Read Online All About Evie by Beth Ciotta - Free Book Online

dude in The Highlander TV series. Why does everything sound like a question, and why do I find that so sexy? Of course, the whole package was sexy…like Arch.
    Zing. Zap.
    I squeezed my legs together. Best not to think about Arch’s package.
    â€œBy the way,” I added, while pushing aside my salad, “if this weren’t a slapstick murder mystery, I’d be totally offended by Sugar’s stereotypical personality. I know lots of casino lounge singers—hello, I’m one—and none of them—” I paused “—well, ninety-eight percent of them are not brainless bimbos.”
    â€œIf you remember, Sugar was originally a showgirl, and who said anything aboot a murder mystery?”
    I opened my mouth to defend dancers who just happened to be comfortable wearing pasties on their nips and balancing extravagant headpieces on their pretty noggins, but I got sidetracked by that murder mystery part. “I just assumed, I mean, we are acting in an interactive production of some sort, right?”
    â€œIs that what Stone told you?”
    â€œNo. He said that I’d be playing a ditzy character and that I needed to participate in passenger activities.”
    â€œThat’s the sum of it.”
    â€œThere’s no show?”
    â€œIt’s more of an illusion.”
    â€œLike magic?”
    â€œLike smoke and mirrors.”
    â€œFor what purpose?”
    â€œFor the greater good.”
    What did that mean? “Is there a production manager, director, someone in charge?”
    He spread his hands wide. “You’re looking at him, love.”
    â€œYou’re the whole enchilada? Cast, crew, management?”
    â€œIs that a problem?”
    I didn’t know. I’d heard of a one-man or-woman show, but those generally took place in a theater. I thought back to something he’d said earlier today. The world is our stage. I guess he meant that literally. Needing to work off the anxiety sparking along my spine, I pushed away from our makeshift dining table, stood and paced. “Can you be more specific about our purpose? That greater good thing?”
    â€œNo.”
    Huh. Well, okay, this was just weird.
    He shifted in his seat, rested his forearms on his thighs. His sleeves rode up and I got another glimpse of those defined biceps. That Celtic tattoo sensitized my body like foreplay. Tribal. Hot. Yowza .
    â€œHere’s the deal, Evie. I need you to play Sugar, my attentive wife. I need you to be the life of the party, yeah? A social butterfly. I want you to have a fantastic time on the ship.”
    â€œDo I look like I just fell off of a turnip truck?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    I stopped in front of him, hands on hips. “You’re paying me a lot of money to have fun? ”
    â€œI’m paying you to create a unique deception.”
    My pulse fluttered at the word deception. “Is it illegal?”
    â€œNo.” He looked me dead in the eye, his expression serene as a monk. “We good?”
    It took me a second to catch my breath. Those eyes of his were…I don’t know. Mesmerizing, I guess. They made you want to say yes, to anything. This guy was flipping dangerous.
    So, why wasn’t I backing away?
    â€œJust so I have this straight. The goal is to deceive someone. Someone bad, I guess, since we’re doing this for the greater good. That would also explain Michael’s mention of risk. That bad person, I guess he’s dangerous.”
    So much for serene. The flash of annoyance was brief, but I caught it before he broke eye contact and nabbed the beer bottle. “You’re safe with me.”
    I believed him. It wasn’t the fact that he looked as though he could pound the hell out of “The Rock,” it was more the sense that he could talk himself out of a pact with the devil.
    Oh, yeah, I was curious about this man. I was curious about a lot of things, but he’d made it clear