A Trap So Tender by Jennifer Lewis Read Free Book Online Page B

help matters.
Things couldn’t get much crazier than they already were, and Fiona was like a
blast of cool, fresh air in his rather predictable existence.
    “Taffy is a horse in a million. She listens to every move you
make.”
    He laughed. Okay. So she wasn’t in love with him. Was he
disappointed? He wanted to slap himself. “I know. That’s why I chose her for
you. She also ignores any stupid moves you make, but that doesn’t seem to be
important in your case.” He scanned the horse and rider. She sat effortlessly on
her huge mount, with a casual loose rein, as if she was lounging in a beach
chair. “I admit I hadn’t expected you to be so…competent.”
    “I know.” She laughed. “You expected me to slide off when we
started trotting, didn’t you?”
    “Absolutely.” He grinned. “But I’m glad you didn’t. Dougal is
recovering from an injury, so he and I are devastated that we can’t join you in
another gallop.”
    “Maybe another time.” Her chin lifted and her face shining, she
looked ravishingly beautiful, even in the black velvet riding hat that didn’t
flatter too many people.
    “Definitely.” In fact, he wasn’t sure he could wait until
tomorrow. “But perhaps for now we could stay together in a steady trot so poor
Dougal doesn’t bow another tendon.”
    “You’ve got it.” She eased into a trot, and he watched her
elegant behind rise up and down in the saddle, with the feeling that his tongue
was hanging out like a dog’s. Fiona Lam was turning out to be different than he
expected. Was that good? He wasn’t sure. He’d been instantly attracted to her,
and that had grown into a rich and invigorating lust during the hours they’d
spent together thus far.
    She’d seemed a good prospect as a partner, as she was
intelligent and appeared sensible. Her blend of Singaporean and American
background held its own appeal, from a purely business perspective, since she
bridged the two cultures where most of his business took place, and where he
sometimes ran aground when his own very British upbringing put him at a
disadvantage. Sometimes he didn’t “get” other people’s opinions and
perspectives, and it made him realize how narrow the horizons he’d been raised
with truly were.
    So far Fiona’s visit was a blistering success. He’d better make
sure that cup base didn’t turn up anytime soon as he had no intention of losing
her. Not that they were likely to find it anyway. It had probably been melted
down into a weapon or used as a target for shooting practice, knowing the
Drummond clan. If it did happen to turn up, he could find some other way to
delay her. She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself so far.
    She slowed her trot and let him come alongside her. “I don’t
understand you at all.”
    “No?”
    “You could do this every day, and you choose to live in a
high-rise apartment in one of the most crowded cities on earth.”
    “I must be mad.”
    He’d brought women here before—they often clamored to come see
the ancestral pile—and most of them spent their time complaining about the
weather or wondering where the nearest good shopping was (answer: a very long
way away). Fiona, on the other hand, had dived right into the spirit of the
place.
    “I think you are mad. That’s okay, though. We’re all mad in our
own special way.” She rode alongside him, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m
beginning to think I’ve been crazy to spend so much of the past five years
hunched over a laptop. I definitely need to spread my wings a bit.”
    “You’ve earned the right.” She’d made more in her first five
years out of college than most people made in a lifetime.
    “I suppose I have. I never looked at it that way. I feel like a
slacker when I’m not working on my next big plan.”
    “Believe me, I know all about that. I don’t think I’ve taken a
legitimate vacation in…” Had he ever taken one? He didn’t even remember a ski
trip that didn’t have some ulterior