The Tycoon's Bought Fiancée by Sandra Marton

gorgeous?”
    Honoria opened her mouth and started to correct her there, as well. Drop-dead gorgeous was such a New York kind of phrase. It was overblown. Overdone. Over-dramatic…
    But my goodness, it was accurate.
    That build. Those eyes. The hair. The face… Honoria’s inborn New England sense of reticence deserted her, and she sighed.
    â€œDrop-dead gorgeous, indeed,” she murmured.
    David Chambers surely was.
    The wonder of it was that Stephanie Willingham hadn’t seemed to notice.
    * * *
    Stephanie got into her rented Ford, snapped the door locks, and turned on the engine. She checked the traffic in both directions, then pulled out of the parking lot.
    She felt badly, leaving this way, never even saying goodbye or thank-you to Annie, but if she’d done either, Annie would have wanted to know why she was leaving so early, and what could she possibly have said?
    I’m leaving because there’s a man here who’s been coming on to me.
    Oh, yeah. That would have gone over big, considering that Annie had clearly hoped for exactly that to happen.
    Stephanie frowned as she approached the on-ramp to the highway. She slowed the car, checked right, then left, and carefully accelerated.
    If Annie only knew. If she only had an idea of what had gone on. The way David Chambers had looked at her, as if he wanted to—to—
    He’d even said as much! Oh, if Annie only knew. If she knew that he’d told her he wanted to make love to her, that it was what she wanted, too.
    Stephanie’s heart did a quick flip-flop.
    How dare he?
    â€œHow dare he?” she muttered.
    She hadn’t wanted any such thing. Never. Not with this—this self-satisfied, smug cowboy or with any other man. She shuddered. Not since Avery—not since her husband had…
    Was that the airport exit? Had she missed it? There was a sign, but she’d gone by too fast to read it.
    Too fast?
    She frowned, looked down at the speedometer. Sixty. She was doing sixty? The speed limit in this state was fifty-five—she’ d made a point of asking at the car rental counter at the airport. She never drove above the limit. Never. Not when she was back home in Georgia; not when she was on vacation.
    Stephanie eased her foot from the pedal and the speedometer needle dropped back to a safe and sane fifty. Not that she’d been on many vacations. Actually, there’d been just the one, to Cape Cod. She really hadn’t much wanted to go. It had been her attorney’s idea.
    â€œYou need to get away,” he’d said firmly, making it sound as if he were concerned for her welfare when really he’d just wanted her out of the way. But she’d been too naive to figure that out, so she’d agreed that, yes, a change of scene would do her good.
    Of course, she hadn’t wanted to be away from Paul for any great length of time. Not that her brother minded. He never seemed to notice anymore if she was there or not, but what did that matter? She would be there for him, always.
    Always.
    Just thinking about Paul drove all the idiocy about David Chambers from her head. She had more important things to worry about than her irrational response to a man with a sexy smile, knowing eyes and softly seductive words.
    There! Straight ahead. The sign for the airport. And, beyond it, the exit ramp.
    Stephanie slowed the car and put on her turn signal indicator. Carefully, she made her way toward Bradley and an earlier flight than she’d planned.
    Surely, there would be one.
    And after that… after that, there’d be Clare and the mess waiting for her at home, but what was the point in thinking about it now?
    Things would work out. They just had to.
    * * *
    David smiled at the ticket clerk.
    â€œExcellent,” he said, and whipped his platinum charge card from his wallet.
    â€œWhich was it, sir? Window or aisle?”
    â€œAisle. Definitely. Even in first class, I can use the