Catch of a Lifetime by Judi Fennell Read Free Book Online Page B

Beautification: a win-win scenario.
       White metal tables sat outside a restaurant, pastel umbrellas rising from their centers to shade the patrons. The soft ding of iced beverages harmonized with the clink of cutlery against dishes, so different from her world, yet so very similar.
       "Can we get some more ice cream, Logan?" Michael licked his again, a dribble of white plopping on his shoe.
       "I think one's enough." Logan's tone was stern, but the twinkle had come back into his eyes.
       "A second won't hurt, will it?" Angel asked, wink ing at Michael. Another similarity between their worlds: children and treats.
       "A second ?" Logan arched an eyebrow at both of them.
       "A second's cool! Let's go!" Michael ran ahead of them, stopping in front of another store, and pulled on the door. "I'm going to get creamsicle this time!" He dashed inside.
       "What about you?" One of the bags Logan carried knocked into hers. "What's your favorite flavor?"
       Uh oh. Potential trip-up moment. She pretended to search for something in her bag. "I like creamsicle, too." She pulled out one of the pretty undergarments. "Oh, phew. I thought I'd left this back in the store."
       She thought she heard that strange garbled sound come from Logan again, so she risked glancing up, hop ing she'd derailed the flavor talk.
       Oh, she'd definitely derailed the flavor talk. That was no twinkle in his eye when he looked at what she held.
       She glanced again at the garment. Ahhhh…
       Wendy had said it was the perfect choice. Angel hadn't understood what the saleswoman had meant until just now. Well, okay, maybe she'd had an inkling, but clothing was a new concept to Mers and she hadn't re ally thought it would have that kind of effect on Logan.
       Showed what she knew.
       Stuffing the slip of fabric between the notebooks, Angel picked up the pace and almost walked out of the new shoes.
       "So," she said, hiking the bag higher onto her arm and focusing on something else. What had they been talking about? Besides undergarments… "Do you like creamsicle? Or peppermint? What other flavors does Michael like? How old was he when he started eating it? Does he have it often?"
       Yes, that's it. Think about the research. About the job she wanted. Focus on learning about their world— not whether or not Logan liked red undergarments.
       Not that there was any question.
       Thank Zeus, they reached the shop before Logan
    answered because she needed to chill out, and air conditioning could definitely take care of chilling out.
    In more ways than one.

    ***
    Okay, so maybe someone Up There wasn't on his side after all.
       Logan opened the door to the ice cream parlor for Angel, leaning back to keep from touching any part of her or that bag.
       She'd picked out red lingerie.
       He'd actually given the saleswoman carte blanche— and his credit card—to outfit his son's new babysitter, and, between the two of them, a woman who was sup posed to know fashion and another who had as many degrees as he did, they'd come up with red lingerie. It'd be ironically funny if Michael weren't involved.
       Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe he should have just given her the money, bought her a one-way bus ticket, and told Michael she'd had to go home. He wouldn't have to worry about what she wore, what her favorite flavor was, how her hair felt on his skin… nor what it'd be like to kiss her.
       Then Michael grabbed Angel's hand and tugged her forward, his smile almost bigger than he was, and Logan knew he wasn't going to ask her to leave. He couldn't break Michael's heart.
       And hell, he was an adult. He could control himself. He'd proved it on the dock when he hadn't kissed her. He'd been planning to stop long before Michael's inter ruption anyway.
       "Come on!" Michael was bouncing again. Bouncing was, apparently, a good thing in a six-year-old—as long as there was no