Under the Millionaire's Mistletoe Read Online Free Page B

back?”
    There had been a message on the answering machine when she arrived this morning. A woman wanted her to come out and give her an estimate on what it would cost to do a mural on her living room wall.
    â€œYep,” Anna said. “I’ve got an appointment to see herat one today. Fingers crossed it works out. Her house is on the bluff.”
    â€œOoh,” Tula said softly. “So it’s probably one of those mansions like your dad’s.”
    Anna nodded, but she knew all too well that a fabulous house didn’t necessarily mean a lot of extra cash.
    Her own father’s house had been built more than thirty years ago. Looking at it, anyone would assume that the Cameron family’s financial health was in great shape. Nothing could have been further from the truth. A twist of worry for her dad hit her hard and fast and for a second or two, she almost felt guilty for not falling in with Clarissa’s plan to snag a rich husband.

Four
    A few phone calls were all it took to give Sam all of the information he needed on Cameron Leather. Yes, the company was in trouble, but it wasn’t in its death throes just yet. Dave Cameron had expanded when he should have been more cautious, but with a little judicious input of capital, the company would be back on its feet.
    Didn’t make him feel any better to realize that. All it told him was that the odds of Anna being exactly as mercenary as he suspected her to be just went a lot higher.
    He leaned back in his desk chair and stared out the window at the backyard. Working from home had its perks. Even though Hale Luxury Autos had a full-size shop on the outskirts of town, Sam also had a specially built garage here at home. At the shop, his master mechanics, artists and upholsterers had free rein and he rarely stepped in. Here, he had his own setup andindulged himself whenever he felt the need to get his hands dirty.
    His gaze fixed on the manicured lawn and garden that ran down a slope to the ocean below. Sam took a minute to realize just how far he’d come. He’d started out small, building custom cars for people with more money than taste.
    Now, Sam had people flocking to him for his expertise and he spent most of his time trying to rein in the near-constant stream of paperwork involved.
    â€œMr. Hale?”
    â€œYes, Jenny?” He turned when his housekeeper opened the door and called to him.
    â€œI made the call. Ms. Cameron will be here at one.”
    He smiled. “Excellent. Thanks.”
    When she left again to go back to the main house, Sam let his smile widen as he imagined the look on Anna’s face when she arrived to give Mrs. Soren an estimate, only to find out he was the one who had initiated the call. She wouldn’t be happy, but Sam needed to know her. If only to prove to himself he’d been right to break up her and his brother.
    Smiling to himself, Sam stepped out of the multi-bayed garage. He studied the view and let his mind wander to the green-eyed redhead whose memory was torturing him.
    Â 
    â€œThe living room is this way.”
    Anna followed the fiftyish woman down a parquet hallway to an arched doorway that opened into a huge room. Clearly masculine, the decor was mostly big leather chairs, heavy tables and brightly colored rugs scattered across the inlaid wood floor. A stone fireplacetook up most of one wall and floor-to-ceiling windows displayed a view of the wide front lawn.
    A huge, beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in one corner, with wrapped gifts beneath it. Which reminded Anna just how much she needed this job.
    â€œIt’s lovely,” she said, meaning it. But she couldn’t help wondering, “This is your husband’s lair, isn’t it?” she asked with a smile.
    â€œMy husband?” The woman laughed and waved one hand. “Oh, my, no. My husband died twenty years ago. This is my employer’s house.”
    She was the housekeeper? Anna frowned