Millionaire on Her Doorstep by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online Page A

loved any of them. Where did they get the idea a little shared time and a few kisses meant a man was in love? As far as he was concerned, real love, the kind his parents shared, was very rare and even more difficult to keep. He’d lost his chance at real love when Susan’s car had skidded
off a rain-slick mountain highway. At this point in his life, he simply wanted to concentrate on his career.
    But if he was so sure of all of that, why was he hiding in his room? he asked himself. Why didn’t he simply be the Adam Murdock Sanders he’d always been, the one who wasn’t afraid to enjoy and appreciate a woman’s company and to hell with their tears?
    Slowly, a sly smile spread across his face, then he turned away from the glass doors and went in search of his swimming trunks.
    Â 
    Maureen was flipping through the channels on a small television in her bedroom when a soft knock sounded on the door. She quickly pushed the Off button on the remote and reached for her dressing gown.
    â€œJust a moment,” she called.
    Before opening the door, she tightened the sash at her waist and adjusted the overlap of material between her breast. A second later, she was glad she’d taken the time to cover herself. Adam was standing on the threshold with nothing on but a pair of swimming trunks and a devilish smile.
    â€œHow about a swim?”
    Incredulous, she stared at him. “A swim?”
    He put a shushing finger to his lips. “Yes. A swim. You know, me and you in the water. Staying afloat, cooling off.”
    Maureen had to stifle the mocking burst of laughter rising up her throat. Cool off with Adam? She didn’t think so.
    â€œIt’s nearly time for bed,” she reasoned.
    He glanced at the moon just then bursting over the ridge of mountains to the east. “This is the best time
of the day. Not too hot. Not too cool. And don’t worry, the moonlight isn’t bright enough to show off your cellulite.”
    Her narrowed eyes warned him he was treading on dangerous ground. “What makes you think I have cellulite?”
    A grin kept trying to tug at the corners of his mouth. It would have infuriated her on any other man. On Adam, she wanted to lean forward and taste it.
    â€œNothing. I just know how you women worry about such trivial things.”
    Her brows arched at the word trivial . “So you don’t mind if a woman has a few flaws?”
    The grin appeared in full force as he shook his head. “No. I turn a blind eye to them. After all, a perfect woman would be...boring. If you ask me,” he added.
    Maureen wished she hadn’t asked. She also wished he wasn’t looking at her as though he’d like to slip the blue cotton robe off her shoulders, then eat her for dessert.
    â€œI guess we women are lucky there’s no perfect men around to...bore us.”
    Adam chuckled. “So are you coming with me or not?”
    She spared him one last look before glancing over her shoulder at the bed. She wasn’t ready for sleep. Certainly not now after he’d stirred her hormones to a heady boil. But was she ready for a moonlight swim with Adam?
    â€œIt’s dangerous to swim alone,” he persisted.
    â€œHow do you know I can even swim?” she countered.
    His gaze traveled lazily down the length of her.
“You don’t look like you’d have any problem with the sport.”
    The only problem she had was with him. Maybe it was time she showed him she was not a woman to be flirted with. Not by him or any man.
    â€œI don’t. So give me a couple of minutes to change and I’ll meet you out in the courtyard,” she told him.
    When Maureen appeared a few minutes later on the patio, Adam was stretched out on a chaise lounge. A tall pitcher of some sort of fruity-looking drink sat beside him on a low table. The two iced glasses next to it told Maureen he had been busy while she changed into her swimsuit.
    â€œWhat’s