GHOSTS OF ST. BARTS a totally addictive romance read (St. Barts Romance Books Series Book 5) Read Free

hustled Sunny towards the bar, stating loudly that the rich Americans could pick up the bar tab.
    At last Astrid was alone with Sven. “The boys are on a sleepover tonight so I have nowhere I have to be. . .”
    Sven smiled down at her. Never mind his wife, thought Astrid, it was going to be okay.
    His next words surprised her. “How are your sons?”
    This was the first time he’d ever asked about her boys, in the entire time they’d known each other.
    “Um, they’re fine.”
    “I can’t imagine Bliss growing up. I can’t wait until she’s doing more than babbling nonsense. It must be wonderful to have older kids around the house.”
    Astrid was still trying to formulate an answer when the drinks arrived.
    Ed and Stellan had apparently convinced Sunny to play pool for money.
    “I think they want to empty our bank account!” she shouted over, wiping away most of her moustache of beer foam and picking up a cue.
    “You guys live in Hollywood! Everyone knows Oscar winners are loaded and this is our chance to cash in. I could also use Sven’s autograph on some posters I want to flog online,” laughed Ed. He gently took her cue away before Sunny put out someone’s eye.
    Being back with his old friends reminded Sven of ‘real’ life, back before celebrity got in the way and he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Sunny fit right in. He smiled as he watched Ed try to explain the rules of eight ball to his wife and he failed to notice Astrid’s thigh pressing against his. “Hey!” Sven shouted in Norwegian, “Hands off!” as Ed stood behind Sunny to show her the proper way to hold a cue.
    “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
    Sven tried to pay attention to what Astrid was saying but it was difficult. His gaze kept returning to Sunny, especially her ass in those tight jeans as she leant over the table to take a shot. They had been married for two years and had been together longer, but he still couldn’t get enough of her — in or out of bed. He hadn’t been tempted by another woman since the moment they exchanged vows, and this amazed even him. But no other woman made him feel like she did. After a couple of close calls early in their relationship that had almost split them up for good, there was no way Sven would take the risk of cheating on Sunny again.
    Astrid sat beside Sven in silence. He hadn’t noticed her thigh pressed against his under the table. He hadn’t commented that her sweater brought out the arctic blue of her eyes. He hadn’t said a word about how her hair was like wheat blowing across the Ukrainian steppes. Nothing. He was treating her like he treated Ed and Stellan — just another old friend from university.
    Finally he gave her his full attention. Astrid had forgotten how blue his eyes were and how they could burn with intensity.
    “So what do you think of Sunny?”
    Astrid turned to look at Sven’s wife, who was just then getting Norwegian lessons from Stellan. The beer had apparently loosened his tongue. It sounded as if he was teaching Sunny swear words and she was giving the equivalent expletives in different foreign languages. All three were laughing.
    “She’s not what I expected.”
    Astrid had assumed Sven’s Hollywood honey would be plastic, self-absorbed and chosen with an eye on his career. Sunny looked like the babysitter next door. Astrid saw that all the men in the bar were eating her up with their eyes and she thought she must be missing something. She took a closer look. Warm smile, the kind of hair a man would love to see spread out over his pillow, eyes of a deep green colour that might change colour with her mood. Curves. Large rounded breasts, a small waist and what her mother would have called child-bearing hips. Her mother would also have said that Sunny’s body was ‘sinful.’
    Astrid thought Sunny looked like a kind of earth mother; Gaia come to life. She was young and pretty but . . . untidy. From her freckles to her crumpled T-shirt to her huge