The Great Baby Caper Read Online Free

rather philosophically.
    “Don’t I know it. Where would you
suggest I look?”
    “On the edges, chère, at
the hotels. That where all the rich tourists are.”
    “Ah. Like where?”
    He pulled up to a posh corner
establishment, an old stone building with handsome shutters and an iron-lace
balcony on the second floor. “Like there. La Belle Duchesse . The hotel
bar, it face the street.”
    “Ah.” She peered past the open
double doors at a softly lit interior with a handsome bar and bistro-style
tables. “It doesn’t look too bad.”
    “You try the bar, then.” He turned
off the ignition, got out of the car, and opened her door. “I be waiting, chère .
Good luck.”
    “Thanks. I’ll need it.”
    Courtney emerged onto the walkway
and stood gathering her resolve. She was still wet, but there was no cure for
that. She whisked straggles of hair from her eyes, brushed down her damp suit,
and bravely marched inside the hotel bar. Her eyes perused the dim expanse.
Damn, the place was deserted, except for . . .
    Then she saw him, sitting at the
bar, like her knight in shining armor. Tall, dark, magnificently handsome.
Mid-thirties, she judged. Thick dark brown hair, perfectly cut, flawless
features, dark-rimmed glasses adding a distinguished touch. He was dressed in
an understated green tropical shirt, pressed khakis, and Italian loafers, and
wore an expensive watch with a leather band. Although he was sipping a sidecar,
he appeared anything but drunk. A class-act if she’d ever seen one. Perhaps the
chauffeur had been right. One didn’t reel in a prize marlin while fishing in a
sewer.
    But would he help her?
    Squaring her shoulders, she
approached him. Within feet of him, she watched him turn and smile. Heart
thumping, Courtney smiled back

Chapter Two
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    Close-up, he was even more
handsome, she noted, watching him turn to observe her approach. His eyes were
bright and deep-set, his brows beautifully arched, his nose perfectly boned and
strikingly male. His high cheekbones revealed good bloodlines, and his mouth
was fine and straight, with just a hint of seductive fullness. When he smiled
in apparent approval of her approach, her pulse surged.
    Through it all she was nagged by
the feeling that there was something vaguely familiar about this stranger. Yes,
there was, she quickly decided. He resembled any number of tall, dark, and sexy
male movie stars she could think of.
    Clearly she had a winner. But in
order to enlist him, she would have to be her most clever and charming self.
Possibly even flirt with him.
    How long had it been since she’d
flirted with any man?
    Suddenly, however, she found the prospect
of flirting with this stranger enormously appealing.
    As she arrived at the bar, he
spoke first. “Well, hello there, miss,” he murmured in a deep, British-accented
voice.
    “Hello,” she managed, charmed by
his accent.
    He stood, and at once she admired
how lean and tall he was. The scent of an expensive male cologne wafted over
her. “A bit beastly, the weather out, eh?” Eyeing her damp clothing, he
clucked. “I can see that you have already reaped the vengeance of the elements.
May I offer you a drink to ward off pneumonia?”
    At his droll commentary, Courtney
had to laugh. He was certainly all British and very quaint, she had to give him
credit for that. She also couldn’t believe her good fortune, for here was a
true gentleman who had greeted her not with the usual crude come-on, but with
actual concern for her plight. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
    “Splendid, then. So you’ll join
me?”
    “Don’t mind if I do,” she replied,
taking a seat.
    Resuming his own seat and
gesturing to the bartender, he remarked, “The sidecars are quite palatable
here, if you’d like a recommendation.”
    “By all means,” she agreed.
    He turned to the bartender and
ordered her a drink, then flashed her his dazzling smile again. “So what brings
out a beautiful young lady