Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis Read Free Book Online

pants and a fisherman’s sweater, both in black, both casual but expensive-looking, like he’d walked right out of an ad.
    But she was even more aware that the entire art class was watching them.
    Avidly.
    Her phone buzzed. The incoming text was from Lucille: Honey, I don’t mean to rush you but it’s rumored that the good doc has got the best hands in all of Lucky Harbor. Go for it.
    Grace lifted her head and sent Lucille a look.
    Lucille smiled innocently.
    Grace rolled her eyes and nodded to Josh. “Fine. We have a deal.”
    He handed her a key to his house and left.
    Grace watched him go, thinking that his hands weren’t even his best part. “Excuse me a minute,” she said to the class, before running to catch up with Josh in the hall.
    He turned to face her, and she shook her head, her body still humming from his kiss. “What was that?” she finally managed. “Back there.”
    “You know what it was.”
    Yeah. Yeah, she did. Chemistry. Holy Toledo, some damn hot chemistry. “But it shouldn’t be like this, not between us.” They were night and day. Oil and water. He might not know it, but she did. “It was a fluke.” That was all she could think, that it was a complete fluke. But his eyes darkened, and in response, her nipples got hard. “Okay, so maybe not,” she muttered, and crossed her arms over herself and her fake triple Ds.
    He stepped closer, his voice low. “I’d prove it to you, but I’m not into kissing by committee.”
    She looked over her shoulder and found Lucille and the entire art class leaning out the classroom door, unabashedly eavesdropping. She gave them the “shoo” signal, and they vanished.
    “Impressive,” he said. “Be sure to use that level of authority on Tank today and try to avoid another swim.”
    “I really thought he was in the water.”
    “He likes to play hide-and-seek.”
    “Good to know.” And she still had to take that crazy puppy out for another walk…
    “Interesting T-shirt,” he said.
    She looked down at herself, eternally grateful that she hadn’t gone the full Monty route after all. “It’s not as good as the real thing, but as it turns out, I’m pretty selective about who sees the real thing.”
    His smile softened. His eyes crinkled in the corners, and the laugh lines on either side of his mouth deepened, stealing her breath. “Good to know,” he mirrored back at her.
    It was a genuine smile from a man who didn’t appear to do it too often, and it left her a little dazed. Or maybe it was the crazy amount of testosterone coming off him in waves.
    “Let me know if you have any trouble today,” he said.
    “For what you’re paying me, there’ll be no trouble.” And if there was, he’d be the last man she’d call, amazing kisser or not, because they had a connection, and she knew the power of it now.
    Grace wasn’t in Lucky Harbor to make a connection with a man she knew wasn’t her type. She was looking for fun , that was it, and in spite of Josh being sex-on-a-stick, she wasn’t sure he had a lot of fun in him. Steering clear was her smartest option here. And no matter how good he was with his hands, she was going to be smart, if it killed her.
     
    A few hours later, Grace headed to Josh’s house. As she parked, she noticed she had an unread text from Mallory.
      
    Hey, head’s up. The hottest doctor in town just came by and coerced me into telling him where you were. I folded like a cheap suitcase. Sorry, but he’s hard to say no to. Don’t be mad. I owe you a cupcake.
      
    Yeah, an entire batch. Grace shook her head and let herself into Josh’s house without incident. This time, she carefully leashed Tank before she opened his baby gate, and then as a double precaution, she just as carefully picked him up and carried him outside.
    She might not be a blood-born Brooks genius, but she was quick on the learning curve.
    She avoided the beach entirely, instead setting Tank down to walk alongside the quiet street. Tank