Proud Hearts (Wild Hearts Romance Book 2) by Phoenix Sullivan Read Free Book Online

her past.
    In any case, she wasn’t going to be the one breaking any eggs in the morning.
    Gary’s wide eyes had almost the same hint of horror I’d seen in them yesterday. He was the perfect foil to Reena’s aloofness, every emotion shared to the world on his dark, expressive face. There was never any guesswork about exactly what he was feeling and how he felt about it—whether it was me, the situation or life in general.
    That refreshing honesty, though, refreshed only to a point before it slid over into drama queen country when someone was as emotive as Gary. Two weeks would probably be my tolerance for him, even if he weren’t continually watching me and shooting jealous glares my way. How Chris put up with him for longer…
    “I’ll do it.” Chris shrugged and, caught off guard, I had to consciously shut the gape my jaw dropped into.
    “You will?” There was no hiding the surprise in my voice.
    Chris flashed that toe-curling grin of his. “What? You think being a pretty boy is my only skill?”
    That thought had more than simply crossed my mind, but I wasn’t going to admit it. Not aloud anyway. I was pretty sure my expression was doing all the silent conveyance Chris needed.
    “The kitchen’ll be all yours, then,” I agreed. “Got any other surprises up your sleeve I should know about?”
    “My sleeve , no, but I’m betting you’d find a big surprise or two up some other clothing parts.” A single waggle of his eyebrows left no doubt what he was alluding to.
    I willed myself not to blush although I felt the rising heat. “Yeah, let’s just keep those surprises wrapped up for now, shall we?”
    “As you wish. But any time you want a peek, just give the bow a tug.”
    Jesus, even the innuendo made my butt clench as a jolt of pure want shot up from between my legs. I covered the rush of desire with the best smirk I could muster, not trusting my voice to any further repartee.
    Gary’s sharp glare could cut glass as he carved it first my way then toward Chris. With thinned lips, he rose, turned with an angry flaunt and disappeared behind the vehicles.
    “Why do you tease him like that?” I chided.
    “It wasn’t him I was teasing.”
    That time I did blush.
    “Look, Gary’s a nice guy. I can’t help how he feels about me. I wish I could feel the same way about him. Hell, I’ve even tried to give him what he wanted. Why not? But it just didn’t work for me. And I’m not going to give up what does work—magnificently well, thank you very much”—he threw a pointed look at Reena—“just to spare his feelings. Not when he insists on personally assisting me 24/7. That’s just not possible. So what, you’d rather I lie to him—or me—by not being who I am?”
    He had a point there I could concede, but I was also intrigued. “And who are you, Chris Corsair?”
    Those perfect lips of his started to twitch back up into his trademark grin but didn’t quite make it before they fell. “I thought I knew. Rich playboy always sounded like a great job description, you know. But you look around, how many old, rich playboys do you see? Not enough to make me think you can be all three. So old and rich is my new goal—assuming I can give up number three.”
    “Seems like the solution to that is fairly simple.”
    “You’d think so, wouldn’t you. But there’s a whole mentality there. It’s not just all about how many women you can bed, but the whole game around it. The whole lifestyle. I don’t know it’s something I can give up, no matter how much I might want to. And a piece of me will probably never want to.”
    Both Reena’s gaze and mine automatically—inevitably—dropped down.
    He snorted. “No, I don’t mean that piece. Although it’ll likely take some serious convincing. It likes being a playboy—a lot. Not denying that at all.
    “You asked me who I am? A man in transition. I can tell you who I was and maybe where I want to be—eventually. Months or years down the road. But