Turn My World Upside Down: Jo's Story by Maureen Child Read Free Book Online Page A

womanizer.
    “Sorry,” she said, shifting her gaze back to the wood and glass glory spread out in front of her. “I just never would have guessed that you could do something like this.”
    “Maybe it’s you who doesn’t know me as well as you think you do,” Cash said, his dark gaze fixed on her with a heat that seemed to sear the very air separating them.
    Her heartbeat jittered and her mouth went dry. For just a moment or two, Jo felt . . .
possibilities
fluttering around her like drunken butterflies. And that was more than enough to bring her to her senses.
    “Maybe not,” she said firmly, whether to convince herself or Cash that she meant business, she wasn’t really sure. “But I know you as well as I’m
going
to.”
    He shook his head at her as if even he were amazed at her stubbornness. “You might want to ask yourself sometime, Josefina, why you’re so determined to keep me at a safe distance.”
    Oh, she
knew
why. Knew it all too well. And that reason reached up from the pit of her stomach and grabbed at the base of her throat, just to give it a good squeeze. Air pumped thinly into her lungs and she had to swallow hard to be able to talk past that tight throat.
    “I don’t owe you a reason, Cash,” she said, lifting her chin until their gazes locked. “But if you’re in the mood for some soul-searching, maybe you should ask yourself why you keep beating your head against abrick wall. Why you’re so damn eager to break down my defenses instead of moving on to someone more . . .
willing
.”
    She stalked off then, headed for the house and the backyard beyond, leaving her words hanging in the air like a challenging banner.
    “She’s got a point,” Cash muttered when he was sure she couldn’t hear him.
    If he had any sense at all, he’d back away from her. But somehow or other, she kept drawing him in. In the year or so he’d known her, he’d seen the many different sides of Jo Marconi—and every damn one of them fascinated him. He’d seen her furious, watched her laugh with her family, and seen her so vulnerable and hurt after the blowup about her father’s affair that it had torn at him.
    She held nothing back. A man always knew where he stood with Josefina. He watched her throw herself into life, giving everything she had. He’d seen her heart.
    What he couldn’t see, was him ignoring her anytime soon. And that was just something both of them were going to have to live with.
    “You’re
here
!” Jack Marconi raced up to his older sister, excitement blistering in his eyes and dancing across his features. She hadn’t seen him that happy in well . . .
ever
. “You have to see. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and Jo let herself be dragged across the neatly tended backyard.
    She refused to be impressed any further.
    She absolutely would
not
look at the incredible flower beds, in rioting colors, ringing the sweep of manicured grass. She would
not
admire the length ofdeck spearing off the back of the house, or its hand-carved railings.
    But damn it, she was forced to notice the difference in her little brother.
    For the first time in days, Jack was
grinning
. Gone were the drooping shoulders, the scowl, and the slouching walk. He was laughing, happy. And somehow or other,
Cash Hunter
had pulled off another miracle.
    Damn it, what was it about the man? Not just women responded to him, but little boys and probably dogs and cats, too. What ability did he have that she so clearly lacked?
    Ouch.
    She winced as that thought trotted through her brain, but how could she avoid thinking it? She’d been in charge of Jack for three days and the kid hadn’t cracked a smile. He spends a couple hours in Cash’s company and he’s practically
dancing
across the lawn.
    And it didn’t help any to have Cash walking along just behind her, probably enjoying the hell out of this whole situation.
    Trying to take back control, Jo said, “You shouldn’t have come here without telling us, Jack.”
    “Yeah, I