Barefoot in Pearls (Barefoot Bay Brides Book 3) by Roxanne St. Claire Read Free Book Online

coy—“don’t have the nerve”—he lifted one brow at the words—“to take me to Barefoot Mountain after the reception is over.”
    He frowned, not following. “Kind of dark and scary at night, especially in a place where a guy died.”
    “I’m not afraid of the dark or the dead, Luke. I respect both too much.” She layered on plenty of emphasis, which she hoped he’d understand later.
    “All right, I’ll take you,” he said. “Which means I won that bet.” He lowered his face, then moved his mouth to cover her ear. “I’ll collect my winnings up on the mountain, Arielle.”
    If she didn’t chase him away with what she planned to tell him up there. Until then, maybe she should dial back the banter and remember he might end up disliking her very much by the end of the night.

Chapter Four

    The clouds were heavy by midnight, blocking any moonlight and threatening rain, but the headlights of Luke’s old-but-new-to-him Ford F-150 lit up the dilapidated house like it was a set on a Broadway stage. Broken windows, missing shingles, fallen fascia, and torn porch planks made the sinister little structure look every bit the part of a place where a man named Balzac Valentine had been hit by debris and killed.
    Parking the truck in the expanse of dirt between the house and the base of the hill that separated it from the water, Luke glanced at Arielle in the passenger seat next to him. “You still want to do this?”
    “Are you asking again if I’m scared?”
    He heard the challenge in her voice and was way too smart to say that most women would be. Clearly, Arielle wasn’t most women.
    “Just making sure you want to go exploring in the dark.”
    “Who said anything about exploring?”
    Whoa . “So, let’s get right down to business then.” Except he wasn’t entirely sure what that business was.
    He assumed this was a hookup of some sort, but after the conversation with Lacey, he’d sensed a strange distance from Arielle and a pullback from the flirting they’d both been enjoying. Throughout the rest of the evening, she’d evenly divided her attention among the guests and her maid-of-honor duties and saved a little time for Luke. Too little. He’d snagged a few dances and more conversation, but something had definitely changed, and it wasn’t on his end. He was still as attracted to Arielle as he’d been the minute he’d met her.
    He hadn’t really been able to pin her down until the festivities wound down, when she’d returned from the bridal dressing room in jeans, sneakers, and a simple navy tank top that did crazy things to her curves and even crazier things to his hormones. Then, she’d announced the bet was on, and they were going to the mountain.
    She put her hand decisively on the door latch, ready to climb out of his truck with the speed of a woman who really had some business to get down to. “Let’s go,” she said.
    He reached out and closed his hand over her arm, which felt narrow in his fingers, but strong, too. Deceptively strong. “It’s going to be very dark out there.”
    “Then it’s a good thing you found your way around with your eyes closed today.”
    He lingered for a moment, memorizing her striking features in the reflection of the headlights he’d yet to turn off. Her cheekbones were high, her lips wide, her jaw straight. But there was something in her eyes that kind of scared him. Determination. Raw, focused determination. To do what?
    “Are you going to tell me why we’re here?” he asked.
    She gave a very light laugh, absently toying with the pearl necklace she wore. He didn’t recall her wearing that at the wedding, and it seemed an unusual choice to go with jeans and a simple top, but what did he know about fashion?
    “You seem pretty smart,” she said. She pushed the door open, stepping down from the high truck. “You’ll figure it out.” She slammed the door and disappeared into the darkness.
    Okay then.
    He turned off the ignition and lights and sat