Want Me by Jo Leigh Read Free Book Online

everything’s going for rock-bottom prices. Rock bottom of what? I can’t find a decent two-bedroom town house with an on-site manager for less than a million and a half.”
    “It’s still Manhattan,” she said. “People keep coming, and they keep paying.”
    “Crazy is what it is.” He looked up at her with wide eyes, and even in the dim amber light, she could feel his interest. In the conversation, of course. “Your house has got to be worth many millions. You could sell that sucker and retire tomorrow, all of you. Move somewhere, pretty much anywhere but London or Paris, and live like kings for the rest of your life. And if you sold the plant, too?”
    “Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen. The house has been with us for generations. We’re not about to let it go. Not the plant, either, dammit.”
    His open mouth closed and his excited gaze turned to concern. “I didn’t mean anything by that,” he said. “I wasn’t serious.”
    She drank some so she could get her equilibrium back. After she patted the foam off her upper lip, she smiled at him. “I know. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. As I said, bad day.”
    “Did you eat lunch?”
    Shannon blinked at him. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
    “You used to get cr—out of sorts when you waited too long to eat. When we were kids.”
    “I admit, I did get cranky years ago, and all right, yes, I probably should have eaten more today. How did you even remember that?”
    “Funny, huh, what sticks?” He tapped his temple. “Let’s just say I have a lot of blackmail material stored away up here.”
    She feigned covering her mouth for a cough that didn’t do much to hide her saying, “Underoos.”
    “Ouch,” he said. “Although, I seem to recall a My Little Pony phase that went on for an incredibly long time.”
    “Those were adorable. And very appropriate for a child my age.”
    “I wasn’t wearing Underoos to high school, you know.”
    “No, I didn’t,” Ellen said, and Shannon and Nate looked over at the grinning waitress. She put their silverware down and patted Nate on the head. “It’s good to have you back for a visit,” she said, then wandered off.
    “I never realized how much the sawdust dampens sound,” Nate said.
    “I imagine everyone in the bar will be talking about your underwear in the next couple of days.”
    “And people wonder why I stay overseas.”
    Shannon reached for a napkin. She did wonder why he’d stayed away. And why he was so keen on selling Brenner & Gill. But she didn’t want serious tonight. She wanted to relax with her…friend.
    * * *
    N ATE WANTED TO PUT HIS ARM around Shannon as they walked back to the house. It was close to midnight, stupidly cold, and he was so drawn to her it was a bad joke. Instead, he kept his hands in his pockets and tried to stop watching her long enough to prevent walking straight into a streetlight pole.
    “I shouldn’t have had that last beer,” Shannon said.
    “No, you probably shouldn’t have.”
    She slowed her step and bumped his shoulder with hers. “You had more to drink than I did.”
    “We weren’t talking about me. I should have stopped after my second Guinness. But come on. Guinness. At Molly’s Shebeen. How am I supposed to resist that, hmm?”
    “You’re right,” she said. “You were perfectly justified. I, on the other hand, was reckless and foolish. I should be ashamed.”
    “Well, hell. If you’re going to waste shame on something like having an extra beer, you should give up right now.”
    Her laughter warmed him like a hot toddy. “What, you want me to rob a bank? Steal a car? Have an illicit affair?”
    “Those are all legitimately shame-worthy, yes. Although I never said that shame had to come along with a prison sentence. You still need to have good judgment. So that leaves illicit affairs.”
    “I don’t have anyone to be illicit with.”
    “No?”
    She grabbed his arm and pulled him close. There wasn’t enough beer in Molly’s to slow down