Romancing My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Contemporary Romance Read Online Free

kept her driver’s license, money, and other important items in her pocket, or if she wasn’t in a situation where she needed to whip them out, she carried them in her bra or sometimes in the bottom of her sock. She wasn’t taking any chances of them being stolen.
    “Rebecca.”
    Rebecca turned at the sound of the male voice that had been seared into her brain since last night. It sent her stomach aflutter. When her eyes met Pierce’s, the air left her lungs. He wore a dark suit that probably cost more than a year’s rent, and he was even more handsome in the light of day. And— oh my —he was heading her way.
    “Hi,” she managed, wondering how he knew her name. She caught sight of Chiara standing at the elevators and realized he must have heard Chiara call her name across the lobby.
    “So, it’s not Ronda, then?” His eyes held a tease.
    She forced her legs to move before the blush she felt creeping up her chest from the Ronda Rousy reference seared her skin and turned her legs to Jell-O.
     “Rebecca Rivera, actually.” She headed for the rotating doors, and he followed her out, walking so close she could smell his musky scent. Inside the glass enclosure of the doors, she breathed him in, and good Lord, heat rolled off the man. He was like a sexual magnet. It was all she could do to keep a straight face. She didn’t think men like him existed outside of Hollywood.
    “That’s a much prettier name,” he said as they reached the sidewalk. “Are you just getting off work?”
    Shit. Shit. Shit . “No. I was applying for a job.” She looked around as if she had someplace to go. Why couldn’t she have someplace to go? His voice was sending tingles to places that weren’t used to tingling.
    “Really? Is the Astral hiring MMA fighters?”  He arched a brow, which eased her nerves a little, so she went with the ruse.
    “They usually don’t, but, well, you know. I’m special like that.” Oh God, really? It had been so long since a man flirted with her that she had no idea how to react. Her tingling parts must have taken over her brain.
    “Yes, you are . ” He held her gaze just long enough to send a shiver down her spine. “I’m just getting off work. Would you like to grab a drink?”
    “Sure. Why not?” What? You live in your car. Do. Not. Go Out. With. Him . Her mother’s voice pushed the thoughts away. It’s your turn, my sweet girl. She’d spent the last few years putting aside what she wanted. It was a drink, not a date, and, boy, did she want to go.
     
    SURE, WHY NOT? That was far from the typical responses Pierce received. Rebecca’s shoulders lifted and she crinkled her nose in an adorable way that made him want to hug her—and was in sharp contrast to not only the offhand way she answered but also to the angry, determined woman he’d seen last night. He wondered if he was being pranked, and half expected his brother Jake to appear and make a joke about Rebecca’s less-than-enthusiastic response. This was just the type of joke his competitive brother would play on him. Jake would take great pleasure in seeing Pierce befuddled by a woman. He glanced around just to be sure Jake hadn’t flown in from Los Angeles for a surprise visit.
    Nope. This was all Rebecca, which threw him for an even bigger loop.  Pierce watched Anderson Claymore, the valet, talking with a young man in a dark suit. Anderson finished his conversation and joined them.
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Braden. I’ll bring your car around.” Anderson was in his midfifties and had worked for Pierce for four years. He was respectful, and he had a good sense of humor and a solid sense of loyalty.
    “Thank you, Anderson.”
    A few minutes later his charcoal-gray Jaguar arrived. Rebecca’s eyes bounced from his expensive car to the high-fashioned casino patrons in a way that made Pierce wonder if she felt out of place, which was nonsense. She wore a primly buttoned white blouse and a tight black skirt that stopped just above