Taken by Kelli Maine Read Free Book Online

answer to everyone else?” You’re staring at me, very perceptive of my feelings. Too perceptive.
    “Sometimes. Then I feel guilty.” Your bobber dips underwater and pops back up. I smack your leg and point. “You got one!”
    “No way.” You jerk the line and start reeling it in. “I never catch anything. You must be my lucky charm.” You wink at me and pull an ugly green-brown fish out of the water. “Big mouth bass.”
    I grab the net and hold it out for you. Once the fish is in the boat, you take the hook out and plop him in a rusty bucket with some lake water. “You’re keeping it?” It stares up at me with a big, googly eye, its gills flaring.
    “I told you, we’re eating it tonight.” Your head joins mine over the bucket. “Mmm, mmm. Good eatin’.”
    Laughter erupts from my belly. “Are you sure you’re a billionaire business god?”
    Your laughter joins mine. “I did sound like I real swamp-man just then, didn’t I?”
    “If you do stay here, you’ll fit in nicely with the neighbors.” I put a hand up, shading my eyes. “If there are any in a hundred mile radius.” I drop my hand and shrug. “You can always fly them in.”
    “Nah. Too pretentious. I’ll stick with the canoe.” You sit and cast the line back out. “Let’s see if your luck holds.”
    Turning on my bench, I glance out across the water, scanning in all directions. There is so much untamed green—trees, lilies, sea grass—it’s like we’re pioneers who trekked out here and discovered this secluded spot.
    A firefly wisps by my head, hovers like a helicopter between us, then darts away. How can you mesh your life of luxury with one on a deserted island?
    You reel the line in a little and prop your foot up on the side of the boat. Every wall that stood between us before has vanished. You’re still a stranger, but at the same time, you’re not, and my curiosity is getting the better of me. “Tell me more about yourself. All I know is the business side from interviews in magazines and online articles. I don’t know anything about you as a person.”
    “Want to get personal, huh?” Your eyes sparkle with light reflecting off the water. The look in them clearly shows me how personal you’d like to get. “What do you want to know?”
    “What about your sister? How old is she? What’s her name? Do you have any other siblings?” The questions burst out of me. For a second, my eagerness embarrasses me, and I take another glimpse of our surroundings to pull my eyes from yours.
    “Her name’s Heidi. She’s three years younger than me, and no, I don’t have any other siblings.”
    I face you again and lift my brows, encouraging you to keep talking.
    You tilt your head and almost smile. “Nobody ever asks about my family. All I am is a figure in a bank account or a signature on a paycheck.” Leaning forward, you run your hand down my arm. “Thank you for asking.”
    I can’t figure out if this is another one of your attempts at changing the topic, but I won’t let you this time. “Do you get along with her? Heidi?”
    You sit back and rub your hands on your shorts. “We get along. We don’t talk much.”
    “Why?” You run a hand through your hair. My questions make you nervous. “You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?” I ask.
    Leaning your elbows on your knees, you gaze at me, resignation crossing your eyes. “I’m not used to it, but I will. For you, I will.”   Your throat ripples as you swallow. “Heidi’s husband and I don’t get along. He doesn’t think I’m a good influence, so she doesn’t contact me very often.”
    “Why does he think that way? Did something happen?” Does he know you drug and kidnap woman, take them to an island and wine and dine them, offer them everything they’ve ever wanted?
    I blink and keep my eyes closed for a second to stop the swirling mix of thoughts and emotions in my head.
    “Nothing really happened. She got married, and after they had my niece