Done With Love by Niecey Roy Read Free Book Online Page B

empty stools around us. “You don’t mind if he joins us, do you?” Sarah shook her head. I glanced at Paul. “Paul?”
    Paul’s rigid posture told me he did mind, but he shook his head. “No, of course not.”
    Leo wedged a stool between me and Paul and sat down, forcing Paul to stand and scoot his stool over. The men shook hands, sizing each other up like a bunch of macho meatheads. I rolled my eyes to the blue sky and remembered I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. All this testosterone made me crave man food, like burgers and wings. Maybe a big basket of curly fries. My stomach growled.
    “So, Leo, what is it that you do for a living?” Paul asked.
    “Security.” Leo eyed the empty glass I slid across the bar to Sarah.
    “Security? That sounds exciting,” Paul said, not sounding as if he meant it.
    “Leo is Special Forces,” I said, then frowned because I sounded defensive, as if I cared or something. I didn’t. Nope.
    “Ex,” Leo added.
    “Special Forces,” Sarah breathed, taking another sweep of Leo’s firm build and wide shoulders. Okay, so he was impressive. “That must have—” Sarah glanced at his chest, “—taken a lot of training.”
    “Yes,” Leo replied, though he didn’t sound as if he cared to talk about it. The experience hadn’t exactly been all glory for him, even if he’d come home with medals. Maybe a younger version of Leo would have bragged, but the man beside me was more grown up than the teenager I’d known, with arms the size of holiday hams. Holiday hams made me think of food again, and my stomach grumbled. I pulled the dish of complimentary peanuts to me and popped a couple into my mouth. Honey roasted. My favorite.
    “Well, would you look at the time.” Paul stood, making an exaggerated show of studying his wristwatch. “I’ve got...dinner reservations.”
    Mr. Smiley Doctor hurried away. I glanced over at Leo, whose smirk irritated me. Mostly because even his smirk was sexy. He caught my eye, flashed one of those smiles, and said, “Why don’t we get you something to eat?”
    “Why don’t you get your girlfriend something to eat? I’m fine,” I lied, and turned my back on him. Really, what was his problem? This was seriously inappropriate behavior, especially after his girlfriend witnessed him shoving his tongue down my throat an hour ago. I flushed with the memory, remembering how my blood had warmed from the embrace and the way the gentle motion of the water had rocked me against him. The immediate sizzle of desire annoyed me more than the fact the peanuts were gone. I glared at him. “I’m sure she’s hungry.”
    “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said, and it was pathetic how my whole body perked up over this little nugget of information. Especially when it was none of my business. Not now, not ever. Pretending he didn’t exist was much better than rationalizing my feelings, so that’s what I did—ignored him.
    Except after a moment of heavy silence, I gave him a sideways glance. “So who was the bimbo on your arm then?”
    “Bimbo?” His voice laughed at me, and I straightened in my stool.
    “Yeah.” She probably wasn’t a bimbo, but his very presence crawled under my skin, grating on my already fragile nerves.
    “She’s just a woman I ran into in the lobby earlier while looking for you.” He met my narrowed gaze with an unwavering stare.
    “Oh,” was my lame answer. I added a shrug. “Whatever.”
    My stomach growled.
    “You need to eat something, Lexie.”
    “No, I don’t.” My obstinacy was a direct result of my irritation. Really, how would he know what I needed? Did he really think he could waltz back into my life after all this time and boss me around? The man was irritating. And even more frustrating was the awareness rolling through my traitorous body after I’d vowed immunity to the effects of men for the rest of my life.
    And even more annoying, even after all this time, all these years, I’d never stopped