The Care and Feeding of Unmarried Men by Christie Ridgway Read Free Book Online

bad exes.
    â€œThat’s quite an interesting question.” She seemed to mull it over, then her fingers found his skin. To be precise, her fingernails lightly scratched along the bulge of muscle on his forearm, ruffling the hair. His scalp prickled. His cock stirred.
    His only defense was to lift an eyebrow as coolly as she. “It’s a simple question.”
    â€œWell…” She drew out the word to the same length as her next stroke of nails, then gave a small shrug that could mean anything.
    Frustration made him fist his fingers again. He’d walked over to find a relaxing “hands-on” experience, and instead he’d found Eve Caruso and all her grind-his-back-teeth beauty. His “Are you seeing someone?” gave her the upper hand, but he knew better than to let it show. He stared her down, freezing his muscles even as his blood heated.
    Perhaps she sensed his strong will, because her touch altered as she stroked down his flesh. Instead of her nails it was a soft fingertip, tracing a circle on the top of his hand.
    Witch. Tracing a heart.
    His teeth ground again. Didn’t she have all the moves down pat?
    Her tongue touched the bow of her upper lip, leaving a wet spot in the matte pink perfection. He still couldn’t look away.
    â€œNash?” Her voice was soft. Faint.
    He had to lean closer. To hear, he told himself. “What?”
    Only a breath separated them. “What is it you want?”
    â€œBonjour!”
    At the sound of Jemima’s cheerful voice, Nash nearly choked. He jerked back from the superbeauty, pulling free from her touch and the hypnotic net of attraction she cast out without a qualm. His head whipped toward his sister. “You’re late.”
    â€œJe suis désolée . ” Though she switched to English, herFrench accent remained. “Ees so confusing, this passion for time you Americains feel.”
    Nash rolled his eyes. “Can it, kid.”
    Her grin was impish and unapologetic. “So sue me. I got held up on a call with my agent about the new script.” Nash wondered about that. The last he’d seen her, she’d been chatting up some guy swathed in bandages.
    Jemima’s gaze darted between Nash and Eve. “What have you guys been doing?”
    â€œFixing her car,” Nash said, turning away to return the hood to its closed position. “It should start fine now.”
    â€œActually,” Eve corrected, “we were sharing our romantic—”
    â€œMistakes,” he said without looking at her. Indulging in that last piece of conversation had been a definite mistake.
    â€œOh, mon frère has made tons of those,” Jem said blithely, waving her hand in a Gallic gesture. “He’s the king of mistakes.”
    Nash swung around to glare at his sister, while speaking to the other woman. “Eve, didn’t you say you had to be going?”
    Though he refused to look at her face again, he could feel the smile playing at her mouth. Hell, her touch was still ghosting over his flesh.
    â€œNot when this is getting so…intriguing.”
    â€œHe’s got a fat file folder of Farrahs,” Jemima informed Eve. “Though he’s claimed to have sworn off of them.”
    â€œFarrahs?”
    Jemima looked so damn innocent. It was going to be a shame that he’d have to concoct some horriblepayback for this little stunt. He pinned her with his gaze. “If you know what’s good for you—”
    â€œIt happens to be a popular name amongst the women who follow the monster-truck circuit,” Jemima said. “Nash has dated—what?—seven of them?”
    â€œTwo.” So this was how his sister was going to punish him for his big-brother protectiveness. Frustration was rising again, but there was no point in letting either woman guess they’d gotten to him. He leaned against the front fender of the Hyundai and gave a go-ahead gesture to