Read Online Play Fling (A Stupid Cupid Book) by Amber Scott - Free Book Online

she felt awkward. Arms crossed, hip out.
    “You coming?” Gordon asked.
    “Yeah.”
    Adrenaline ticked through him. Not from the
prospect of shopping, either. He might see her. Or, she him. Had
she recognized his voice when he’d breezed that comment by her.
Unlikely. They’d only actually talked once. No, twice. Maybe he
should have left her alone. How could he help himself, though? He’d
arrived to meet Gordon and there she was, alone, blindfolded and
talking to herself right in his path. Like someone had planned it
for him. Talk about timing.
    Just two seconds later and her friend would
have been there and he’d have walked right past her, silent. They
crossed the mall’s concaved lounge toward the store. Across and
down from the restaurant, was the salon. His pulse picked up. His
gaze hung on the tall windowed front of the salon, searching for a
glimpse of sandy blonde waves, of her unmistakable posture.
    Elliott spotted her and his breath caught.
Standing by the receptionist, laughing, looking elegant and
sophisticated. She looked incredible in black. Stunning and sexy.
Heat coursed through him. But it was more than the black dress. It
was all of her. The way she stood. Moved.
    Refreshed.
    She was next to her friend, the one who’d
never shown that night at The Book Exchange, the one Elliott had to
thank for his chance to strike. She turned her head so he could see
her profile and her smile. What he wouldn’t give to make her smile
like that.
    How had he ever gotten the nerve to buy her
those books? Not that he wasn’t naturally spontaneous. He was. He
took risks. He wouldn’t be where he was if he hadn’t.
    She’d changed her hair. Shorter, so it swung
below her shoulders. Elliott dug his hands into his jeans,
uncomfortably aware of how close they were now. A few paces and
they’d be walking past the storefront. Would she see him? Would he
have the nerve to face her?
    “Oh my Christ,” Gordon hissed and gripped
Elliott’s sleeve, forcing him to stop two feet short of the salon
window. “He’s here.”
    “What?” Elliott looked at Gordon, realized
who he meant, and glanced around the busy mall. “Where?”
    “There. By the candy store. No! Don’t
look.”
    Elliott’s shoes squeaked as Gordon jerked him
into a store. Rhinestones, pink, and animal prints emblazoned with
“Princess” and “Diva” screamed at them from every rack.
    “Shit! He’s coming this way.” Gordon began to
look green. If he hadn’t needed a shirt before, no doubt he did
now. “Elliott, what do I do?”
    “I don’t know.” Elliott’s chest pounded, too.
He’d been so close. “Go out and bump into him?”
    “What do you mean bump into him?” Gordon’s
forehead popped a vein. He backed into a rack of fuzzy purple bras.
Three fell off. “How?”
    Elliott quickly retrieved the bras, feeling
like a perv. “Just walk out, look casual and act like you don’t see
him. Let him see you.”
    “Come with me.” Gordon’s eyes rounded like a
basset hound’s.
    “No.” Elliott had to get back to the salon.
She’d seemed ready to leave. “You’ll be fine.”
    “You’ve got to.” Gordon stopped. He sucked in
a breath. “Wait, I think I hear him.”
    Inappropriate laughter bubbled up Elliot’s
throat. He couldn’t help it. He’d never seen his cousin like this.
Not even over Mr. Mom. “You hear him?” his voice shook with humor.
He swallowed against it.
    “Shhh.” Gordon dragged Elliott to the store’s
edge. Chrome mannequin cleavage ogled him in the face.
    She’d see him and realize he’d been the one
whispering in her ear. He’d have another chance to get her name,
maybe more. It would work. Whispering against her neck hadn’t been
a mistake.
    “Can I help you?” a clerk chimed. Elliott
shook his head at the teenaged girl.
    Her pink T-shirt shouted “Dirty Bunny”. He
forced a smile. Dirty didn’t cover how bad this looked. If she did
see him, God forbid it was in here. Gordon, who could make