Read Online Isn't It Rich? by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

bending down to make a soft snowball of her own.
    “I doubt that,” Richard said, not even bothering to run.
    “You don’t think I’ll throw this at you?”
    “Oh, I think you’ll throw it,” he said, then grinned. “I just think you’ll miss.”
    Even as he started moving, she hauled off and managed to hit him lightly on one cheek.
    “Bad move, darlin’,” he said, coming back for her, even as she frantically scooped up more and more snow and threw it with dead-on accuracy. He had her off her feet and on her backside in a deep drift of snow before she realized what he intended.
    Sputtering with indignation, she stared up at him and then started laughing. Only when he was laughing right along with her did she snag his ankle, give him a jerk and land him on his butt right beside her.
    Richard didn’t waste time protesting her sneakiness. The snow was cold as the dickens. Only one way he could think of to counteract that. He rolled over and caught her, then captured her mouth under his. He’d hoped for a little heat, but he got a full-fledged blaze. Apparently she didn’t hold a grudge.
    Of course, if she also stuck to her resolve about keeping sex out of the equation, at least for tonight, it was going to be a very long time till morning.

Chapter Five
    O kay, maybe it was freezing cold out, but that was no reason for her to be playing with fire, Melanie thought, as she gazed into Richard’s turbulent eyes. They were filled with the kind of stormy emotions she hadn’t expected at all, not from a man reputed to have no heart.
    She’d been counting on that reputation for being distant when she’d agreed to see him the very first time. She’d known from looking at his pictures that he’d appeal to her physically. She’d known from listening to Destiny that his tragic early years would pluck at her heartstrings. But she was not normally drawn to arrogance or to men who were emotionally shut down. She’d figured those two traits would keep her safe.
    After their first meeting, when those traits had been evident in spades, she’d been comforted. Now this…
    Forget his heart, she commanded. Where was her head? Had her brain cells frozen on the walk back to the cottage? Is that why she’d been tossing out taunting comments about kisses and sex and then rolling around in the snow with Richard? Those were definitely not in her business plan.
    Before she made a mistake they would both regret, she leaped up and brushed herself off, then faced him as if nothing the least bit provocative had been going on, not in the restaurant, not now. “You surprise me,” she said lightly. “I would never have imagined you loosening up enough to play around in the snow like some kid.”
    He rose, looking too blasted dignified, his expression completely sober. “Yes, well, I imagine despite all that research of yours, I still have a few surprises left.”
    Melanie sighed at the return of his straitlaced demeanor. She was beginning to think it was nothing more than self-protective armor, and that made her weak-kneed all over again. “Richard, I’m sorry, but what just went on here?”
    He shrugged. “I suppose, for a couple of minutes, both of us lost track of why we’re together.”
    “In other words, we were behaving like a male and female who are attracted to each other, rather than prospective business associates,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
    “Not your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry for crossing a line.”
    “But I invited you to cross it.”
    He scowled at her. “Quit being so damned reasonable,” he muttered. “There’s no way this weekend could have anything other than a bad ending.”
    Melanie felt worse than ever. For a few minutes Richard had forgotten himself, pushed aside his responsibilities and found his long-lost inner child. He’d revealed his human side. Then she’d gone and ruined that by getting too uptight and serious. Of course, if she apologized one more time, he was liable to blow