Still Lake by Anne Stuart Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t need help…” he began, but Marty broke in, stamping her foot like a spoiled child.
    â€œYou’re always trying to stop me from doing anything I want. You don’t want me to have any fun! You’d just as soon lock me up in a convent and throw away the key.”
    Sophie took a deep breath. “When did you decide that cleaning old houses was fun? You’ve been complaining since the day we got here—why in heaven’s name would you want to volunteer to do any more than you’ve grudgingly agreed to do here?”
    â€œMaybe because I want to?”
    â€œAnd what’s a convent got to do with it? Wereyou planning on helping him open the house or having sex with him?”
    Smith choked on his coffee.
    â€œYou hate me!” Marty cried in a fury. “Well, I hate you, too!” And she stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.
    Sophie didn’t want to face her unwelcome guest. She should have gotten used to Marty’s scenes by now, but she hadn’t slept well the night before, and for some reason Mr. Smith made her uncomfortable. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, heading for the coffee and pouring herself a mug, determined not to look at him. “My sister is at a difficult age. She’s got a lot of problems to work through.”
    â€œDoes she? She seems fairly typical to me. All teenagers are a pain in the butt.”
    She glanced over at him. “You’re a father, Mr. Smith?”
    â€œNo. I just remember what it was like. Don’t you?”
    â€œNot particularly. I was too busy being responsible to behave like a selfish adolescent. I didn’t have time to rebel.”
    â€œMaybe you should try it when you get a chance,” he said evenly.
    â€œI’m just as happy to have skipped that part of growing up.” She glanced out the kitchen window toward the lake, not wanting to look at him any longer.
    â€œI’ve found that you can’t really skip parts of the process. Sooner or later they catch up with you and you have to go through them, anyway.”
    â€œLet’s just hope I’m immune to that particular theory. I don’t have the time or the inclination to act like a giddy, lovesick brat.”
    â€œMaybe you don’t know what you’re missing,” the man said, setting his empty coffee mug down on the counter. He’d chosen her favorite mug—the teal blue one shaped like a bean pot. She had the gloomy feeling that she’d never be able to drink from it again without picturing his long, elegant fingers wrapped around it. His mouth on it. There was no way around it, the man had the sexiest mouth she’d ever seen.
    â€œI’m better off that way,” she said. Wondering why the hell she was even discussing this with him. She knew he was watching her out of his cool, dark eyes, even though she was determined not to meet his gaze.
    â€œMaybe,” he said. “In the meantime, since your sister’s otherwise occupied, would you consider coming over to the house and taking a look? Give me some idea what kind of help I’ll need, maybe give me a few names?”
    She stared at him in shock. Yesterday afternoon he’d looked as if he’d be more welcoming to a horde of Vikings rather than his neighbor. Now he wassuddenly being relatively pleasant, asking her for help.
    The problem was, she didn’t trust him. “I can give you the names, anyway….”
    â€œDo I bother you, Ms. Davis?”
    She had no choice but to meet his gaze. He was taunting her, and she was half tempted to tell him just how much he bothered her. And why.
    But that would be stupid. There was no question at all that the man was extremely attractive, with just the sort of romantic looks that would appeal to an angry, vulnerable teenage girl. If Sophie was to keep Marty safe from temptation, she needed to know her enemy, and Mr. Smith was giving her the