Read Online Made For Us by Samantha Chase - Free Book Online Page A

as a strangled croak than a word, and he quickly coughed to make it look like there was a reason for him to sound that way.
    “Am I crazy?”
    Loaded question , he thought. “In what way?”
    “I’ve made work my entire life. I love what I do, but what kind of person moves to a house on the beach and then doesn’t take the time to walk down a dozen steps to put their feet in the sand? I mean, how lame is that?”
    “It’s not lame,” he said quietly. “And you’re not crazy.” Zoe kept looking at him to continue. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I can’t remember the last time I came to the beach. Now that’s crazy.”
    “Well, the weather has been beautiful for the last month, and I’m just hoping it will stay that way so we’ll have plenty more opportunities.” Turning, she looked out at the ocean and sighed with pleasure. “If I could, I’d sit out here all night and listen to this.”
    He nodded. “I had forgotten how peaceful it can be.”
    A yawn escaped before she could stop it. “But unfortunately, it’s been a long day and I’ve got an early meeting in the morning.” She smirked, but was glad when he didn’t seem to take offense. They had avoided talking about the model home project all night, and she certainly didn’t want to start now.
    “What kind of imperious jerk would do such a thing?” he teased and couldn’t help but join in Zoe’s laughter. It was a pretty great moment, in his mind.
    It was broken a moment later when headlights flashed by in front of Zoe’s house. “That must be my car,” she said as she looked toward the house. Taking a step away, she was about to head back up the beach when Aidan reached out a hand to stop her. Zoe looked at him and felt the same disappointment she saw on his face. Truth be known, she wasn’t really ready for the night to end. If it weren’t for the fact that they had a job to do in the morning, she would probably stay outside and talk with him until the sun came up.
    “I had a really good time tonight, Aidan,” she said softly. “Thank you for dinner. And for getting my tire fixed. I really appreciate it.”
    “It was my pleasure,” he said gruffly. His fingers were gently wrapped around her wrist; she could move away any time she wanted to, but Aidan hoped she wouldn’t. He knew it was late. He knew he should go.
    He knew he wanted to kiss her.
    But he also knew he couldn’t, not only because she was going to be working for him, but also because it was too soon. They’d just met that afternoon, and Aidan wasn’t the type of guy who liked to rush things. He didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.
    Very carefully, he pulled his hand away, his fingers gently grazing the inside of Zoe’s wrist, and he felt her shiver. Their eyes met and held, and he had to force himself to look away. “Come on. Let me walk you back to the house.”
    Zoe looked over her shoulder and saw that whoever dropped off her car was already gone. “It’s just right there, Aidan. You don’t have to.”
    “Not up for discussion,” he said as he came to stand beside her. They fell into step with one another until they reached the back steps to her house. A typical beach house, it was up on stilts and there were about a dozen steps up to the deck. Aidan sat on one of the steps and put his shoes and socks back on, and Zoe picked up her purse. “Good night, Zoe. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Zoe watched him walk away and contemplated standing there until he pulled out of the driveway. But she had a feeling he’d sit in the car until she went inside.
    Climbing the stairs, she pulled her keys from her purse and went to unlock the door. By the time she was inside, Aidan had pulled away.
    Normally, she was someone who enjoyed solitude. Except for right now. For a brief moment there, she had thought Aidan was going to kiss her.
    And she was going to let him.
    Stepping away from the window, she sighed happily. For the first time in what seemed like