Read Online Ready for Love by Erin O'Reilly - Free Book Online Page A

where everyone would see him, and he wanted to rub elbows with all the right people. This”—she waved around the room—“is my kind of fun. I love it, and it still looks like a great place to people-watch.”
    “I’m glad you decided to come with us, and you’re right about people-watching. See that guy over there?” Lynne pointed to a man who was about six feet tall with brown hair that was obviously a toupee. He was dressed in jeans and t-shirt and had a bulging beer belly. “I’ve seen him here before. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women and hits on them all the time. Never gets lucky though.” Kylie and Jodie laughed, and Lynne joined them.
    “Look at that guy over there; now he’s a hunk. Want me to see if we can fix you up, Kylie?” Jodie asked.
    Lightly slapping Jodie, Kylie shrieked, “ Noooo ,” before laughing again.
    “How is the job going? Do you like it, Kyl?” Lynne gently touched her hand.
    “I love it. It’s so interesting….” She pensively stared off into the distance.
    “What’s the matter?” Lynne asked. “That look tells me you’re regretting something. Do you think you made a mistake taking on a job?”
    Kylie looked into Lynne’s eyes. “No. Not a mistake. I just can’t figure my boss out. But I will. You know me. I can always charm them in the end.” She smiled, then gave her friend a quick hug.
    “Hey, guys, look over there at the table near the door. Every time I’ve been here, I’ve seen that woman sitting in the exact same place. She usually drinks a few beers and then leaves. Oh, look, the stud man is going to try his luck with her.” Jodie was laughing again.
    Kylie looked at the man, who was straightening his back and attempting to suck in his beer belly. She watched as he walked in the direction of the doorway, and when she saw the woman he was heading toward, her jaw dropped in surprise. LJ Evans was sitting at the table. When the man approached her, Kylie could tell by the way she was acting that his advances annoyed her—she’d seen the look before. She watched in fascination as LJ’s cool exterior turned to ice as she rebuffed him.
    “You go, girl!” exclaimed a laughing Jodie. “Looks like Stud Man lost again. I can’t believe he actually thought someone like her would have anything to do with him.”
    “What do you mean by ‘someone like her’?” Kylie asked.
    Jodie grinned and shook her head. “Kylie, look at her. She’s gorgeous and classy, and he’s a big, fat slob. Do the math. Duh. I thought you were the brainiac .”
    “You graduated where, Kyl?” Lynne’s words brimmed with laughter.
    Kylie looked in her boss’s direction again. There was no denying that LJ Evans was attractive— beautiful was a better word. She had noted that fact when they first met, but seeing her in this setting made it all the more obvious. “You’re right, she is way too good for that guy.” She looked at her friends. “I can’t believe it. She’s also my boss.”
    “Get out. You can’t be serious,” Jodie said.
    Kylie raised her eyebrows. “I wonder why she’s here.”
    “Probably for the music.” Jodie took a swig of her beer.
    “She’s definitely not how I pictured her,” Lynne said. “I thought she’d be in khakis with a vest, boots, and a fedora.” She pointed her beer bottle in LJ’s direction. “I’d never guess the woman sitting over there is a renowned archaeologist.”
    “She certainly doesn’t fit the stereotype,” Jodie added.
    “No, she doesn’t.” Kylie looked at her friends. “Do you think I should go say hi?”
    “You said she wasn’t particularly friendly, Kyl, so going up to her might not be a good idea.” Lynne shrugged. “Just sayin ’.”
    Kylie nodded in agreement as the band took to the stage to begin their set. Cassie, the lead singer, looked every bit the part. Her spiked, short hair was green, she had pierced eyebrows, and when she opened her mouth and held a long note, Kylie could see the