Free Wild Child by Shelley Munro Page B

will.
    Alice leaned over to rifle through the black leather handbag at her feet and pulled out the sheet of paper on which she’d written the date, time and address the lawyer had rattled off at the termination of a hurried phone call the previous evening. She scanned the details. Frowning, she stuffed the paper back inside her bag and straightened, her hands tucked demurely in her lap.
    It was the right place.
    A prickle of awareness jerked her upright. Alice glanced up from her folded hands, peeking through lowered lashes. A man. She hunched forward again so she didn’t appear so obvious but continued to spy on him. A gorgeous man surrounded by flirtatious females of all ages. Tall. A rangy build. Dark shaggy hair and bright blue eyes that focused on her and bore distinct interest. Alice wondered what it would be like to have a man like that at her side, touching her like a lover, then guilt assailed her and she glanced away.
    Definitely not her sort.
    He appeared too dashing, and his wicked grin indicated a man too daring for her. No, despite this man’s obvious attractions—her fascinated gaze darted back to scan his broad chest, his overlong hair and his…
    Awareness pulled at Alice, her skin suddenly overly warm and her mind uneasy with her wayward thoughts. She squirmed on her wooden chair and tugged furtively at her white cotton cardigan. A quick jerk of her wrist pulled it away from her breasts but did little to cool the swelter of her body. She barely resisted fanning her face, smoothing the wayward strands of her hair away from her forehead instead. Oh my goodness. She’d stared right at his…
    Aghast at the way she’d ogled the man’s crotch when practically engaged to another man, she turned to Steven for distraction. His PDA held his attention. Alice knew better than to interrupt especially since he hadn’t wanted to attend the reading of the will. An ambitious man, Steven intended to advance to partner with his law firm. She admired his will to succeed so could hardly fault him when he thought of their future with each carefully planned decision. With a sigh, she scanned the room, making sure her gaze stayed well clear of Mr. Dashing. Alice had read magazine articles about men like him, and they weren’t good material for a girl who desired security and a relationship to rival the happy-ever-after end of a fairy tale.
    Over to the side of the room, a group of elderly women operated a trestle table. They had a steady stream of customers for cups of tea and huge slices of chocolate cake and worked together like a well-oiled machine. The steady clink of gold coins added to the general racket in the hall. Alice noticed a small podium on the stage at the front of the hall. Nearby, a sound system sat, ready for the arrival of a speaker. Behind Alice, and in front of her, locals occupied rows and rows of wooden chairs, or at least they appeared to know one another. Surely, they weren’t all beneficiaries in her godmother Alicia’s will?
    “Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Steven asked in an undertone once three people in full white robes had safely squeezed past them to take possession of a row of empty seats on their left. Polite and circumspect, no matter what the aggravation, this strange town seemed to have him rattled, which probably accounted for his attempts to bury himself in the security of work while they waited for the lawyer to arrive.
    Alice could hardly blame him. She had to admit the people she’d met in the small town of Sloan so far were pure provocation. Ask a question and they gave a roundabout answer. No one, from the local police to the young woman walking the brown dog near the post office or the robed men and women who loitered outside the hall had wanted to discuss her godmother’s company Fancy Free Limited. Her request for directions and polite questions had led to smirks or icy silence, followed by mutters when she’d walked away. She’d tried to ask questions