The Rebound Guy by Farrah Rochon Read Free Book Online Page A

at all. Of course, those rigid, professional types usually called if they were going to miss an appointment.
    It didn’t matter; she apparently wasn’t coming, and he couldn’t sit here all day. Dex swallowed the last bit of his coffee and rose from the table he’d been lucky enough to score in the crowded coffee house.
    He turned for the exit and spotted her.
    Asia Carpenter strode toward him with her chin in the air, that overly confident, don’t-give-me-shit-because-you-can’t-handle-what-I’ll-dish-back look about her.
    Dex couldn’t ignore the sudden twitch in the area just south of his belt. It was probably just a reflex, he told himself.
    She wore a slim, dark blue skirt that stopped several inches above her knees and hugged her slender curves. Her top was sleeveless and silky, cream-colored and lightweight. A thin black belt cinched her waist.
    He remained standing as she made her way to his table, the click of her high heels ringing out despite the whistle of the espresso machine and the low murmur of numerous conversations taking place throughout the coffee house.
    She stretched her hand out as she approached. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr. Bryant. I’m sorry I’m late.”
    “It’s Dexter, and it’s not a problem.”
    Her hand was as soft as he remembered when he’d shaken it last week. Too damn soft.
    Dex was itching to sit before that previous twinge in his groin grew into something more, but his Southern upbringing wouldn’t allow him to take his seat until she did.
    “May I get you a cup of coffee?” he asked, his deeply instilled manners refusing to let up.
    “No, thank you.” She sat with her back to the window. “I’ve had enough today.”
    “Long morning at the office?” he asked as he reclaimed the seat he’d occupied for the past half hour.
    “Long week at the office.” There was a beat of silence before she said, “Mr. Bryant, I would like to hire you.”
    Dex’s hand paused in the middle of reaching for his empty coffee cup. His brow lifted a fraction. “Has your relationship status changed since last week?”
    The slim column of her neck undulated as she swallowed deeply. “A lot has changed since last week,” she answered.
    He settled back in his chair, studying her across the table. She projected this persona of cool self-assuredness, so the vulnerability he detected in her eyes confused him. It was his job to read women, but he was having a hard time figuring her out, which, of course, made her all the more interesting.
    “Exactly what do you want to hire me for?” he asked.
    “I want you to help me make my ex-fiancé jealous.”
    He blinked. “And how do you propose I would do that?”
    “By pretending to be my new love interest,” she said. “My ex-fiancé believes that I’m cold, unfeeling, and incapable of getting and keeping a man. I want to show him that he’s wrong.”
    Dex couldn’t think of a single scenario in which the woman sitting across from him would not be able to land a man. He was surprised there wasn’t a line of them trailing behind her as she’d walked to the coffee shop.
    “Have you considered other avenues, like maybe going out to a club and meeting a guy?”
    One well-shaped eyebrow arched in inquiry. “Do you always try to talk women out of hiring you?”
    “No,” Dexter said with a low chuckle. “It’s just that I’m not sure you understand exactly what my business entails.”
    “You’re a male escort, aren’t you?”
    “No, I am not an escort.” His fingernails bit into his palm as he clenched his fist on the table. He shouldn’t be surprised at her assumption after Alena’s article.
    “I like to consider myself a relationship advisor,” Dex clarified. “I provide support to women during the transition after the end of a long-term relationship. I help them work through their emotional turmoil and figure out what went wrong in their relationship so that it doesn’t happen again.”
    She stared at