Seven Day Fiance: A Love and Games Novel (Entangled Bliss) Read Online Free Page B

total Looney Tunes. He broke it off, but home-girl refuses to get the memo.” Colby wriggled her shoulders. “I’m telling ya, Angie, the chick gives me the heebie-jeebies. You remember that woman in Fatal Attraction ?” Angelle nodded and Colby pointed at the woman creeping closer toward the stage. “Glenn Close has nothing on Becca.”
    As if on cue, the blonde cried, “Eight hundred!”
    A loud gasp pierced the air. At Colby’s nod of agreement, Angelle realized the sound came from her own throat, but seriously, the woman was nuts. Becca had just doubled the bid—a bid she’d made.
    The brunette gaped, blinked, and then frantically began digging through her purse. Becca cackled in triumph.
    Swinging her gaze back to Cane, Angelle noticed him send their table a pleading look.
    Colby lifted empty hands. “Sorry,” she mouthed before turning to Angelle. “With the wedding in a few months, I can’t be throwing around that kind of money.” She checked her purse anyway, her lips pressing into a thin line. “No one in this town can. And Becca knows it.”
    Angelle bit her lip. See, that wasn’t exactly true. What Cane’s creepy stalker didn’t know—what no one in Magnolia Springs knew—was that Angelle had money. Family money. Her grandparents had it in sugarcane, her parents had it in rice fields, but Angie’s bank account was padded. Padded beyond what she made at the stables and fire station, and padded enough to rival whatever Becca thought she had. Angie just never went around flaunting it. She drove a used pick-up truck, shopped sales, and lived in her worn-out cowboy boots. It was how she was raised. Where she came from, money in the bank meant you had security, but it didn’t define you. It didn’t change the person you were.
    But in times like this, it sure did come in handy.
    The brunette dejectedly lifted her head from her emptied purse. She shook it, and for the first time that night, Sherry’s smile dimmed.
    A loud clap rent the air as Becca began walking toward the stage to claim her prize , and the resentment in Angelle’s stomach morphed into red-hot anger.
    “Uh, going once,” Sherry said slowly, dragging out the words.
    Well, I did plan to donate to Project Nicholas anyway…
    Sherry sent her brother an apologetic glance and called out, “Going…twice.”
    And if I do this, Cane will owe me…
    Angelle rocked in her seat, knowing this could be the answer to her fiancé problem. She watched Sherry anxiously meet every eye in the crowd then hold a silent conversation with her sister. Colby lifted a slender shoulder as Becca reached the bottom of the stairs, cash in hand. Angelle squinted, positive she could see devil horns sprouting on the woman’s head.
    Displeasure radiated off Cane in waves as he shifted on his feet and raised his eyes to hers. Angelle’s heart went out to him. This was bigger than her anxiety. Bigger even than her pickle. He needed help, and she was in a position to give it.
    Sherry heaved a sigh into the microphone, the joy that had poured from her all night replaced with regret as she said, “If there are no other takers…” She paused to give the room a final hopeful glance, then squeezed Cane’s enormous bicep. “Sol—”
    Angelle clamored to her feet. “Fifteen hundred dollars!”
    …
    “Holy crap monkeys.”
    Sherry’s response echoed through the quiet room. Cane wanted to laugh, but she made an excellent point. One more second and Becca would’ve won. And if she had, no amount of morning shifts would’ve made up for it. It wasn’t that Becca was dangerous; she was certifiable. From the moment she’d shouted her bid, he’d been planning his escape. If he had to, he’d been prepared to cover the donation to Project Nicholas himself. But then his green-eyed temptress had come through.
    Why?
    Not even an hour ago, Cane had vowed to satisfy his curiosity with Angelle and move on, and here she was, handing herself over on a silver platter. After