Mother, Please! by Brenda Novak, Alison Kent, Jill Shalvis Read Free Book Online Page B

you into taking a walk with me before I turn in.”
    April had been ready to relinquish his jacket soshe could go to bed, too. But suddenly finding herself the center of attention, she hesitated. “Of course,” she said, knowing she’d get another lecture from her mother if she refused.
    The tension she’d felt in Gunner a moment earlier seemed to evaporate, and the corners of his lips twitched as he stood and pulled out her chair. Evidently he liked using their pretense to back her into a corner.
    “Good night,” he said to the others.
    She let him take her hand and lead her away. She had to make some concessions. With Gunner at her elbow, her father had actually invited her mother to dine with them and, while Walt had generally avoided speaking to Claire, he did order her favorite wine. And Keith hadn’t dared so much as approach April.
    All in all, she thought her plan was working out nicely—until she found herself alone on a deserted beach with Gunner.

CHAPTER SIX
    T HE WIND had picked up considerably but April didn’t mind because the stars overhead seemed larger than any she’d seen before.
    “You warm enough?” Gunner asked.
    “I’m fine.” She hugged his sport jacket closer to her body. “But you’ve got to be freezing.” The waves crashing only a few feet away mesmerized her, but she pulled her attention from the churning, moonlit crests to glance behind them. They’d gone far enough that the hotel appeared only as a dark shape in the distance. “I’m sure we can go back now,” she said. “No one will notice us slip off to our rooms.”
    “What’s the matter? Nervous?”
    She tried to make out his expression, hoping for some clue as to why he’d bothered bringing her out here. “Of course not. I’m perfectly relaxed. I just don’t see the point of continuing to act our parts when no one can see us.”
    “I think you can use the practice,” he said flatly.
    April stopped to kick off her sandals. It was getting downright cold, but she liked the soft, grainy feel of the sand between her toes, enjoyed the smell of the salt air. She didn’t travel enough, she realized. This was truly beautiful. “What do you mean?”
    “No one’s going to believe you even like me if you jump every time I brush your arm,” he said. “Or slide over to the opposite side of your seat when I sit down next to you. People who are falling in love move toward each other. They touch at every opportunity because they crave the physical contact. They have trouble even looking at anyone else in the room.”
    April swallowed a dreamy sigh. That was the kind of love she longed for, the kind of love she was beginning to believe would never exist. Not for her, anyway. “I admit you’re doing a much better job of pretending than I am,” she said. “But intimacy isn’t my strong suit. And I don’t lie well. Plus we already know that you have a lot more experience with, uh, relationships than I do.”
    He pulled her to a stop and faced her, standing only a few inches away. “You’re a scientist, April.”
    “So?”
    “So experiment.”
    April was halfway convinced he was joking. But he didn’t smile.
    “You need to get comfortable with me,” he said, and he had a point. Surely if she could relax, the next few days would pass much more quickly and easily.
    Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head expectantly. “Okay, go ahead and kiss me.” She squeezed her eyes shut and puckered up.
    She waited, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, she found him watching her with a quizzical expression. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re going to kiss me. ”
    Her heart jumped into her throat. “I am?”
    “ I’m already experienced at this, remember?”
    “But the guy is supposed to be the initiator.”
    He shook his head. “And I thought you were a feminist.”
    “I am, but—” She felt her nails curl into her palms.
    “I’d imagine an accomplished