His Sexy Bad Habit Read Free Page A

always comparing me to. I don’t believe in stringing people along,” she said.
Beenon the other end of that and I’m not trying do that to anyone else.
    “Just be careful and don’t mess things up until we get the restaurant done,” Jade said.
    Serena sucked her teeth, then told her friend she’d see her later. After hanging up, she maneuvered through the boxes and headed upstairs to change into a pair of dark blue jeans, a fitted white T-shirt and a pair of red stilettos. She glanced at herself in the mirror and fluffed her hair. Serena knew her shoes weren’t exactly the best ones to wear to a construction site, but she wasn’t trying to be Miss Safety, she was trying to turn Antonio Billups into mush. Smiling, she grabbed her purse from the cluttered bed and headed downstairs.
    “This was a perfectly good dining room,” Norman complained as he loaded pieces of the stripped floor into the metal waste can. “Why are these women redoing it already?”
    “They want a new start after everything that happened here,” Antonio replied as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Part of him wondered if Serena would be involved in this renovation project. He looked for her every day he came to work, but he hadn’t seen her yet. Since they’d already been at the restaurant for about six hours, he’d given up seeing her today.
    “So, a beer after we finish up here?” Norman asked.
    “No, I got to take A.J. out to dinner since Imissed his football practice yesterday,” Antonio said, reaching down and grabbing another pile of debris. As he rose to his feet, he saw a pair of red shoes walking into the restaurant. When he saw those shoes were attached to curvy legs in tight jeans, his breath caught in his chest and he nearly dropped the debris from his hands.
    “Hello, gentlemen,” Serena said. The sound of her voice sent chills throughout his body. It had a husky quality he imagined was like that of the mythical sirens who seduced the sailors of ancient Greece.
    Norman smiled at Serena like a Cheshire cat. “Well, hello,” he said. “You’d better be careful walking in here in those shoes.”
    Looking at Antonio, she said, “I’m sure you guys can take care of me if I fall.”
    “That’s a chance we don’t want to take,” Antonio said as he dropped the trash in the metal container. “Don’t come any further. The floor is uneven.”
    “Okay,” she said, then smiled at him. “It looks as if you guys are going to finish on schedule. That’s good for our business.”
    “We aim to please,” Norman said. “I’m going to step outside for a cigarette.”
    Antonio shot him a questioning look, but kept quiet. Norman didn’t smoke.
    When Norman was outside, Serena cautiously crossed over to Antonio. “It’s good to see you again,” she said.
    “Good to see you, too,” he replied as he inhaledher scent. She smelled like roses and jasmine, intoxicating. “How was the wedding?”
    Serena shrugged. “Good, if you’re into those big affairs,” she said.
    Antonio folded his arms and shook his head. “Come on. You mean to tell me you’re not one of those women who attends a wedding and starts dreaming of her own?”
    She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Not at all. Maybe when you’re finished here, you can help me in my townhouse,” she said. “I could use a good pair of hands.”
    “Wish I could, but I have plans tonight,” he said.
    “Well, the entertainment center will hold, if you don’t mind putting it together for me.” Serena pouted and her lips looked so sexy.
    His mind instantly flashed back to their kiss and he felt his desire growing in his pants. “So, you’ve moved to Charlotte?”
    “For now. Jade isn’t going to be able to be hands-on during the renovation, Kandace is on her honeymoon, and Alicia is putting together these business seminars trying to get Oprah’s attention or something,” she said. “So, you’re stuck with me looking over your shoulder.”
    “That