Nobody but Him by Victoria Purman Read Free Book Online Page A

actually liked each other.
    The sound of the heavy wooden doors opening caught Ry’s attention and he heard the wind whistle through the pub as Lizzie entered the front bar. He waved and called her over, standing as she approached him.
    ‘Hey, thanks again for covering lunch. I really appreciate it. We’re booked solid.’
    ‘Sure.’ She greeted him with an unexpectedly huge smile and he was slightly taken aback. ‘No probs, Ry, what goes around comes around, you know.’
    Lizzie had been a rock since he’d bought the business. She knew moreabout how the place worked than anyone.
    Lizzie cocked her head. ‘You want a coffee? You look like you could use one.’
    Ry had the strangest feeling that Lizzie was looking at him differently.
    ‘No, thanks. I’m totally caffeinated. Over-caffeinated to be honest.’ He picked up his iPad. ‘I’ve got to get going.’
    ‘Still got your guests with you?’
    He nodded. Just thinking about Amanda made him want to get in his car and drive up to Adelaide where he would be safe. ‘That’s why I’ve got to go.’
    ‘Okay,’ she grinned again and he did a double take.
    ‘You all right, Lizzie?’
    ‘I’m fine,’ she replied and then, to his great surprise, reached up and patted him on the shoulder consolingly. ‘Go on home, Ry.’

CHAPTER
5
    Why the hell had he asked the Winters to stay for the whole long weekend? On the walk home, Ry cursed himself and his decision, which was made hastily in the days after he’d bought the pub. He’d been in a meeting with David and they’d got talking. Ry was buzzing about his acquisition and, before he knew it, the invitation had been issued and accepted. And now the Winters were in his house, his only refuge away from work and the city. He knew Amanda would be there when he opened his front door.
    She was number two on the list of women he didn’t want to have to deal with. He should have known what was going down. David had mentioned his daughter a few times, in the way that the fathers of single women do, that she was single and beautiful, that she loved the beach. It’s what people in the A-list crowd did, he got it. A single, successful and no-doubt-about it heterosexual man was mentioned in despatches all over Adelaide in that set. Parents were probably handing out his CV and photo at cocktail parties and charity fundraisers.
    When David had mentioned bringing Amanda for the weekend, Ry had agreed far too hastily.
    ‘Why not? The more the merrier,’ he’d said with a casual wave of his hand, way too accommodating for his own good.
    But the minute they’d met, the second she’d opened her mouth and flicked her blonde hair in his direction, he knew she was not his type. Her behaviour had given her away. He understood instinctively what Amanda wanted. He wasn’t an idiot. It was the fake smile and the way she laughed a little too loud at anything he said. It wasn’t regard or even real interest. She saw a successful businessman, a city apartment and a million-dollar beach house. Damn it, lust would have been easier to deal with. But what he saw was more like desperation, which was sad for her and a total turn-off for him.
    As Ry turned into his driveway from the road, he wondered how he’d break it to David. He pushed the front door open and closed it quickly behind him, trying to keep the wind and salt spray out where it belonged.Inside, the house was quiet and peaceful, mercifully free of the sound of the Winter women. Across the large open-plan living area, David sat at the white dining table, concentrating on a broadsheet newspaper. At the sound of Ry’s footsteps on the wooden floor, he lifted his head and his caterpillar eyebrows danced upwards.
    ‘Ah Ryan, you’ve just missed the girls. They’ve driven in to Port Elliot to do some shopping.’ He smiled and put the paper down with a rustle. ‘Amanda can’t be too far from a shop or she gets twitchy. In fact, they asked me to send you over when you got