Tamed by a Texan. Tanya Michaels. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Tanya Michaels
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия: Mills & Boon American Romance
Жанр произведения: Контркультура
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781408980071
Скачать книгу
go to the restaurant to do my homework and stuff myself on sopaipillas. One of the waiters used to help me with math, and Mac, our bartender before he retired, used to drill me on spelling words. But the best part was being in the kitchen, getting to taste-test for my father.”

       Ty squelched a pang of envy, trying not to recall his own lonely, hungry childhood. It doesn’t matter now. That’s not who you are.

       Shoving aside his past, he kept the conversation on her family. “Your dad must be proud of you, following in his footsteps and becoming a chef.”

       Grief contorted her features, and he could see her struggle to regain composure. Her face was almost painfully expressive. Just looking at her could feel like an invasion of privacy. He turned toward the window, watching tourists walk across intersections. He’d deduced that her father was dead long before she spoke.

       “Dad passed away three years ago. I thought I’d finished mourning him, but then when Mom…”

       “You lost her, too?” Ty was horrified by the Pandora’s box he’d unwittingly opened.

       She swallowed hard. “No, not the way you mean. She has early-onset Alzheimer’s.”

       “Sorry.” He wasn’t sure if the trite word was meant to be a condolence for what she was going through or an apology for bringing up her family in the first place.

       His usual talent for effortless small talk deserted him. Claustrophobia gripped him. He wished he could be anywhere but inside this car. Or, if he had to be here, he wished Stephen was, too. Ty excelled at flirting, getting his way and perfectly searing meat. He could look into a camera and make an unseen audience feel as if he were connecting with them, but it was a superficial illusion. When it came to actually relating to anyone, his business manager was far more skilled.

       With a sniff, Grace swiped the side of her hand beneath her eye. “This is the longest I’ve ever heard you go without talking.”

       “I do like the sound of my own voice,” he agreed. He was more than happy to discuss his character flaws if it kept them out of the quicksand of her personal tragedies.

       “Well, if you’ve been stewing because you’re afraid the weepy chef is too emotional to carry her weight on this challenge, I promise you, I’m up to the task.”

       He blinked, startled by her perception of him. He might not be deep, but he wasn’t heartless, either. “That honestly hadn’t crossed my mind, Grace.”

       “Really?” She assessed him with a sidelong glance. “Sometimes, with my brothers…they treat me as if having feelings is a liability somehow, makes me fragile. I’m going to prove them wrong when I win this competition.”

       Hopefully second place would be enough to make her point to her siblings. Because Ty had every intention of beating her. He said nothing, glad that for now at least, for this one challenge, they could work toward a joint victory. But after that, it would be a return to the philosophy he’d clung to since adolescence.

      Every man for himself.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SE7RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAh0AAAEBAAMAAAABArwAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE3OjU0OjAxAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAH//wAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAeVAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAH7UAAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAL/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAHwD ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAI/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDWq/xu4B/nenXs8dr2O/8AII+b/jK6NbgWMuw82n7VU9tTn1Da7ezTbZv2u9r2Ln2f 4qevV3ML7cW+kOabGBz2lzQfez6H5zVpW/VPJvtZlZnRjmVY9fpOpFwrcX1WsdbZQ39H6mPdTXcz Ha/32ep6f+E+0IAEwkSa4a0r5uJlJgJwAjfFdyB+XhfM66nH2nSAgk7arB5hdXjZf1HdaG/szJDP Ti823H1Ja6k/oHevsr3MryfX9tdj/U/QfZWfzYq+qf4v8dleQ3p2WbwPewW7mh+530hk2Opt30u/ R7W/o/8ACfpP01jYkWRd1S7IDQPCRdvLMPuC7XoIb6DS18WFsAN1K5bqmZ0fIym/snE+w4rRo173 WWuJDQ71Xustb6bHM/Q7f9It3oHVasCyp0QXN2gkROvmoOdBMBWrY5A+qVh9Ax3U14tZsr3OgbiR Hu+JVJ01B7nbS6xxLR2bKgOsnNp9N4FLDBDhLnI2I7FyL7q7LD6dIYWk+36Q10WWddNG+ImAJkDr 2cwlxsryWaObLmz4n2lYufdkWdRFVj/V0LrNv0QI9krqsrHonHbgj2tsi0AEg1/d+8sfqNmO3Jsr 27XEztiDACkjOINAXoijIanh16uTZj0NEMI3H6UanyWblVEWFupaOAZWpivDH2uaAJcA0HnT85By cwsL6ywOdZ+d31EK1hlIToDi07tfmYgwu69XQNXGxS6oPeC5rpA8oVHq1DKqfbz6g0+S2cYvqwnN 9Mhw3EE6c8LG6ztip0xuawn4qwLOTsL6fpMMiBgrWUiNb/R4vSwxq3WEsb4bii/ZrN+2NVpdKw8P 0DdY+CIBJMSn9LE/asT+r+n9LWN/9ZRDMOMjt1ZTiIgD36P/0Ob/AGn1P/ubk/8Ab9n/AJNXcA9X ywbn9QyacYPFQs9S6x9lroLcTCxq3+plZbmnd6f6Oqv/AA99PsXcf+NX0P8A7l5n+dV/7zo4+ovT +n4T21ZN1rMf1Mipt1eLaWvLW+p6T8jDt9P1fSr3/mfnrQlzWKtPyaMOWy36jY8JPHM6b9ZnWk2X ZeHiSdl2W97LHNHHp4lVlt+Re7/RY3q/8atN+B1uyuzp3RTkXWVOZV1PPvtO/wBUt+0HBx9j7aqK sVrWPzfstl1z7vT