black Sully’s t-shirt with that enticing beer slogan stamped across her breasts. Same crazy curls and no make-up. But if anything, her impact was greater.
    He actually felt a bit of a kick to his gut.
    “Did you think I would?” he laughed.
    She shrugged and smiled. “I lived in hope.”
    Raf sucked in a breath. Faith seemed more sure of herself today. He liked that.