Read Online Hot & Bothered by Susan Andersen - Free Book Online Page A

Victoria blink.
    â€œOh, you.” Esme giggled in delight and gave him a flirtatious poke with one soft little finger. It didn’t cause so much as a dimple in the soft cloth stretched across his hard chest. “Do you like her Route 66 frock?”
    â€œYeah, sure. It’s very, uh…blue.”
    â€œYes, lovely, isn’t it? It’s new. Mummy sent away for it on the inner net.”
    â€œInternet, Esme.”
    â€œUh-huh.” The little girl didn’t spare her so much as a glance. Her bright-eyed gaze was locked firmly on Rocket. “I have a playdate with Rebecca Chilworth. She and her mummy are s’posed to pick me up, but they’re late. Rebecca’s my best friend, you know. Fiona Smyth was my best friend, but now that I live in the States, Rebecca is. Her and my mummies usta know each other a long time ago. Do you have a best friend?”
    â€œYes, I have two.” He looked a little dazed, but added gamely, “Their names are Cooper and Zach. We were in the Marines together.”
    Her brow puckered in confusion. “What’s that?”
    â€œThey’re soldiers, Es,” Victoria interjected. “Like the Queen’s Guards at home.”
    â€œOnly better,” John added. “A Marine wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those tall-ass furry hats.”
    None of which appeared to enlighten Esme, so Victoria added, “You know, sweetie. Like what Mr. McIntire is in.”
    Her daughter’s whole face lit up and the look she flashed John couldn’t have been more awed if a super-hero had suddenly sprung to life. “You been over the seas, then?” she demanded.
    â€œYes. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in other countries.”
    â€œMolly’s papa is over the seas, and she has to make sack fries.”
    John’s expression not only lacked comprehension, he looked downright stupefied. Esme’s gregarious chatter could do that to a person, so Victoria decided to take pity on him. But she didn’t bother to swallow the little smilethat quirked her lips. It was refreshing to see him at sea in his dealings with a female.
    â€œGlad to see you’re having a good time,” he growled and her smile grew.
    â€œOh, I am.” But she saw Esme’s baffled expression and straightened her face. “Each of the American Girl dolls are set in a different era,” she informed him. “And part of their appeal lies in the books that come with them, with settings in the doll’s specific period in history. Molly’s stories describe life on the home front during World War II, from the challenge of having a father who’s overseas, to the sacrifices her family makes to help their country win the war.”
    Esme beamed at the dark-haired man in front of her. “Sack fries,” she agreed. “Mummy says that’s part of what makes Molly a hair win.”
    â€œHeroine, sweetie.”
    â€œAh.” Then John, too, grinned, a slash of white so reminiscent of the carefree, I-can-charm-your-pants-off, you-gotta-love-me smile that had first sucked Victoria into his orbit all those years ago she felt her knees grow weak and her thighs clamp tight.
    She unlocked the latter and took a hasty step away to give herself some distance before she did something foolish like reach out and run her fingers over the same hard surface her daughter had poked. Hot awareness surged so fast and furiously through her system that blisters were no doubt popping up in its wake, and she gave silent thanks when the doorbell rang. She crossed the entryway and opened the door, greeting Rebecca and her mother with even more warmth than usual.
    With the arrival of her friend, Esme lost interest in John so fast and completely it made his head swim. He’dbeen doing okay there for a while, but apparently she had bigger fish to fry now, and there was a lesson to be learned from thinking he’d been making some kind of