Seven-Year Seduction by Heidi Betts Read Free Book Online Page B

wall. That way, she could see every move he made and map out her escape route, if one became necessary.
    He piled four slices of buttered toast on another plate and grabbed a handful of paper napkins from a drawer by the sink before returning to the table.
    â€œDon’t wait for me. Go ahead and eat.”
    She lifted the fork at her place setting, but merely toyed with the omelet fixings in front of her while he continued to move around the room. He opened a cupboard and retrieved two glasses, taking them with him to the refrigerator.
    â€œMilk or juice?” he asked.
    Juice would go better with breakfast, but her ulcer wouldn’t thank her for it. “Milk. Thank you,” she added grudgingly.
    After filling the glasses—one with milk for her, the other with orange juice for himself—he sauntered back to the table with that confident, loose-limbed stride of his, kicked his chair out and took a seat.
    â€œHow’s your omelet?”
    She looked down, realizing she hadn’t yet tasted a bite.
    â€œOh.” Quickly, she scooped up a forkful of ham,cheese, onion, mushroom and pepper, mixed in with scrambled egg. Her personal trainer would kill her if he ever found out she’d eaten like this, but she had to admit it was delicious.
    Of course, she wasn’t going to tell Connor that.
    â€œIt’s very good,” she told him, dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
    â€œGlad you like it.” He dug into his own breakfast like a man who hadn’t eaten in a week.
    She picked at hers more slowly, feeling the silence growing between them like a weight on her chest.
    â€œI didn’t know you cooked,” she murmured, when she couldn’t stand it any longer.
    After taking a swig of orange juice, he shook his head. “I don’t much. Just enough to get by.”
    â€œI suppose Lori-Laura-Lisa does most of the cooking for you these days.” The words sounded bitter, even to her own ears, and Beth regretted voicing them as soon as they passed her lips.
    â€œLori-Laura-Lisa?” he asked, one brow quirking upward.
    She shrugged, refusing to be embarrassed by either her comment or the grouping of names she used for his overly processed girlfriend. “I know it starts with an L .”
    â€œLori,” he emphasized. “Her name is Lori. And she cooks some, but mostly we go out or order in. How about you? What do you eat out there in L.A.?”
    â€œNot eggs and ham, that’s for sure,” she said, stabbing at those very ingredients on her plate and relaxing into the conversation. “Tofu, protein shakes, salads. A lot of raw meals.”
    â€œRaw?” he wanted to know, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
    Against her better judgment, Beth found herself smiling at his lighthearted teasing. “Not that kind of raw. Get your mind out of the gutter, pervert,” she fired back.
    He only grinned and shoveled another pile of omelet into his mouth.
    â€œRaw is a big thing out on the coast. Uncooked, unpreserved, organic foods, like chickpea burgers with shredded coconut or carrots on top.”
    â€œUh-huh. And this keeps you alive?”
    â€œI’m here, aren’t I?”
    â€œYeah, but it wouldn’t hurt you to wolf down a real burger or two before you head back. You could stand to put on a couple pounds.”
    Something warm and pleasant burst low in her solar plexus. She spent so much time working out and watching what she ate, trying hard to fit in with the “the skinnier the better” California mentality. It was an ideal she’d embraced when she’d first moved out there, but now it seemed to be a constant struggle just to maintain her current weight and figure.
    Hearing Connor say she was too thin flattered her, even if it shouldn’t. He didn’t get an opinion about her physical appearance—no man did—and he didn’t have a clue what life in L.A. was like.
    But after seeing