Read Online Billionaire's Island Bride (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) by Judy Angelo - Free Book Online Page B

was
kept running back and forth between the kitchen and the tables.  Now she
realized why ‘Yogi Bear’ as she’d come to think of him had hired her on the
spot.  She’d learned he’d lost a server the day before and clearly he had too
much business to be short-staffed.
    The work was
tiring but her greatest consolation was the tips.  She was almost collecting
enough in tips as she would from her salary.  Yet another perk of working at a
restaurant and one she was so grateful for.  She was saving every cent of it
for the time when she’d need it most.
    By nine o’clock
that night the ache in Erin’s feet turned to numbness and she kept glancing at
the clock, willing it to speed up toward closing time.  The crowd in the
restaurant had thinned out with just a few diners lingering for dessert and
coffee.  Those, she could handle.  With a sigh she was turning toward a high
stool by the counter, intending to rest her feet for a minute, when a man, tall
and dark-haired in a dark, immaculately tailored suit, walked in.
    Erin frowned,
feeling a twinge of recognition, and then her heart lurched as she recognized
the man who filled the doorway.  She could never forget those steel-gray eyes,
eyes that now held her transfixed.  It was Dare.
    Suddenly feeling
faint, Erin grabbed for the counter and held on.  What was he doing here?  He
was from another time, another life.  How in the world had he ended up at the
very restaurant where she was working, thousands of miles from Santa Marta?  He
hadn’t come looking for her, had he?  He was walking toward her now, his eyes
never leaving hers, and she stumbled back against the counter then froze. 
There was nowhere to run.
    Why had he come? 
To insult her again?  To throw her wantonness in her face?  Her breath caught
in her throat, her anxiety rising, knowing that his appearance could only mean
trouble.
    Dare was right in
front of her now, looking down at her as if the two of them were the only
people in the place.
    “Erin Samuels.  We
meet again.”  His lips curled in a sardonic smile as he rested a hand on the
counter beside her, trapping her into a corner.
    “Dare, what are
you doing here?”  Her voice was little more than a strained whisper.  She was
fighting to regain her composure but his nearness, the earthy fragrance of his
cologne, were overwhelming her senses.  At that moment all she wanted to do was
lean into him, feel his hard body against hers, have his arms wrapped around
her.  But it would not happen, it could not. Not when he despised her so much.
    That thought
ripped her out of her trance.  Dare hated her.  He’d used her then thrown her
out of his bed.  Now he’d strolled back into her life thinking she would do
what?  Swoon and throw herself at him again?  He must be out of his mind.  She
glared up at him as he towered over her.  “Excuse me but I have to get back to
work.”  Her voice was as cool as the steel of his eyes.  “I’m sure there is
someone else who can assist you."  If he thought she was going to serve
him he’d better think again.
    She stepped around
him, intent on putting as much distance as possible between them.
    His hand shot out,
halting her flight.  “Not so fast, honey.  We need to talk.  When you finish working
I’ll be waiting.  Over there.”  He jerked his chin toward an empty booth by the
window.  Without another word he released her and walked away.
    For a second Erin
could only stare.  The nerve of him.  We need to talk?  About what?  Apart from
one night of mind-blowing sex there was nothing that existed between them. 
Absolutely nothing for them to talk about.  And then she remembered.  The
baby.  How in the name of heaven had he found out about the baby?  That had to
be the reason why he’d suddenly stomped back into her life.  And what was he
planning to do about it?
    She gasped as a
thought flashed into her mind.  Had he come to demand that she terminate