Read Online Reluctantly in Love by Niecey Roy - Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t a serious relationship. Really casual. Long distance for a while. But we’re broken up now. I just haven’t been dating because I’ve been busy. Writing, you know? And I work at my cousin’s security firm during the day, so I don’t have much time for a social life. Mostly, I just hang out in my pajamas and shop online.”
    Holy cow, what the hell was all that? I hadn’t meant to spew out my entire life story. Gen shouldn’t have told him I didn’t want to date him. I shot her a glare, but she was too far away to see it. I wasn’t used to sounding like a blubbering idiot in front of guys. I also didn’t make a habit of ogling them like a piece of meat.
    “I love hanging out in my pajamas,” Chase chuckled. He tilted his head to the cooler. “So, where were you headed with this?”
    I gestured behind him to where Leo and Matt stood beside the canoes. Leo looked like he was showing Matt how to tie knots with a thick piece of rope. “I thought maybe I should have a cooler if I was going to be in a canoe for who knows how long.”
    “Sounds reasonable.” He bent down and picked up my cooler like it weighed nothing. His biceps rippled with the strain. When he straightened, he gave me a crooked smile that made my stomach flutter. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Roxanna Leigh Moss.”
    And then he turned with my cooler in his arms and set off in the direction of the guys.
    “Holy mother . . . ” I whispered with my eyes glued to Chase’s back. I let out a heavy breath that sounded more like a sigh. When I turned, Gen wiggled her fingers at me from her perch on the truck’s lowered tailgate. I marched over and poked her in the chest.
    “You are an ass. I told you I didn’t want you hooking me up with that guy.”
    Except . . .
    I still couldn’t remember why. Not with the memory of his abs close enough to touch still clear in my mind.
    “It’s just not a good idea,” I stressed. But my eyes veered back to Chase. He’d just set the cooler down next to the canoes. All three guys looked up and caught me staring, so I averted my gaze to the guilty party.
    Gen didn’t look sorry, though; she looked pleased with herself.
    Lexie hopped up to sit beside her sister. “Why wouldn’t you want to date him? He’s gorgeous.” She leaned to peer around me. “And he’s looking right at you.”
    My cheeks were still warm from our encounter. What the hell was wrong with me? You’ve been single way too long, that’s what.
    I flicked Lexie in the arm. “Knock it off. You’re making this weird.”
    “This isn’t a hookup,” Gen said. “He’s here because you can’t canoe down the river alone, and we needed another person.”
    “He’s single,” Lexie said, swinging her legs under the tailgate. A second later, Gen began swinging her legs in unison—one of those twin things.
    Gen gave me an obnoxious wink. “And Chase has chemistry.”
    “ Ah-ha! ” I narrowed my eyes. “So this was a set up.”
    “You are so dramatic.” Gen rolled her eyes. “It’s just a canoe trip.”
    “A canoe trip of lo-ove, ” Lexie sing-songed, and then laughed when I flicked her in the forehead. “What? I’m just saying. There’d definitely be no drying up if you were with a guy like Chase.”
    “You sound like a perv,” I told her as she hopped off the tailgate.
    “Just think, if you date a real life doctor, you won’t need to watch that cheesy hospital show anymore,” Gen said.
    Lexie bristled. “There’s nothing wrong with that cheesy hospital show.” Realizing what she’d said, she corrected, “It’s not a cheesy show. It’s not as ridiculous as that alien show you’re always watching.”
    Gen glared at her twin. “You wouldn’t be so skeptical if you actually watched the show. Aliens are real, you ass. ”
    “You two are impossible.” I spun around in my flip-flops and headed in the guys’ direction. “Let’s go get this canoeing thing over with.”
    Gen trotted to catch up to me.