Mischief in Miami by Nicole Williams Read Free Book Online

with the balance in his offshore accounts, I doubted he’d send me tickets to the south of France.
    The second thing that hit me was that, somehow, he’d figured out where I was staying. That was disturbing on a bunch of levels. He’d either had me followed, followed me himself, or had someone looking into me. I didn’t like the idea of being looked into, especially when I was the one who was supposed to be doing the “looking into.”
    It wasn’t the first over-the-top gift I’d had thrown at me, but it was the first time the Target had tracked me down and had it delivered to my room. Well, neither would do.
    Ten minutes later, I’d changed, packed, and was at the front desk checking out.
    “Is there anything else we can do for you, Miss Stevens?” the receptionist asked.
    “Yeah.” I handed her the envelope I’d addressed before leaving my room. It contained two tickets to Nice, along with my own note that read: In case the mood to try monogamy strikes you, here’s my number . “Do you think a bellman would be up to hand delivering this if I gave him a nice tip?”
    She inspected me purposefully before taking the letter. “I think the bellman would be up to hand delivering this if you asked one of them real nice and nothing else. But if you want to leave a tip, I’ll make sure the bellman gets both.”
    “For the bellman,”—I slid a hundred dollar bill across the counter, and then one more—“and for you.”
    She was about to open her mouth when I cut her off. “I appreciate your help and hospitality.” I headed out the doors before she could object, but I’m pretty sure I heard a few mumbled words of thanks.
    I still wanted to be on the beach, but I wanted to put some distance between the last hotel and my new one. After circling Ocean Drive a couple of times, I settled on a quieter hotel that wasn’t right in the middle of it all. It wasn’t quite as luxurious as the last hotel, but the suite was bigger. Once I’d unpacked, I wandered into the bathroom to take a bath.
    I avoided the full length mirror on the wall as well as the one over the sink. I knew that for most women, mirrors were either their best friends or their worst enemies, but for me, they were more like ghosts. I was conscious of them, but I did my best to ignore them.
    I’d been soaking for all of five minutes before one of my phones chimed. I groaned, but I fumbled through my handbag until I found the ringing phone.
    Shit. That was fast.
    I took a moment to compose myself before answering. “Hello.”
    “I’m struck with monogamy.”
    Of course he was. Most men are struck with anything if you give them enough motivation.
    “And why do I find that hard to believe?”
    “Because you’re you and I’m me,” Daniel said. “That’s why.”
    That was the first true thing I’d heard him say.
    “I take it you’re calling because you received my envelope.”
    “Those were first-class tickets, you know? A woman’s a fool to turn those down.”
    “Or maybe you’re the fool for giving them to a woman you barely know,” I replied.
    He didn’t have an immediate response. “Maybe, but I feel a little foolish when I’m around you.”
    Good. Then I was doing my job.
    “You act a little foolish when you’re around me,” I replied. Then, because the sooner I closed out the Silva file, the sooner I could be finished with the Mr. Silva, I turned the faucet on with my toe so water started trickling into the tub.
    “Do you need any help?” he asked, his voice low and confident.
    Cocky bastard.
    “None that requires your assistance,” I nearly snapped back.
    “So what am I supposed to do now that I know, wherever you are right now, you’re naked and probably soaping that beautiful body of yours?”
    Add brazen to the cocky bastard lineup.
    “Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t you go find one of those four girls I’ve seen you with over the past few days? I’m sure they’ve got something that could help you out.”
    Daniel