Playing the Playboy by Noelle Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

anything further. He couldn’t quite get a handle on her attitude toward him. Sometimes she was perfectly polite, like she was going out of her way to be nice to him. And other times she didn’t seem to like him at all.
    He figured she probably resented his presence but was trying to be civilized about the situation.
    “Where are you walking?”
    “Down to the beach. The dogs love it.”
    “Oh, there’s beach access here?”
    She smiled. “Of a sort.” She’d reached the foot of the steps.
    The cliff dropped so sharply into the caldera there was no useable beach in the immediate vicinity. Intrigued, he asked, “Would you mind company?” He’d planned to call his uncle, but that could wait an hour.
    “I guess you can come.”
    It wasn’t the most enthusiastic of invitations, but it was better than an outright refusal. They climbed back up the steps and walked down the road. After several minutes, they turned off onto a dirt and rock path.
    The landscape was similar to what he’d seen throughout the island—volcanic rock, scrubby grasses and shrubs, and huge expanses of sea and sky. The dogs were evidently familiar with the walk. They weren’t leashed, so they ran ahead, snuffling along the path and gamboling with obvious enthusiasm. Twice Theo started to chase a bird, and Laurel had to call him back.
    Laurel smiled at Andrew some, but they didn’t talk much. For some reason, it was a relief. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was refreshing. So much better than empty small talk.
    Andrew felt really good, freed from the weight of responsibility of the last two days. He was satisfied with his solution to the problem. It would treat everyone fairly and leave no one with nothing.
    He was also more and more attracted to the woman walking in front of him. He could barely tear his eyes from her sleek, tanned legs, the curve of her fine ass beneath her shorts, and her graceful neck and shoulders.
    He vividly recalled what she’d looked like the day before, nearly naked and stretched out on the chaise.
    His body tightened at the memory.
    He recalled how she’d looked the first time he’d seen her, flustered and gorgeous with a flat tire. He liked that he’d been able to help her when she needed it.
    “Who was the friend you were going to parasail with the other day?” he asked, following the course of his thoughts.
    She blinked, obviously startled by the blurted question. “Just…just a friend.”
    Her reply was so stilted he immediately thought she was hiding something. “A close friend?” There was no reason for him to feel jealous at the thought of her having a boyfriend. A woman as beautiful as Laurel must have her choice of men.
    But he felt jealous anyway. He didn’t like the idea of any other man taking her out, putting his hands on her, being close to her that way.
    She glanced away. “Just a friend. I have a few, you know.”
    “Of course you do.” He was surprised by her tone, and he couldn’t figure out a reason for her mood. To change the subject, he asked, “What prompted the parasailing?”
    She looked surprised again. “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t know. Just a question. I was just wondering why you got the sudden urge to parasail, especially with everything going on…”  He trailed off, since he suddenly felt guilty, since it was his family who was threatening her security, no matter how just their claim to the inn was.
    “I just wanted…I guess, I wanted to do something I was afraid of doing—just to prove to myself I could.”
    He suddenly understood her in a way he hadn’t before, felt closer to her than he had just the moment before. He’d experienced it before himself, taking a risk for no other reason than to prove the world couldn’t defeat him.
    She walked a few steps ahead of him, but now she turned back to smile, stray wisps of dark hair blowing around her face. Andrew smiled back, wondering if she was as off-limits as he’d believed, now that he’d found