Read Online Playing with Fire by Amy O'Neill - Free Book Online Page B

means you’re spirited and stand your
ground. I like a strong woman.”
    Noelle gave him a sad smile. “I don’t
know that I’m very strong. And standing my ground has gotten me in
a lot of trouble.”
    Trent wanted to ask her something that
had been on his mind since their first meeting, but now wasn’t the
time. He’d observed enough to know someone had treated her poorly
and he wanted to track the bastard down and teach him a lesson on
respecting women.
    He could feel his temper rise and took
a long drink of his water. He decided it was safer to move onto a
new topic. “So what do you like to do for fun?”
    Noelle shrugged. “Today was my first
day off since I got here and I just laid around in my jammies all
day. I like going to the beach. What kind of stuff do you do when
you aren’t working or stalking me?”
    Trent smiled. “I don’t know. That’s
been my favorite pastime for the last week.”
    She smiled again and he knew he’d be
willing to do just about anything to keep it on her face. “Well you
seem to be pretty good at it.”
    He waved his hand. “Aw thanks, I do my
best.”
    Noelle relaxed back into her seat.
“You have a good sense of humor. I like that.”
    Other women had complimented Trent
before, but in his arrogance he’d brushed them off as if the
admiring remarks were to be expected. Coming from Noelle, however,
the kind words took on a whole new meaning. Before he could say
anything else the food arrived.
    Trent waited for Noelle to take her
first bite so he could see her response. She quickly grabbed for
her water and took a drink. “Wow - that’s got some kick to
it.”
    “You don’t like it?”
    She shook her head. “No, I like it; I
guess I wasn’t as ready as I thought. Might take some getting used
to is all.”
    Trent took a bite of his rice and
tried not to say anything. She must have read his mind.
    “I was talking about the food, not
you!”
    He nodded. “Sure, whatever you have to
tell yourself. It’s okay if you like me, you know.”
    She shrugged. “But I don’t know. I
mean it’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just I don’t know how
okay it is to go there with you.”
    He tilted his head. “Go where
exactly?”
    “I don’t know. I guess getting
involved, being with someone.”
    Trent reached out and placed his hand
over hers on the table. “How about we just don’t worry about
wherever ‘there’ is and just enjoy ‘here’. I’ll admit it’s far less
frightening that way.”
    She slid her hand off the table and
placed it in her lap, but gave him a soft smile. “I like that idea.
Why do you think it’s frightening?”
    Trent laughed. “I’m sure you’ve
already guessed, or else Delphine has said something, but this
whole spending-time-with-one-woman thing is new to me. For years
I’ve never invested more than a night or two in getting to know
someone. And even then it was a pretty superficial
level.”
    She nodded, “Yeah, I gathered as much.
So, no long term relationships?”
    Trent shook his head. “Nope. I guess I
was trying to sow my wild oats while I could.”
    “Delphine told me that,
too.”
    Had anyone else been talking about him
behind his back, Trent would have been mad. But he knew Delphine
had a good heart, and if anyone knew where he was coming from
besides his family, it was her. “She’s one of a kind. A little
rough around the edges, but great when you get to know
her.”
    Noelle laughed. “That she is. When I
first checked-in, she was asking all kinds of questions to make
sure I wasn’t a drug dealer or prostitute!”
    Trent shook his head. “That sounds
like her. She’s been running that hotel for nearly twenty years and
there’s no telling who’s come in and out of her doors.”
    They ate in a comfortable silence for
several minutes. When Noelle was finished eating she used her
napkin to wipe her mouth and then laid it on the table. “That was
delicious.”
    Trent finished chewing his food and
set his fork