The Random Acts of Cupid (Christian Romance) Read Online Free Page A

she had no idea why. What had changed since yesterday?
    Elise followed Ryan out the front doors of the library. Not surprisingly, it was raining outside. Frequent rain was part of life in Seattle. It was the necessary part of keeping the Emerald City green. Instead of walking down the steps into the rain, Ryan moved to the side, staying close to the building under the protection of the elaborate, overhanging roof. The library and its beautiful architecture was one of the landmarks of the campus. Coming out the door of the huge building with its tall arches and looking across the wide brick commons area they called Red Square, always made Elise feel small. Now it just succeeded in making her feel even more intimidated than she already felt.
    Ryan turned to face her, pinning her with fierce eyes that, at the moment, looked more green than brown. Elise immediately understood how he could be successful in the field of law. She already felt guilty under his scrutiny, and she had no idea what she’d even done.
    Ryan leaned close, his words clipped in anger. “Would you mind telling me, Miss Hutchins, why your friend, Britney Bowers, approached me earlier and profusely thanked me for the flowers I sent to her?”
    Elise fumbled, “I’m not sure . . . I think Britney worked earlier, but that was before my shift started. I’m only working from noon to 5:00 today.”
    “I’m well aware of when Britney was working. I came to the library this morning where she accosted me with her appreciation over the big bouquet of a dozen red roses sitting on her desk.”
    “Maybe she misunderstood . . . ?”
    “She showed me the card that came with the flowers. I just happen to have it with me.” Out of the pocket of his suit, he pulled a card out and handed it to Elise. It was from a florist—the florist Elise always used. Ryan thrust the card into Elise’s shaking hands. It read, Here’s to possibilities, Love Ryan Jenkins .
    Elise opened and closed her mouth, completely speechless. She didn’t know how to respond. This was bad. This was very, very bad. And then it got worse.
    “I didn’t send the flowers,” Ryan reiterated. “But I know you did. I told Britney straight out that they were not from me. She seemed very upset and disappeared into the staff area. I took the card and went directly to the florist to find out who had made the purchase.”
    “Why would they tell you?” Elise asked in confusion. “I thought that kind of thing was confidential.”
    “Oh, it probably is. But I’m a lawyer. I can be very persuasive. And when persuasion fails, I can be downright intimidating. I told them I did not send the flowers, and I strongly suggested they tell me who had used my name to commit fraud.”
    “And they told you . . .”
    “Your name. You had called. You had placed the order. They even showed me the invoice with your name and your credit card.”
    Elise felt sick. She didn’t know what to say. She was shocked. She was embarrassed. She was afraid. Feeling the burn of tears behind her eyes, she looked away from Ryan, trying to feign sudden interest in the few umbrellas bobbing across Red Square.
    “I’m sorry,” she said softly, fully knowing the words were far too inadequate. But she wasn’t willing to offer an explanation. She knew it wouldn’t do any good anyway.
    “Sorry isn’t quite good enough, Miss Hutchins.”
    “Elise,” she correctly quietly.
    “ Miss Hutchins , look at me!”
    Not knowing what else to do, Elise quickly acquiesced and swung her gaze back to him, but she avoided his eyes. She couldn’t take those beautiful eyes looking at her with such disgust.
    “I have a theory. Let me explain it, and you tell me if I’m right.” Not waiting for her response, he continued. “You see, I don’t think this is an isolated incident. A campus newspaper ran an interesting story a few weeks back. Did you happen to read it?”
    Once again, he didn’t seem to need a response from her.
    “I think