The One You Want

The One You Want by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: The One You Want by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online
Authors: Gena Showalter
wicked silence.
    The huskiness of his tone and the suggestiveness of his words echoed in his mind. He was flirting. He never flirted. Nor was he ever playful. Nor had he ever tickled a woman, or even wanted to.
    Until now. Until her. The woman he couldn’t have and shouldn’t want. Kenna wasn’t one of his in-and-out relationships, even if she would be agreeable to such an arrangement.
    Would she?
    “I was planning a sort-of bucket list,” she said, easing back into the conversation.
    “
Sort-of
bucket list?”
    “A...fun list. Things my friend and I want to do before we dry up like old prunes.”
    Dry up?
Oh, sweetheart. I’ll make you so wet you’ll

    Nothing.
    He fought the curl of desire low in his belly. “A...sexual list?” he asked, treading carefully.
    “No!” she shouted, horrified. “No. We’re going to get tattoos and throw a drink in someone’s face. And TP someone’s house. And jump into a pool with our clothes on.” She ticked off several other to-dos, each more entertaining than the last. Tame, but endearing.
    Her excitement was a heady thing, dusting her lovely freckled skin with a pink that rivaled the roses around them; he realized he was smiling. This woman might have a daughter, but she was as innocent and pure as newly fallen snow.
    “I want to help,” he said. “I have to drive to Dallas tomorrow for a series of meetings, but I’ll be back on Friday. Wait for me, and I’ll help you check off a few items.”
    In fact, he didn’t like the thought of her doing a single one without him. Wanted to witness them all.
    “Wait. I’m not sure I understood you correctly. You want to...help me?” she asked.
    “Why is my aid so surprising? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
    “I guess.” She eyed him curiously. “But what if a perfect opportunity presents itself while you’re out of town?”
    He thought for a minute, decided. “Change of plans. I’ll skip Dallas and return to Strawberry Valley tomorrow.” He was the boss. His word was law. He could delegate and do what he wanted, when he wanted. “We’ll start on your list. Together.”
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    K ENNA BUZZED WITH anticipation all day, watching the clock—
tick, tock
—while writing a paper for school, watching Norrie and even while working at Two Farms. Dane had promised to pick her up after her shift, despite the lateness of the hour.
    His one and only text played through her mind.
    You decide what U want 2 do & I will make it happen.
    As awesome as that was, one thing was even awesomer.
    Awesomer?
I’m worse than a junior high girl with a secret crush.
But the fact that thrilled her? She now had his phone number, and it was totally okay, because he didn’t have a girlfriend.
    Why didn’t he have a girlfriend?
    She would have done an internet search, but didn’t want to learn about him that way. What was on paper—or online, whatever—wasn’t always accurate. After all, if anyone had ever cared enough about her life to post the details online, well, most of the “facts” would have been false.
    Was Dane allergic to commitment? Or had he just not found the right person? Was he a serial bang-and-bailer?
    “Hello. Earth to Kenna.”
    Kenna blinked, realized she’d been standing in front of Bart Chumley’s table for several minutes, silent. “I’m sorry.” He’d asked to be placed in her section, and she prayed he didn’t pressure her for a date again. “Have you decided what you’d like to order?”
    He ignored the question, saying, “You know I have three daughters, yes? They’re fourteen, twelve and nine, and I know they would love to hang out with your Norrie. We should schedule a get-together.”
    “When I was fourteen, twelve and nine, I wanted nothing to do with anyone younger, so I doubt your daughters will want anything to do with mine,” she said, softening the rejection with a smile. “Now, what can I get you to eat?”
    The next few hours of her shift passed slower than the

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