DevilishlyHot by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

heels followed. She moaned again with relief, flexing her sore feet against the cool wood floors.
    “Annie, is that you?”
    Annie closed her eyes at the sound of Bobby’s voice and silly question. Who else would it be? But she shoved the snippy comment away. After all, Bobby wasn’t to blame for her exhaustion.
    She pulled in a calming breath and managed to answer, her tone not precisely happy, but at least pleasant. “Yeah, Bobby, it’s me.”
    “Wow, you’re home early.”
    Annie raised an eyebrow at that as she hung up her coat, but she supposed he was right. It was a little after nine, which was actually an early day for her. But it had been a high-stress day. And she was beat.
    “Did you bring home dinner?” he called. “I’m starving.”
    Annie walked down the small hallway that opened up into a large living room. Large even by Manhattan standards. Bobby lounged on the sofa, his feet on the coffee table, and his attention on the large-screen television mounted on the wall. A video game controller was clutched in his hand.
    Annie dropped down onto the oversized chair that matched the rich, warm brown material of the sofa.
    “No, I didn’t stop to get anything. But I could order pizza or Chinese, if you want.”
    He didn’t look away from his game, making faces and jerking the remote as his computer self sped wildly through the city streets on a motorcycle. Wreaking havoc as he went.
    Absently she watched the game, too tired to do anything else.
    Finally, he won—or lost, Annie wasn’t exactly sure—and he tossed the remote onto the coffee table, a cool piece Annie had found at a flea market and refinished herself back when she’d first started at HOT! and had been excited about this nice apartment and decorating it.
    She still liked her place, with its eclectic décor and rich, warm colors. Browns, rusts and warm beiges, accented with cool pillows and artwork and lighting. A sort of bohemian feel, comfortable, but stylish. Fun but calming. A haven from the outside world. But it wasn’t a haven she got much time to enjoy these days.
    “I guess Chinese would be okay,” Bobby said with a sigh, stretching his arms over his head as if he’d been hard at work himself. The muscles in his broad shoulders flexed. His T-shirt strained against his sculpted torso. He yawned, running a hand through his naturally tousled blonde hair.
    He was so good looking—a perfect combination of California surfer and boy-next-door. He would be just about any red-blooded woman’s fantasy, and Annie wondered why, as she watched him, she felt nothing. Her pulse didn’t even jump, much less speed up.
    Exhaustion, she told herself, just like she did every time she didn’t react to him.
    Bobby finished his long stretch, then looked at Annie. “You look wiped out.”
    She nodded, surprised he even noticed. “Yeah, I am. It was a rough day.” Another rough day.
    “Then you’d better order the food before you totally crash.”
    She stared at him for a moment, the irritation she’d first felt when she’d entered the apartment returning. But again, she tamped it down.
    Bobby didn’t mean to be thoughtless. Sure, he’d been home all evening and he could have picked up something for dinner. But she knew he simply didn’t think of things like that.
    Annie was the organized one; he was the creative one. His struggle to get acting roles took up most of his attention and his time. He’d made the decision not to get a job for that very reason. He needed to be available to make auditions. And he did take a lot of acting classes. His quest for success made him a little absentminded; she understood that.
    Annie forced herself up from the soft comfort of her chair to go back to the front closet to retrieve her phone from her bag.
    She scrolled through her list of contacts to find the number of the Chinese restaurant that was Bobby’s favorite. She placed the order, knowing what he liked. Once that was done, she headed toward the