Read Online No Strings Attached by Kate Angell - Free Book Online Page A

the store. The color didn’t matter. He snagged the first one within his reach.
    Jen came up behind him. “I didn’t take you for a peach kind of guy.”
    He’d thought it looked deep gold. A rack of sunglasses on the checkout counter caught his attention. Very cool shades by Bandy West and Red Eye. He lost sunglasses as fast as he bought them. He tried on a narrow dark frame with even darker lenses. “What do you think?” he asked her.
    “What does it matter?”
    “I’ll be wearing only my Bandys shortly.”
    “Buy a bigger frame.”
    “There’s not a frame big enough—”
    She held up her hand, stopped him. “Too much information.”
    “I have a lot to share.”
    She’d had enough of him. “Pay up so you can go pass out.”
    “I don’t drink to pass out,” he said. “But I still get hang-overs.”
    “Hangovers are a waste of a morning.”
    “All depends on who you’re spooning.”
    “I’ve never known sex to fix a hangover.”
    He grinned. “I have. It’s all about blood transfer from the brain to the penis. Pain shifts to pleasure on climax. Headache’s gone.”
     
    Jenna Cates stared at Mac James. There was something about him that irritated the hell out of her. He was too good-looking and he flipped off life. Chiseled and athletic were a dangerous combination. He seduced by breathing.
    Sex was as much a sport to him as volleyball. Town gossip had him in and out of a relationship before a woman could pull up her panties. Commitment gave him hives.
    He was an amazing volleyball player, according to her cousin Dune. When Mac was “on,” he was unbeatable. He’d never played in Dune’s shadow. Focused and honed, he had years of greatness ahead of him. Should Dune retire, Mac would be in demand as a partner.
    Jen had watched countless games on television. The Cates clan followed Dune religiously. Beach Heat and Ace-hole dominated. The moment a game ended, Mac embraced his fans before accepting his trophy. Men shook his hand and women grafted themselves to him. The beach babes consoled him when he lost. The night was one big party when he won.
    His lifestyle went beyond what she’d ever known. He lived life large and, for some unidentifiable reason, that grated on her last nerve.
    Perhaps she was a little jealous, she forced herself to admit. Men didn’t flock to her. The few guys she dated lied to her without remorse. She’d become a spinster with four cats at twenty-eight. She told herself that didn’t bother her overly much. She had the T-shirt shop to keep her busy.
    She glanced at Mac. “Cash or plastic?” she asked as she rang up his sale.
    “Put everything on Dune’s account.”
    “Mooch.”
    “I don’t carry money or credit cards with me.”
    “That’s because you travel with Dune and he always pays.”
    “Eventually I pay him back.”
    She handed him the receipt to sign.
    He wrote Dune Cates .
    “You’ve got my cousin’s signature down pat,” she noted.
    “Should have, I’ve forged it enough.”
    “What a good friend you are.” She knew she sounded snarky.
    His jaw shifted and he was suddenly serious. “Dune accepts my idiosyncrasies.”
    “Idiocy is more like it,” she said as she slid his items in a plastic bag. She passed it to him.
    He didn’t immediately pick it up. Instead he flattened his palms on the counter and leaned in. His gaze was narrowed, deep blue and questioning. “Are you a man-hater or is it just me?” he asked.
    “It’s you and men like you.” She was honest.
    “What exactly am I like?” he pressed.
    She didn’t hold back. “You’re irresponsible, unpredictable, into yourself—”
    “You know this how?” he cut her off.
    “Through my best friend.”
    “Which friend?” He appeared genuinely curious.
    “You dated Bree Bennett a year ago. Dated her twice, then never called again.”
    “Bree?” His brow creased. It was obvious he didn’t remember her.
    She jarred his memory. “Redhead, dimples. She manages Petals on the