Read Online The Laws of Attraction by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

demonstrate that she was starting to view this time-out as something worthy of celebration, rather than as punishment.
    “Would you mind going to the bakery if there’s time?” she asked.
    “Let me guess. You want chocolate,” he said, grinning.
    “The richest, gooeyest chocolate they have,” she confirmed. “Brownies, cake, fudge, mousse—I’m not choosy.”
    “And if the bakery’s closed?”
    “Why would it be closed?”
    “It’s almost five now.”
    She stared at him in shock. It couldn’t be. “We spent the entire day on the water doing nothing?”
    He laughed. “Pretty much. You got the knack for relaxing a lot quicker than I expected you to. The nap you took filled an hour or so.”
    “I did not take a nap,” she protested. “I merely closed my eyes for a couple of minutes.”
    “Whatever. Bottom line, the day has slipped away. Let me get going before any more of it slips by. I’ll do my best on the chocolate thing.”
    She watched him go with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’d spent an entire day in the company of a man she barely knew, doing something that hadn’t exactly taxed her mind, and she hadn’t been bored. Not for a single second. Amazing.
    She was still pondering that when she went inside and discovered the phone ringing. She debated ignoring it, but realized that would only bring her sisters rushing over here in a panic. She picked it up reluctantly.
    “Where the devil have you been?” Maggie demanded at once. “I’ve been calling for hours. I was beginning to think you’d run back to Boston. Melanie was about to start packing so we could come after you.”
    “I’ve been fishing,” she responded.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You know, the activity in which a person puts bait on a hook, puts the hook in the water and reels in a fish. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. It turns out I’m pretty good at it. I caught three rockfish.”
    “Uh-huh,” Maggie said, clearly stunned. “When did you learn to fish?”
    “Today.”
    “Who taught you?”
    Ah, there was that minefield she’d been dreading. “Josh,” she admitted. “I sort of ran into him on the water this morning.”
    “Ran into him?”
    “Literally,” she confessed. “I took the kayak out. When I slammed into his rowboat, I lost the paddle. He took me on board his boat.”
    “As in kidnapped you or offered you refuge?”
    “Refuge, I suppose.”
    “I see. You sound surprisingly upbeat for a woman who has spent the entire day in the company of a man who supposedly annoys you, doing something that you wouldn’t have been caught dead doing a week ago.”
    “Times change.”
    “And your attitude toward Josh—has that changed, too?”
    “I always said he was nice. He just got on my nerves last night at your place.”
    Maggie laughed. “Oh, this is too good. I’m picking up Melanie and coming over. I want to hear more about this fishing excursion.”
    “Forget about it,” Ashley said emphatically.
    “Why?”
    “Because Josh is coming back for dinner. I’m cooking the fish.”
    “You’re cooking the fish?” Maggie repeated so skeptically it was insulting.
    “Yes, dammit. You could help and just tell me how. It’ll save me having to look up a recipe.”
    “Who’s cleaning the fish?” Maggie asked.
    “Josh.”
    “Thank God. For a minute, I thought the world might be coming to an end.”
    “Stop it. Are you going to help me out here or not, Maggie?”
    “Okay, okay. You want simple or fancy?”
    “What do you think?” Ashley asked wryly.
    “Simple it is. Dredge the fillets in flour, salt and pepper, then fry them in about a quarter inch of oil. Make sure the oil is hot, but not too hot. You don’t want to burn the fish.”
    Ashley jotted the instructions down, even though they seemed foolproof. “How long?”
    “Till the flour is golden brown. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes on each side, depending on how thick the fillets are.”
    “And that’s