Love, Me by Tiffany White Read Free Book Online

galas. Hell, if he weren’t already disinherited, she’d take care of it in a heartbeat.
    Maybe that was why he found her so exciting, he thought, putting the half-empty carton of chocolate milk back in the refrigerator. Chelsea Stone was a woman outside his experience. She could care less that he didn’t approve of her, that his family wouldn’t. She didn’t even seem to realize that she’d have to make some effort to fit into Nashville. It might be the seat of the country-music business, but its atmosphere was that of a small town.
    Surely she didn’t believe she could flaunt every convention and then win everyone over with his song.
    What was he worrying about? There wouldn’t be any song. He couldn’t write. All his success had been pure luck. He was a fraud just waiting to be discovered.
    All he needed was three verses and a chorus. Yet he couldn’t string a sentence together, much less a verse.
    Let’s face it, he didn’t really believe Chelsea could actually help unblock him; he’d invited her so he could torture her—pay her back for having wrecked his lucky car.
    As he lay in bed an hour later, the provocative image of Chelsea in black lingerie still teasing his mind, he wasn’t sure who was the one being tortured.
    â€œGo away… don’t come back… leave me alone,” he muttered to the image, then punched his pillow and balled it under his head.
    C HELSEA COULDN’T BELIEVE Dakota Law had actually asked her to move into his house.
    It had been so easy. She hadn’t had to scheme or plan; he’d just handed her what she wanted. It disconcerted her.
    She stood at the window of the spacious bedroom Dakota had shown her to. It overlooked a small stand of white birch off to one side of the entrance. The delicate leaves on the trees trembled in the gentle breeze. They reminded her of how Dakota made her feel when he turned his clear blue eyes on her.
    Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea being so close to him. Sometimes when he looked at her as if she were a fancy truffle he shouldn’t eat but wanted to, she liked it. But what was his problem? Was he afraid he might like her?
    That was it. Dakota was really afraid of her. She smiled. She knew it instinctively.
    And she knew why.
    She knew from what she’d read about him that his family was in banking, was probably a stereotypical banking family whose men locked up their emotions in the bank vaults along with the money. But if that was true, then how could a man who came from a cold, unaffectionate family write love songs?
    Just maybe, he’d come to realize he was faking it; realize he needed a passionate woman in his life.
    Her.
    What in the world was she thinking? From the fact that his family was in banking, she’d invented a whole history, a catalog of needs. But Dakota Law was probably better adjusted than she was. Which wouldn’t be that hard, according to Tucker.
    He didn’t need a woman. He had that debutante-type assistant. And fans—thousands of adoring female fans.
    Dakota was blocked because he actually believed that stupid car was magic.
    He was nuts.
    And her career depended on him.

Chapter 5
5
    C HELSEA HEARD A muffled, distant pounding.
    She fought her way up from a deep sleep, but then the sound stopped.
    She was drifting gratefully back to sleep when she heard it again.
    She opened her eyes and blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings. The noise, she realized, was someone knocking at her bedroom door. This time it was accompanied by a sharp, insistent bark.
    â€œTucker, is that you?” she called out when the pounding ceased.
    â€œHell, no,” a voice growled on the other side of the door.
    Chelsea recognized the voice and the excited yip that had come through the closed door. The annoyed response came from Dakota Law and the playful bark from his black Lab, Pokey.
    She wasn’t on the road touring with Tucker, and she wasn’t