Read Online The Inn at Dead Man's Point by SUE FINEMAN - Free Book Online Page B

putting yourself through this?”
    She shoved the box away from her. “At first I wanted to know my parents better, and then, when I thought it through, I knew my parents had money when they died. They both had good jobs and they weren’t frivolous spenders. I remember my dad giving Uncle Charlie money to invest in the inn, and before the accident, they sold their home so we could move into the inn and use that money to help Uncle Charlie restore the inn. So where is the money from the house? Where is their savings? What happened to their 401K accounts? If it all went into the inn, why wasn’t my name put on the deed after they died? I was their only child, and they supposedly left everything to me.”
    “I’ll bet Mattie knows.”
    Jenna sighed deeply. “I’m afraid to ask her.”
    “Why?”
    “Because... I think I already know the answer. Uncle Charlie wasn’t my uncle, he was my father, but he was married to Mattie when my mother got pregnant with me. Mattie has always hated me, and now I understand why. Uncle Charlie was unfaithful, my parents moved into her inn, and then they died and left me here.”
    “Maybe. And maybe your parents put their money somewhere else. Maybe Mattie knows nothing about it.”
    “Either way, talking about it will only upset her, and she wouldn’t tell me the truth anyway. She’s already lied about how much my parents put into this place. Whatever the truth is, I won’t hear it from her.”
    “Who was the executor of your parents’ estates?”
    “Uncle Charlie. Aunt Mattie didn’t handle the money, Uncle Charlie did, or at least I think he did. And I can’t ask him about it now.”
    Al walked over and gazed through the dusty window at the moonlight sparkling on the water. It was pretty, but his mind wasn’t on the view outside. He dropped to his knees beside Jenna, so close his arm brushed hers. She was barefoot, her hair was a mess, and she wore no makeup, yet she was most appealing woman he’d ever known. He lifted her chin and turned her face to gaze into her eyes. “I want to kiss you.”
    “A real kiss this time?”
    “An all-over kiss in my bed.”
    A little smile played with her lips. “I’m tempted, but you’re looking for a one-night stand, and I don’t think I’d be satisfied with one night. Not with you.”
    He dropped his hand. “If I was offering more than one night?”
    She stood and brushed off her behind. “Just what are you offering, Alessandro?”
    “I don’t know, honey. I can’t sleep for thinking about you, and I thought—”
    She touched her finger to his lips. “Then stop thinking and kiss me.”
    He stood and gazed into her eyes for several seconds before dipping his head to brush his lips over hers. Teasing her lips open with his tongue, he tasted her mouth, and then he scooped her against him so she could feel what he wanted. A little sound deep in her throat encouraged him to kiss her again, and he did, slowly and thoroughly making love to her luscious mouth while he held her. She kissed him back, and her gentle hands caressed his shoulders and chest. She was breathing hard, they both were, and he was ready to take her right here on the floor, without a condom, when a little girl called, “Mommy.”
    Jenna jumped back and stared into his eyes for a second. Without a word, she ran down the attic steps. He had a feeling she was running away from him as much as she was running to her daughter.
    What in the hell was he doing? Jenna Madison was the last woman he should be seducing, but knowing she was sleeping alone right down the hall night after night turned him inside out. He wanted her so much it was killing him, yet the next step was a big one. If it didn’t work out between them, they’d still have to live in the same house together. Maybe he should go out and find himself another woman, scratch the itch, and get rid of it.
    But he didn’t want another woman.
    He wanted this one.
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    Jenna curled up on the bed beside Katie