The Devil of Downtown (Uptown Girls, #3)

by Joanna Shupe

“Wait a moment.” Justine stepped inside his home, her head swiveling. “You live here. You, Mulligan, the bogeyman of downtown, live here?” “Yes, though I’m not certain bogeyman is the right word to describe me.” “What word would you prefer, then?” “King.” She laughed, her face full of joy, so heart-stoppingly beautiful, that his mouth dried out. “America doesn’t have kings.” “Just wait.” The entire country would know him when he took the brewery nationwide. The only two things Americans cared about were alcohol and money. He would soon have a lot of both. Then Justine sobered, as she looked around at the cavernous entry and the darkened rooms. “Do you have servants?” “No. Maids come in once a week but that’s it. Are you scared to be alone with me?” “Should I be?” “Ma belle, I would never hurt you or ask you to do anything that frightens you. Rye will come in after seeing to the horses. However, if you want to leave, he will drive you home.” “But I won’t get to see your house.” “That’s true. You also won’t get to bowl with me.” “You have a bowling alley here?” He nodded, and she continued, “You actually bowl?” “Indeed—and if you tell anyone I’ll deny it until my dying breath.”