Page 13 of The Secret
He croaks out, “Sure,” and grins at me like he’s worked out just what effect he’s having.Damn. Where’s my normal flirt mechanism? I scuttle through to the kitchen, and by the time I’m back outside, Emma and Dan are cozied up with each other on an old, battered sofa that’s beside the plastic chairs. Emma’s leaning right into him, and I hand him the coffee as he studies me with raised eyebrows.I’m scowling.Dammit. But he pats the empty chair on the other side of him and turns toward me when I sit down.
“I’m sorry your first view at sunrise was me being dumped in the dirt. Monkeys would have been so much more exciting.”
Laughing, I examine him over my cup. Is he flirting? He was friendly last night, and maybe he was also checking me out. Whatever, I think he’s got a reasonable sense of humor.
“I’ve seen a lot of monkeys. I don’t often come across blond-haired, blue-eyed guys outside my bedroom in the morning,” I say, winking and crossing my fingers behind my back.
A hint of pink hits him high in his cheekbones, but his eyes meet mine.
“Can’t say I wake up to many beautiful chocolate-eyed women either,” he says with a grin.
Oh Lord. He volleyed that one straight back. Emma’s eyes widen as a laugh escapes me, all my smart one-liners disappearing down a plughole.
“Seriously, though, did you actually sleep in the hammock overnight?” I stammer out.Really, Liss?Is that the best you can come up with?
He rubs the scruff on his chin, eyes still droopy with sleep and his blond curls in a crazy halo around his head. My stomach does a strange loop.
“It was cooler out here.” He looks down at his hands and then squints at me, smiling. “I was expecting a different comeback from you than that,” he says.
If Emma wasn’t here, perhaps I’d have come up with a wittier response. And as if answering my prayers, she clears her throat.
“Brian will be up soon. I’m going to get dressed,” she says as she stands and straightens, frowning down at me. I smile blandly at her and watch as she disappears through the plastic fringes that cover the door.
“I was actually going to say how much I enjoyed the view of some nice abs and a happy trail.” A grin spreads across my face as I nod toward where his shirt has covered him up. I blow on my coffee and peek at him over the rim of my cup. “But maybe that’s too forward?”
He shakes his head as his mouth twists, and if anything, his cheeks are pinker.
Then he winks. “Anytime you want to see my abs, Liss, just let me know.”
Oh dear, oh dear.My smile widens as my shoulders ease. Dan, you are never going to come out ahead in a flirting showdown with me.
I press my hand into my chest. “Now that sounds like an amazing offer.” I nod at his chest. “How about now?”
He gapes at me, and I laugh. “Don’t challenge me to a flirting duel—I’ll win hands down,” I say, smiling wider now. His eyes roam over my face and then he raises an eyebrow, and his hands come up to the top button on his shirt, and when he undoes it, I get a tantalizing glimpse of curly blond chest hair.
And now my face is going pink. Goddammit, I amnota blusher. How did we go from good morning to him taking off his shirt so fast?
I flap my hand at him. “I didn’t mean it, you idiot.”
His hands drop down and the cutest bashful grin I think I’ve ever seen breaks across his face. He sits back in his chair, smiling as I shift in my seat. “I’m afraid I never back down from a challenge,” he says, laughing, then he looks off to the side, letting out a groan as he scrubs his hands down his face. “God, I’m sorry. We’ve only just met and I’m taking off my shirt!”
And oh, this isfun. He’s a nice guy.
“Don’t apologize. I think I asked for it, and a striptease an excellent start to a day, I’d say. It doesn’t happen nearly often enough. I was about to offer …”
His hand shoots out to clamp over my face, causing me to jump, and something lights up in his eyes, heat definitely, but …
“No more. I’m going to imagine that I’m the only person that’s stripped for you first thing in the morning.”
And oh! He’s possessive, too? Interesting.Throw me over your shoulder and do something bad to me. I lick his hand, and his eyes bug out. Now what amIdoing? I’ve never done something like this with anyone, but I’m giddy with how much I’m enjoying it.
“Will kissing you shut you up?” he says, eyes dancing.
“That’s actually a question?”
He purses his lips and studies the horizon with a smile then looks back at me. Today has taken a very strange U-turn. And I won’t be able to get that curly chest hair out of my head. He stands up abruptly and stretches.
“Well, this little exchange has been fun, but I need to get ready for the day.” And he gives me a wink before lifting the beaded curtain and heading indoors.
