Read Online Catch of the Year by Brenda Hammond - Free Book Online Page A

More than that, they felt heavy, relaxed.
    Ten minutes later, he lay flat, covered to the waist by a light cotton sheet. As he drifted off to sleep, images from the day gone by played in his mind. He saw again Serendipity’s antics in the living room of her family home. He chuckled. It was great to meet a woman with a sense of fun and spontaneity. How he could have thought, even for one second, that she might be his uptight boss, he couldn’t imagine.
    â€¢ • •
    Foolish, foolish, foolish. The refrain pounded through Jade’s head as, hot and sticky, she tossed and turned in her bed. It should have been a simple fishing trip, easy to handle, no problem. But she’d let herself be drawn into something that felt like so much more and could present plenty of problematic repercussions at work and in her life.
    She should never have agreed to take Paul on the lake.
    Oh lordy, how she’d love to take Paul on the lake.
    Back and forth went her emotions. She was mortified that he had caught all the fish and annoyed with herself for having agreed to go again tomorrow. Partly that had to do with her competitive spirit. But agreeing had hardly been wise. Every time they were together she enmeshed herself further into this deceit.
    On the other hand, he intrigued her to the point where she longed to know him better. So his appeal had grown. Not to mention her attraction to him. And now he simply refused to be banished from her mind.
    There he was, out on the lake, the last rays of sunlight caressing his firmly muscled body; he was here in her home, relaxing with a beer and regarding her with teasing, amused eyes; he was pressed up close against her on the Harley. She could feel him, smell him, want him. Oh yes.
    She sat up in bed, still wide awake, hours after midnight.
    â€œOh, for goodness’ sake.” Punching the pillow, she muttered to herself. “I have to chase him off. Get him out of my brain.”
    She had no clue how to accomplish either of those, especially as the thought of seeing him again tomorrow sent a trickling thrill of anticipation through her. But her game was dangerous. Sooner or later she was bound to betray herself.
    Or would she?
    About to punch the pillow again, she paused. She released her fist and smoothed the cover instead.
    So far things had worked out okay. Apart from a couple of small slipups, keeping up “the voice” had proved surprisingly easy. And a woman had to have some human contact, didn’t she?
    Human contact, male human contact, bodily contact with Paul, that’s what she yearned for during all that long, hot night.
    But when Jade woke at dawn, she knew. This could only lead to disaster. Somehow or other she had to let Paul know she wouldn’t be meeting him tonight. If he insisted on another half hour, Adrian would have to go.
    With that settled, she turned on her side and fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
    Two hours later she forced her eyes open. She’d promised to go into the store and help her dad with some paperwork. And she had to get a message to Paul. Uh-oh. This presented a difficulty. She had no idea where he was staying. Well, she’d just have to lean on Adrian and get him to take Romeo on the lake that evening.
    She stretched to reach the radio on the bedside table and turned it on. The weather forecast predicted more sunshine and more heat. Jade wasn’t sure how much more heat a woman’s body could stand. What a pity she had to deny herself the opportunity to find out.
    â€¢ • •
    â€œI really appreciate you coming in to help with this,” Frank said later that morning. He and Jade sat side by side in the small backroom of the store.
    She looked up from the invoices she was sorting and keying into the accounting program. “That’s okay.” She put another slip of paper on the “‘done” pile. “But I thought Kip Hunter did all this side of the