Mine to Take Read Online Free

stomach.
    Jace is still sleeping on the couch. At least, I think he is. His breathing is slow and steady.
    Hoping I won’t wake him, I flip on the light above the stove then check the refrigerator to see what I can whip up. Growing up on an Amish farm may not have prepared me to prosper in the English world, but it did provide me with one skill.
    I can cook.
    I can cook well. From scratch.
    I gather some ingredients and turn to the stove, crashing into a huge man who hadn’t been there a moment ago.
    The eggs, cradled in my arms, slam against his abdomen—his bare abdomen.
    His bare, chiseled abdomen.
    Oh no. Is he naked still?
    I yank my gaze from said abdomen, lifting it to his face.
    I’m not going to check.
    Am not…
    Going…
    To check…
    My gaze slides south, halting at his broad chest, the crop of dark fur growing between the slabs of muscles.
    “Early riser?” Jace asks, capturing my elbows.
    My skin tingles where he’s touching me. Other parts of my body tingle too. My gaze jumps up to his face again. “Yes, though not usually four AM. I’m on Ohio time still.” Stepping back to put some distance between the carton of eggs and Jace’s concrete-like physique, I lift the egg container. “I was just about to make some breakfast. Are you hungry?”
    “Yes, thank you.” He moves back, releasing my elbows. “I’ll be right back.”
    I turn toward the stove and try not to take a peek, to see if he’s naked.
    Of course, I peek.
    Tell me, who wouldn’t?
    Nope, he’s wearing sweatpants.
    Darn!
    I crank on the gas burner and get some butter sizzling. By the time the first omelet is finished cooking, Jace has returned to the kitchen, his hair drippy wet. He’s dressed, too. From head to toe.
    Now wearing a button-up shirt and slick black pants, he resembles a real billionaire.
    “The food smells delicious.” He audibly inhales.
    “Thanks. Growing up Amish, I didn’t learn much that’s useful in the English world, but I did learn to cook. From scratch.”
    “Which is something I will appreciate.” He watches me working, his steady gaze tracking my movements, making me feel a little uncomfortable.
    I quickly finish up the second omelet then grab both plates and carry them to the table.
    Jace waits for me to sit before he takes a seat. But he doesn’t wait for me to take a bite of food before he does that. He eagerly digs in. “The courthouse opens at nine o’clock.”
    Courthouse.
    I’m guessing he’s not sending me home?
    “It does?” I ask, my heart thumping hard in my chest.
    “There’s a three-day waiting period before we can be married. But we can take care of the application today. And we can pick up supplies while we’re in town.”
    Married.
    Three days.
    I am getting married.
    I will be Mrs. Jason Tomaras in three days.
    A flash of fear blasts through me, quickly replaced by giddy excitement.
    I’m going to be Jace’s wife in three days!
    God, I pray I’m not making a mistake.
    Well, I have three days to find out.
    “Okay.” We don’t speak while we eat. But the silence is not uncomfortable or awkward. Maybe that’s because Jace keeps looking at me and smiling. He has such a friendly, playful glint in his eyes.
    I’m completely smitten.
    When we’re done, Jace grabs both plates and runs them under the faucet before putting them in the dishwasher. He checks the clock. “We have a couple of hours to kill yet. Come here.” He takes my hand and leads me to the door. “Let me show you around.” He holds a heavy jacket by the shoulders. “You can wear this for now.”
    I turn around and try to remember to breathe as he slides the coat on me. I tingle all over at his nearness. And when he scoops my hair up to pull it out of the jacket’s collar, a flare of heat blazes through me.
    In three days he is going to be my husband. In all ways.
    Although he told me he doesn’t want children, he did suggest he was looking for more than a live-in companion—a true wife.
    In other