Trouble With Harry by Myla Jackson Read Free Book Online Page B

like a normal human being around this man.
    Harry was beside her in a second, his bare arm circling her waist. “You sure you’re all right?”
    His nearness cleared the fuzz from her brain. “Yes, yes. I’m going to run next door to see if I can borrow some clothes. Don’t go anywhere.”
    “Like this?” He held his arms out wide. The bright white of the towel created a stark contrast to his deeply tanned skin. With his dark hair wet and slicked back from his forehead, he looked like the pirate from her dream.
    “Good point.” As soon as she said the words, her gaze dropped to his point protruding against the towel.
    Harry chuckled, a deep throaty sound.
    Edie ran.
    She didn’t stop until she stood outside the door to her nearest neighbor. With a few deep, cleansing breaths she calmed her racing heart. Ever since she’d discovered Harry, she’d felt like she was in a long-distance marathon unable to stop and let her lungs catch up with the rest of her body. She was utterly exhausted.
    Now to explain to her neighbor, Mitch Gallagher, why she needed to borrow men’s clothing. After everything else she’d been through that day, this little effort should be a snap. And maybe Mitch could help her get her grip back on reality. She knocked firmly on the solid wood door.
    Mitch, the resident ladies’ man, worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street. He’d always offered her a friendly smile and she’d actually spilled her guts to him on one embarrassing occasion. But his revolving door was forever swishing through a parade of lovelies. After a few moments, he answered the door wearing a wrinkled white dress shirt over boxer shorts, his normally neatly combed sandy blond hair stood on end. His gaze ran the length of her from toe to tip, stopping when he got to her face. Denim blue eyes twinkled as his lips lifted in a slow sexy smile. “Edie! You look absolutely delectable.”
    Edie snorted. As if he really meant those flowery words. “Save the flattery for one of your girls, Mitch. I know you don’t mean it.”
    With a silent shake of his head, Mitch asked, “Then how might I be of assistance?”
    After months of watching him through her peephole, Edie should have been drooling over his muscular legs and go-to-hell good-looking smile. But she had bigger fish frying in her pan back at her apartment. “I need to talk to you. Quick!”
    Mitch’s face lost its sleepy, sexy look, and he straightened away from the door. “Come in, come in.”
    After a swift glance at her door, Edie ducked into Mitch’s living room. “Mitch, I need your help.”
    Mitch leaned out into hallway, looked both ways, shrugged and closed the door. “What’s wrong?”
    Edie stood in the middle of the foyer, her arms hugging her middle. “Nothing. Everything.” She flung her hands in the air and paced a short distance from Mitch. “Oh, Mitch, I’m so confused.”
    Standing with her back to Mitch, Edie didn’t realize he’d walked up behind her until he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Why don’t you tell ol’ Mitch all about it.”
    Where to start? “I opened a sarcophagus. I rubbed the dust off the bottle. Then I heard thunder and when I turned around, there he was. I stole the stone and the bottle. He’s in my apartment. Naked! And everything is so messed up, I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”
    “Whoa. Slow down.” Mitch chuckled. “Who’s naked in your apartment?”
    “Harry!”
    “He’s hairy?” Mitch dropped her arms and scratched his head.
    “Yes, no. Oh good grief!” Edie grabbed Mitch’s arms and shook him. “He kissed me!”
    Mitch leaned back, his brows rising into the hair dipping down over his forehead. “My Edie had her first kiss? And here I tried for months.” He shook his head, the gleam in his eyes teasing. “This is serious, very serious.”
    When Edie realized she was still clutching Mitch’s arms, she dropped them and stepped away. “Oh, Mitch, you know I’m not your