Read Online How to Knit a Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway - Free Book Online

woman.”
    “Well, that’s good news,” Cassandra replied, her tone smug. “Because if you’d said ‘yes,’ I’d be forced to call Dr. Hastings and have you put away for delusions. There’s not a female in town who’d have you. Out of town for that matter, either.”
    Since Gabe Kincaid was good-looking in a lean, angry sort of way, Nikki couldn’t quite believe this was true. She wasn’t sure what Gabe believed, but he stepped up, going toe-to-toe with the woman. He took a fistful of her rippling hair and yanked, forcing up her chin so she had to meet his eyes. “Is that so?”
    She didn’t flinch. “That’s so.”
    “Next time I want an opinion on my sexual prospects with a celibate, meddling Froot Loop, I’ll give you a call. And maybe you’ll do me a favor and hold your breath until that happens.” He let go and turned away.
    “You don’t think I’m going to let you have the last word, do you?”
    He paused, his back to her. “I don’t suppose I do.”
    “The celibate, meddling Froot Loop’s bathroom shower is dripping. My house, seven o’clock. I’ll have a nutritious, organic meal waiting. You bring the beer.”
    The man didn’t bother answering, probably because he was too smart to invite Cassandra’s next last word. Without a glance back, he passed Nikki and strode out of the shop. The bells on the door rattled like a bad mood as he shut it behind him.
    With the show over, Nikki remembered she needed to check on Fern so that she could get back to her regularly scheduled—and nonnosy—life.
    She stepped onto the deck.
    Cassandra started, then recovered and pasted on a gracious smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Her eyes cut to the front door and then back to Nikki’s face, and her smile turned apologetic. “Please excuse our little drama. We’ve been playing it out a couple of times a month since Gabe bought both the building that houses my business as well as the home that I rent.”
    “Ah.” Nikki nodded, struck by a sudden feeling that she knew her. But as familiar as Cassandra seemed, Nikki had never met anyone with such beautiful waves of long brown hair that nearly reached her waist. “If you ask me, I think ‘meddling Froot Loop’ is pretty harsh.” She wasn’t touching “celibate” with a ten-foot pole.
    Cassandra grinned. “And doesn’t it just prove he’s nutritionally challenged? I haven’t tasted a Froot Loop in my entire life. Meddling granola girl would make more sense.”
    “Raw food rah-rah.”
    “Fresh food foodie.”
    They smiled at each other and Nikki was struck once again by that odd sense of familiarity. Which didn’t make any kind of sense at all.
    Cassandra tucked her hair behind her ears. “So, can I help you with something?”
    Nikki remembered why she’d entered the place. “I’m, uh, just curious, I guess.” Though she couldn’t exactly admit she was curious about her employer’s teenage cousin. Edging toward the railing, she glanced down, looking for Fern on the beach below. Though she still wore her sunglasses, she had to squint a little against the glare of the sun on the ocean. In moments, she spotted the girl sitting on the sand, the boy’s head in her lap. “I’ve never knitted anything.”
    “It’s probably a lot like cooking,” Cassandra said. “You take ingredients—like yarn—and use them to create something beautiful and useful. When I make a sweater or a purse or a scarf I’ll bet it’s the same kind of process you use to create a meal.”
    Nikki glanced at Cassandra, surprised. “You know I’m a chef?”
    “My Froot Loop ESP is working well today.” Then she laughed. “What you’re wearing gave you away.”
    “Oh. Duh me,” Nikki responded, glancing down at her pants and tunic. She returned her gaze to the beach. The kids were horsing around, laughing as one of the boys bounced a volleyball off his friend’s head over and over. Fern wasn’t smiling, though, and Nikki’s stomach gave