Explosion of Love (The Armstrongs Book 6) Read Free Page B

foot onto his thigh, using his thumbs to relax the muscles in her foot.
    When he hit a ticklish spot, she pulled that foot away and then offered him the other one with a mewing sound.
    “You’re spoiled,” he told her, fighting the desire that rose in his body, just by touching her feet. Hell, since when was a foot massage an erotic turn-on?
    Samantha giggled.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “I envisioned you wearing a pair of high heels, and I reckon it’s the rest of the world that should be glad you’re not a model.”
    Grant furrowed his eyebrows. “You think I wouldn’t be able to walk around in those things?”
    “Oh, I’m sure you would manage it. But it wouldn’t be pretty.” Samantha barely finished her sentence, because she couldn’t control her burst of laughter.
    I want to hear that happy sound all day long. If it means I have to walk around in high heels to amuse her, so be it.
    “Mhhmmm…Grant, that is so good.”
    Her moan sent heat waves through his body right into his groin. He’d be in for some cold showers if she stayed at his place. Damn it. Why did he have to be so attracted to her? She was his best friend. And she deserved better than an ordinary man like him.
    She pulled her other foot away and tucked them both beneath her on the couch, leaning against him.
    After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he asked, “How long are you planning to stay?”
    She looked at him. “I don’t know yet. Do you already want to get rid of me?”
    “Not at all, it’s just that I was planning to go to the beach tomorrow for a few days.”
    Samantha bounced up from the couch, jumping up and down as she re-settled on her knees beside him. “Does your family still own that cute little place up at Sandy Beach?”
    He grinned at her enthusiasm. “Yes, but now I have my own place up there.”
    “Since when?” Then she punched him and continued, “How could you not have told me?”
    Yes, how could he? It had been a dream they had shared for a long time: to have their own house at the beach, far away from any nagging siblings.
    Between her six brothers and his three brothers and two sisters, solitude had been in short supply while growing up, and both he and Samantha had longed for a place to retreat to. Not all of the time, but once in a while when their families became too much to handle.
    They had jokingly promised each other it would be a “sibling-free zone” – no brothers or sisters dropping in whenever they wanted. On the rare occasions when one of their siblings would be allowed to visit, they had to be nice and bring gifts. No gift – no entrance!
    He recalled how they had planned out exactly how they wanted the house to look. They had talked hours and hours about the different rooms, the furniture, the garden, the porch, everything, until it had become almost real to them.
    When he’d gone hunting for a house outside Sandy Beach last year, those memories had been uppermost in his mind. And after a few months he’d found the perfect place – a small house that looked almost exactly like the one he and Samantha had always dreamt about. I fell in love the moment I saw it, just like I fell in love with her.
    “I purchased it two weeks ago. In fact, tomorrow is the first time I’ll spend the night there.”
    She leaned into him, bracing her hands on his chest. “Can I come with you, please?”
    The familiar gesture she’d made a thousand times had a new sensation to it, and he could feel his manhood stirring. Don’t go there, man. She never gave you reason to believe your’re anything but best friends.
    Despite the warning voice in his head, he nodded. “Sure you can. It’s in pretty bad shape, though. The place is basically a ruin.”
    “Hey, do I look like a spoiled brat who needs to be pampered and can’t stay in a rundown place?”
    Grant perused her and grinned. “Actually you do, sweetie. You look like a spoiled, high-maintenance supermodel in that outfit of