Reaching First Read Free

felt like it was basking in the sun. Her heart always leaped in her chest, strangling her words, flooding her cheeks with a raging blush.  
    Emily lied to herself a lot. At least when it came to the men in her life.
    “Pleased to meet you,” she said. Good. Her voice didn’t betray her.  
    Anna wasn’t nearly as affected by her new acquisition. She got right down to business. “Tyler, as you know, the court in Texas has transferred administration of your case to a judge here in Raleigh. Fortunately, the Rockets have some fans on the local bench. We can help you find appropriate community service, so you can complete your sentence and get this entire matter behind you.”
    Tyler shoved his hands into his pockets. The action made his shoulders ripple—shoulders that were emphasized by the tight lines of his shirt. He had to realize what he was doing. He had to know he was making Emily’s belly swoop low, as if she’d just plunged down the slope of the world’s highest roller coaster.
    Anna continued, as if she were impervious to the sinful waves of attraction washing off the ballplayer in front of her. Which, come to think of it, she probably was, with her own true love watching attentively at her side. “The team thinks it’s important, Tyler, for your community service to be highly visible. We need you helping the citizens of Raleigh, showing that you have the best interests of your new home in mind. I’ve asked Emily here because she has a project that meets all of our needs.”
    Anna flashed her a broad smile, gesturing with one open hand as if to say, “The floor is yours.” Emily barely resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose, to roll her eyes, even to stick out her tongue. Wasn’t it just like Anna to put her on the spot like this?  
    But truth be told, Emily had played plenty of her own manipulative games in the past. Just a few weeks ago, she’d forced Anna and Zach into a conversation that neither of them had wanted to have—and look how things had turned out there! She might as well embrace the opportunity Anna was giving her.  
    Easier said than done. Her cheeks were on fire. She wanted to run her fingers through her hair, but she knew that would make her look like she was five years old—the curse of having shoulder-length blonde curls. She’d give anything for something to hold in her hands, something to keep her fingers busy.
    But three pairs of eyes were on her. She could ignore Anna and Zach. But not Tyler. He might be the one person who could help her achieve her dreams. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look directly at him as she explained.  
    “About a year ago, my Aunt Minerva passed away,” she said. “Aunt Minnie was…a strong-willed woman, bless her heart.” She paused, to see if Tyler understood that Minnie had been an unrepentant pain in the ass.
    He nodded, his lips twitching. And suddenly she wanted to keep on talking, to ramble on forever, if that’s what it took to make him smile again.  
    “Long story short, Minnie wanted her fortune to help veterans and their families. She left me her house and her bank account, but only for one year. After that, her executor will decide if I’ve used her legacy sufficiently. If I haven’t, I’ll have to move out of the house, and any remaining funds are forfeit to a rescue program for cockatiels.”
    “Cockatiels.” He stretched the word with a soft drawl she hadn’t noticed in the flurry of their introduction. “Doesn’t sound like she was serious.”
    “She was deadly serious,” Emily assured him. “She owned one of those birds, loved it more than her human family. The damn thing terrorized me every time she let it out of the cage.”
    “So, she was trying to motivate you.” There was that hint of a smile again, causing something to spiral loose deep inside her.
    “And it worked,” she said, reminding herself to focus. Anna might have dragged her here against her will, but she’d be a fool to let this