Free The Professional Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book Three by Lucy McConnell Page B

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m still not convinced you can do this any better than I can. You don’t even know how to ski.”
    “Then teach me.”
    Rym gave her a wry smile. “One spouse should never teach the other how to ski—it breaks up marriages.”
    Amber scrunched up her nose. “We aren’t a typical couple. I think we’ll be fine. Besides, it’s obvious you love it, and I want to learn.”
    Rym had his doubts. Not about teaching Amber to ski—he’d taught women over sixty how to fly down the slopes. He doubted that she could learn to love it like he did, that it would become a part of her so that when the weather man said “storm front,” her hands would itch to grab her poles.
    She must have sensed his hesitation, because she said, “I’ll make you a deal. You teach me to ski, and I’ll teach you the business side of the resort and the banking and the homeowners’ association regulations, and anything else that pops up.”
    “Are you sure you can teach me all this?” He waved his hand around, indicating the huge house but meaning so much more.
    “Yes. I’m sure.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s what I do.”
    His eyes flicked to the ring on her finger. She was a career wife and she had a pretty good track record. And at the moment, he figured she was his best and only shot. The future of Iron Mountain depended on him getting his feet under him and moving forward. He’d pair up with Amber, if only to get through the next year. By then, he should be ready to fly solo. “Deal.”
    He held out his hand, and as Amber took it she met his gaze. It was just like at City Hall when he’d warmed her hands: he couldn’t look away from the arresting mahogany that seemed to swirl with a myriad of emotions, not all of them of pure intent.
    She leaned closer, her leg brushing his. She closed her eyes, breathing in and letting out a sigh.
    Rym burst from the couch and made his way to the kitchen, hoping she hadn’t noticed the way he’d leaned slightly forward before gathering his wits. Working with Amber was one thing; kissing her, no matter how tempting, would be a mistake.
     
    ***
     
    Amber felt Rym stand up and her eyes popped open, following him as he made his way to the kitchen, looking for any sign that he’d seen her reaction to his nearness. She could have sworn he’d leaned in to kiss her. Had she misread his signals?
    She ran her hand down her hair, making sure it was smooth but feeling as if she herself was all tied up in knots. Had she really just leaned in to accept a kiss that wasn’t coming? She pressed her hand to her lips, hoping she hadn’t puckered. They were so big; it would be hard to miss it if she did.
    Well, if she was losing her senses, at least he was keeping it together. As he opened and closed cupboards, she took a couple of cleansing breaths.
    “We’re in trouble,” he said.
    You have no idea. She cleared her throat and her head as she ran her hands down her pants to smooth out any wrinkles. “Why’s that?”
    “There’s no food.”
    Relieved that it was a small inconvenience, she smiled. “Then I guess we’re going grocery shopping.” She pulled out her phone and tapped open the to-do list. “We’ll finish up here. Bring in my bags and then head to the store. Did you bring your stuff over?”
    “I have a bag in my trunk. I thought I could get the rest on Sunday.”
    “After that, we’ll go over the groom orientation packet from Trish.”
    Rym hung his head and stuck his hands in his pockets.
    Tipping her head, Amber contemplated what made Rym shut down and shut her out. It happened when she fired information at him. It was her normal way of doing business, being up-front and open, and her mind ran on high speed most of the time, multitasking several scenarios and solutions at once, which could overwhelm. However, her ability to think intelligently on the fly was one reason she was successful. She put up a mental post-it note to go slow with