To Catch a Man (In 30 Days or Less) (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series) by Judy Angelo Read Free Book Online Page A

Hudson wasn’t a man you’d
call eye candy.  For one thing, his jaw was too firm for that description.  And
his forehead was too broad and strong.  And his lips?  Too tight.  But there
was a manliness about him that could not be denied.  When you looked at him you
knew that this was a man who was no walk-over.  He was the kind of man who
would defend his woman, protect her, be a source of strength for her.  Indie
gave a little smile.  She liked that.
    She was still smiling when Stone’s
eyes opened and he looked straight at her.
    Indie jerked away and pressed back
into the seat.  Then she stole a sideways glance and saw that Stone was
laughing at her.
    He began to straighten up.  “Was I
snoring?”  he asked with a rueful smile.  “Don’t tell me I was so loud you
couldn’t get any reading done.”
    “Not at all.”  Indie shook her
head.  “You were quiet as a mouse.  I just thought I saw a…mosquito or
something.  I didn’t want you to get stung.”
    He gave her a slow smile.  “Thanks
for looking out for me.”
    “No problem at all,” she replied
then she escaped back to her seat across the aisle, picked up her novel and
sought refuge behind it.  That was a close one.  She’d better watch herself
from here on.  Few people took kindly to being stared at.  She should know. 
She hated it herself.
    Indie kept a low profile until they
boarded the plane and even then she tried to keep a safe distance between her
and Stone, making sure there was a seat that separated the two of them and
reaching for a magazine she could hide behind.  But then she remembered the
real reason she was there – to attract this man, get him to want her so much
that he would ask her to marry him.  So far she’d been doing the exact opposite. 
She definitely had to work on her alluring side.
    She dropped the magazine onto the
middle seat and looked over to where Stone was peering at the screen of his laptop. 
She’d pretty much ignored the man since takeoff but now she would repair that. 
They had almost a day's worth of travel ahead of them so what better time to
get to know him?  Proximity, Tessa had said.  She’d certainly have lots of
that, stuck in a plane with Stone for the next several hours.
    She cleared her throat and he
looked up immediately.  “Sorry,” she said, giving him an apologetic smile, “I
didn’t mean to disturb you.”  Of course she'd meant to disturb him.  She knew
that and he knew that but it was the polite thing to say.
    “Not at all,” he said and pushed
the laptop onto the nearby counter.  “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.  Just a bit…bored.”
    Stone laughed.  “What?  With all
the entertainment on the plane?  You’ve got your choice of newspapers,
magazines, music, movies and, my favorite, video games.”
    “You’ve got video games?  Point me
to them.”  Then she chuckled.  “Just kidding.  If you don’t mind,” her laughter
softened to a smile, “I’d prefer talking to you.  I mean, isn’t it weird that
I’m working for you now and I don’t know that much about you?”
    He shrugged.  “Not weird at all.  I
have lots of employees I’ve never even met.  But you’re right.  It makes sense
for us to get more acquainted.  What do you want to know?”
    “Well, for one, what made you get
involved with an orphanage all the way in South Africa?  Are you in some kind
of competition with Oprah?  She built a school for girls and you decide to take
on the boys?"
    Stone’s lips twitched with
amusement.  “Nothing like that.  Oprah’s in a class by herself.  For me, it all
started two years ago when I visited the country to launch Hudson Broadcasting
Corporation in Johannesburg.  I met a little boy, Moekebi Okechuckwu, a bright
and shining star on the South African landscape…” as his voice trailed off his
face looked thoughtful, “…and he was dying of AIDS.”
    “Oh, no.”  A familiar pain gripped
Indie’s heart.  Since