The Billionaire's Bridal Bid Read Online Free

one that she knew of in town drove a car that expensive. Or that ostentatious…
    “Noooo.”
    She abandoned the whisk in the mixing bowl and headed for the front of the diner. Wiping her hands off on the towel she kept tucked in the strap of her apron, she shouldered her way through the swing door. By the bar, she paused, hands propped on her hips as she studied the car through the plate-glass windows. Her suspicions were right. The idiot was Matt Ballard.
     
    Matt Ballard sat in his Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster staring through the window of Cutie Pies, watching Claire bake for far too long. He didn’t even know why he’d stopped. Feeling too restless to sleep in the bed-and-breakfast where he’d booked a room, he decided to head out of town early. His drive down Mainto the highway took him past Cutie Pies. He’d barely registered the well-lit interior of the diner when he found himself pulling into the spot right out front and cutting the engine.
    That had been eighteen minutes ago at 5:03 a.m. At first, he’d assumed the lights were just security lighting. The kind of thing that stayed on all night long. But then he’d seen the flickering movement beyond the pass-through window and realized she was in there.
    She’d be baking, of course. Cutie Pies was known for its doughnuts and pies. Someone had to get up frickin’ early to make doughnuts for the morning crowd that would start showing up around six. He had trouble imagining Claire as that person.
    That must be why he’d sat in his car so long. Because he was having trouble reconciling the idea that Claire was a businesswoman. Someone who got up before five.
    The Claire he’d known in college had preferred to sleep until ten. She’d dreamed of designing clothes in New York. She’d loved British punk music and had five holes pierced in her ears. And now she owned a diner? It just didn’t jive.
    And like all puzzles it intrigued him. That was why he was here, sitting in his car, straining for a glimpse of her as she drifted gracefully past the opening of the pass-through window.
    However, he certainly had enough sense to recognize that this was not healthy behavior. In fact, sitting outside anyone’s place of business in the middle of the night could only be described as creepy. And a little pathetic.
    Claire had always had this affect on him. For the few weeks they’d dated in college, she’d simultaneouslybrought out the worst and the best in him. Made him impulsive and illogical.
    Last night’s blunder was a perfect example. Why had he bid on her? How had he let the bidding get so out of hand? It certainly wasn’t as though he wanted to go out on a date with her. Hell, he never wanted to see her again.
    Which meant his best bet would be to put his car in Reverse, leave town before anyone was the wiser and simply let his date with Claire go unclaimed.
    His hand was already on the ignition button when he saw her stop at the window and stare out. As if she was looking right at him.
    She couldn’t possibly see him, of course. Not in a lit room looking out into the dark. Still, he sensed she knew he was there. His instinct was confirmed when she disappeared for an instant only to reappear at the door in the dining room. She crossed to the door and stood there with her hands propped on her hips, glaring out at the spot his car occupied. When he saw her throwing the lock on the front door, he knew the gig was up and he climbed out of the car.
    She was dressed in jeans and a pink T-shirt. Centered on the shirt was the image of a pie anthropomorphized with a wink and smile. The name, Cutie Pies, was scrawled over her right shoulder in a retro font. A white apron was tied around her waist, a towel tucked into it by her hip. Her hair was pulled off her face into a ponytail. Her face was clean of makeup. All in all, she looked far more appealing than any woman had a right to at five-thirty in the morning.
    She’d never been conventionally beautiful. Her chin