The Billionaire's Secret Read Online Free

have to tell me what this is.”
    “It’s a sound machine,” he told her, “specially designed to mask both real and white noise.”
    She blinked at him.
    “So you can sleep when all of Paris is outside your windows.”
    “Oh!” She hit the red button on the top, her mouth gaping when it turned on. “Can you hear me?” she asked, saying the words slowly.
    “Smart ass,” he told her.
    “Thank you, Evan. This was really sweet.” Then she took off into the bedroom and returned with a box of her own.
    “It’s not wrapped pretty like yours,” she told him, handing it over. “I had to put the rolls into something solid so they wouldn’t get squished in my carry-on.”
    When he opened the box, he inhaled the cinnamon and bread fragrance he’d dreamed about since leaving Dare Valley. There were four large rolls inside, oozing with the caramel sauce for which they were famous.
    “These look incredible,” he said. “Thank you for bringing them to me. I’ve missed them.” I’ve missed you. I’ve missed everything about you.
    His mornings seemed colder now that he wasn’t greeted with her beautiful smile and the tantalizing scent of her baking every time he came into the kitchen. In idle moments, he’d found himself daydreaming about the time he’d caught her dancing to the tango music she liked to play, her red skirt flying through the air with the power of her movements. But perhaps most of all, he missed the way their fingers would brush as they walked together in the park she liked, both of them wishing they could hold hands.
    Crossing to her, he didn’t think twice about grabbing her hand now and raising it to his lips. He kissed the back of it gently, looking directly into her emerald green eyes. “I’m really happy you’re here, Margie.”
    “Me too,” she said and led him to the door.
    Before he could leave, she laid her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and she traced something in the middle of his ribcage before he pulled away.
    After closing the door, he realized she’d traced a heart.

Chapter 2
    Margie had planned to save her sexy dark green silk dress for a special dinner with Evan. While she hadn’t expected to wear it on her first night in Paris, it seemed like the perfect choice.
    He’d planned their kiss.
    No one had ever done that before—or thought to buy her a sound machine so she could sleep better. She sighed as she arranged her roses in small kitchen glasses since Jacques didn’t have a vase anywhere in the cabinets.
    She finally allowed herself to admit she’d fallen for Evan big time. While she’d known their connection was strong in Dare Valley, it now seemed to be woven with steel threads. And while she still felt he was struggling with something, he was the same sweet, curious, sexy, and sometimes stubborn man she’d come to care about. She’d texted him earlier to say she was ready whenever he was.
    Her stomach felt a little queasy from the lack of sleep and jet lag, but her blood thrummed through her system in excitement.
    She was in Paris! With Evan!
    She did another impromptu jig in the kitchen and laughed. There was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she pressed her hand to her heart.
    “You brought me groceries!” She leapt at him and hugged him, not caring that a sprig of parsley was sticking her in the eye.
    “The market will be closed by the time we finish with dinner, and you need to have food before you go to work.”
    She had to report to work at nine a.m. tomorrow. Andre had given her the night to settle in. He said it would be easier to give her a tour of the bakery when it wasn’t super busy beyond customers coming into the shop to buy their morning croissants and baguettes. Of course, Andre also sold baguettes to a number of French restaurants. She couldn’t wait to learn everything he had to teach her.
    “It looks like you brought me a feast,” she said, taking one of the bags from his hands and putting it on the