The Billionaire's Challenging Beauty (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 2) by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online Page A

in so many countries and so many states within the U.S. 
    And that thought struck her hard.  She wasn’t the kind of woman who could travel the world and Saeger was the kind that loved it.  He probably needed to travel all over to ensure that his businesses were running properly. 
    With a sigh, she looked down at the floor, not sure what to do or where to go. 
    Darn it, the night had started off badly and only gotten worse. 
    Hmmm… maybe not worse.  Perhaps the evening had just gotten more confusing.  Life had become more confusing. 
    She kept her eyes away from Saeger since there were too many questions in her mind and thinking about him, seeing him, only brought up additional questions.  Maybe he’d been right.  Maybe their kiss, this silly attraction between the two of them was a mistake. 
    Tyla had never been more grateful for the last customer to leave the bar that night.  She was exhausted, not having slept well the night before, and confused because of too many questions. 
    All she wanted to do was get out of the bar and run home, hide away from Saeger and the looks he’d been tossing her way all night.  Nothing good could come of their attraction.  He was right.  They should just ignore it and go on with their lives. 
    “You’re ignoring me,” Saeger said when she went to the locker room to grab her bag.
    Tyla swung around, clasping her bag in front of her like a shield.  “I’m not,” she finally blurted out. 
    “Yes you are,” he said and moved closer to her. 
    Tyla glanced behind him, wondering where the others had gone. 
    “We’re alone,” he told her, his voice trying to soothe her nervousness.  He acknowledged now that he’d messed up yesterday and he wasn’t exactly sure how to make it up to her. 
    “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?” he finally asked. 
    Looking down at her, Saeger instantly knew that she was going to say no.  “You don’t have to work tomorrow.  Why not just have a relaxing dinner with me?”
    She started to shake her head but he reached out and touched her arm, stopping all the words that might have formed in her mind.  “Don’t say no, Tyla.  I think we need to talk.”
    Talk?  He wanted to talk?  She could barely grunt! 
    “I can pick you up at six tomorrow, and we’ll drive to Appleton.  Violet told me about this restaurant over there that serves great burgers.”
    Tyla sighed with relief.  Burgers she could do!  Burgers didn’t sound like an actual “date” date.  It sounded like two people grabbing dinner together.  Not a date. 
    “A burger sounds like a good idea,” she finally told him. 
    He smiled and her stomach flipped over.  “Great!  It’s a date!”
    She pulled back and shook her head.  “Not a date!” she gasped.
    He’d been about to walk out of the locker room when she said that, but he stopped and turned back, looking down at her with a strange look in his eyes.  “Not a date?” he asked, with a slight smile to those handsome, mind-mush-inducing lips. 
    She shook her head, trying to stop her eyes from looking down at his mouth.  She wasn’t thinking about him kissing her.  No way!  That would completely be against her new No-Lusting-After-Saeger policy. 
    “Not a date.  It can’t be a date,” she told him.
    He moved even closer, and her eyes moved once again to his mouth, wondering if yesterday had truly been a mistake.  It hadn’t felt like a mistake while it was happening, he thought.  “Why can’t it be a date?” he asked her softly. 
    Saeger saw the confusion in her eyes.  His body hardened even more when her cute tongue darted out and licked her lips.  Damn, but if she did that again, he wasn’t sure he could hold off on kissing her again until tomorrow.
    His hands pulled the backpack out of her arms and flipped it over his shoulder.  Oh, goodness, those shoulders!  She remembered touching those massive shoulders yesterday.  Her mind might have been mush, but