Read Online There's Something About a Rebel- by Anne Oliver - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anne Oliver
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of all people, did it have to be this particular man witnessing her defeat?
‘Hey. I shouldn’t have said that.’ He turned her in his arms and held on tight. ‘The Lissa I know is strong and resilient, she’ll get through this.’
‘How would you know
how
I am?’ Her presence had barely registered on his personal radar. ‘I was just a kid and you
didn’t
know me.’
‘Ah, but I did know you. You were one very determined, very single-minded kid.’
‘Yeah, right.’ He
meant
stubborn and spoiled. Indulged and irresponsible. Didn’t this prove it?It had been her duty to look after Jared’s boat and now.
But his reassurance was gruff against her ear when he said, ‘The most important thing is you’re safe.’
Safe? How was she safe when she had nowhere to live? Why hadn’t she packed an overnighter, at least? She’d let him tell her what to do and now … now look at the mess she was in. She fought against him but it was like fighting against a warm rip tide.
‘They’re just things, Lissa. Everything can be replaced.’
‘But they were
my
things,’ she said, a single tear spilling down her cheek. ‘Every stick of furniture, every knick-knack. My mother’s bluebird of happiness brooch. They might mean nothing to anyone else but they meant something to me. I worked my backside off for it all, right down to the last scented candle. And before you ask, no, I don’t have contents insurance.’ Because she’d let it lapse two months ago due to lack of funds.
She felt him draw a deep breath but he didn’t nag her. Instead, he held her against him and muttered soothing noises against her hair.
‘You know something,’ he said a moment later, ‘I could fit all my worldly possessions in the back of a station wagon and I do okay.’
She looked up to see if he was joking. How did a person cram their life into the back of a car? Unbelievable. It wasn’t normal. She let herforehead fall back onto his chest. ‘You have this house. This
mansion.’
‘True.’
Closing her damp eyes, she gave up the fight and leaned into his musky warmth. And all she could think was if he hadn’t been here, if he hadn’t insisted she sleep in the house despite her vigorous objections, she might be at the bottom of the river now.
He drew back, still holding her upper arms. ‘Guess we won’t need the plumber’s services after all.’
She opened her eyes and saw a dark splotch on his T-shirt where her waterlogged bra had been trapped between them. She lifted her gaze to his and, just for once, allowed herself the comfort of having someone to lean on. ‘What happens now?’
CHAPTER SIX
A T HIS insistence, Blake made the necessary calls and organised to have the houseboat refloated and towed away. Lissa was grateful to Blake for his cool, calm and sensitive handling of the whole situation. A man to lean on in a crisis. It gave her time to regroup. Most of her artwork was gone. Photos, jewellery, books.
She sat on her bed and looked about her. She also needed time to absorb the fact that until she was making an income, this was her bedroom. She needed to pull herself together and decide that she could still be that independent woman she wanted to be but there was nothing wrong with accepting help now and then.
But did it have to be Blake’s help?
She stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the bedroom wall. The boat disaster had briefly obliterated the excitement of the new business agreement she’d made … and that kiss. Oh, that kiss … and
more.
Her whole body burnedand churned with the memory and she saw its instant effect in her reflection.
She shook it away and concentrated on applying make-up to mask her distress. She needed to forget that momentary indulgence. And to accept Blake’s insistence that she remain in his home.
‘Here?’ She’d glared at Blake through narrowed eyes, fighting it all the way.
Nuh-uh. Not going to happen. Not after that kiss and a half.
‘You have somewhere else
‘Hey. I shouldn’t have said that.’ He turned her in his arms and held on tight. ‘The Lissa I know is strong and resilient, she’ll get through this.’
‘How would you know
how
I am?’ Her presence had barely registered on his personal radar. ‘I was just a kid and you
didn’t
know me.’
‘Ah, but I did know you. You were one very determined, very single-minded kid.’
‘Yeah, right.’ He
meant
stubborn and spoiled. Indulged and irresponsible. Didn’t this prove it?It had been her duty to look after Jared’s boat and now.
But his reassurance was gruff against her ear when he said, ‘The most important thing is you’re safe.’
Safe? How was she safe when she had nowhere to live? Why hadn’t she packed an overnighter, at least? She’d let him tell her what to do and now … now look at the mess she was in. She fought against him but it was like fighting against a warm rip tide.
‘They’re just things, Lissa. Everything can be replaced.’
‘But they were
my
things,’ she said, a single tear spilling down her cheek. ‘Every stick of furniture, every knick-knack. My mother’s bluebird of happiness brooch. They might mean nothing to anyone else but they meant something to me. I worked my backside off for it all, right down to the last scented candle. And before you ask, no, I don’t have contents insurance.’ Because she’d let it lapse two months ago due to lack of funds.
She felt him draw a deep breath but he didn’t nag her. Instead, he held her against him and muttered soothing noises against her hair.
‘You know something,’ he said a moment later, ‘I could fit all my worldly possessions in the back of a station wagon and I do okay.’
She looked up to see if he was joking. How did a person cram their life into the back of a car? Unbelievable. It wasn’t normal. She let herforehead fall back onto his chest. ‘You have this house. This
mansion.’
‘True.’
Closing her damp eyes, she gave up the fight and leaned into his musky warmth. And all she could think was if he hadn’t been here, if he hadn’t insisted she sleep in the house despite her vigorous objections, she might be at the bottom of the river now.
He drew back, still holding her upper arms. ‘Guess we won’t need the plumber’s services after all.’
She opened her eyes and saw a dark splotch on his T-shirt where her waterlogged bra had been trapped between them. She lifted her gaze to his and, just for once, allowed herself the comfort of having someone to lean on. ‘What happens now?’
CHAPTER SIX
A T HIS insistence, Blake made the necessary calls and organised to have the houseboat refloated and towed away. Lissa was grateful to Blake for his cool, calm and sensitive handling of the whole situation. A man to lean on in a crisis. It gave her time to regroup. Most of her artwork was gone. Photos, jewellery, books.
She sat on her bed and looked about her. She also needed time to absorb the fact that until she was making an income, this was her bedroom. She needed to pull herself together and decide that she could still be that independent woman she wanted to be but there was nothing wrong with accepting help now and then.
But did it have to be Blake’s help?
She stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the bedroom wall. The boat disaster had briefly obliterated the excitement of the new business agreement she’d made … and that kiss. Oh, that kiss … and
more.
Her whole body burnedand churned with the memory and she saw its instant effect in her reflection.
She shook it away and concentrated on applying make-up to mask her distress. She needed to forget that momentary indulgence. And to accept Blake’s insistence that she remain in his home.
‘Here?’ She’d glared at Blake through narrowed eyes, fighting it all the way.
Nuh-uh. Not going to happen. Not after that kiss and a half.
‘You have somewhere else
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