Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1 Read Free Page B

with my bags packed.
    When I left for New York in a few weeks that would be the first time Charlotte and I had been apart in seven years. She was like a sister to me. I mean, I already had a younger sister that was wonderful and I loved her to pieces but Charlotte was almost like the older, more conservative sister I never asked for but needed. She was the same age as me, she just acted older. Except when it came to men, then she had the sense of a three-year-old. But that was another story for another time.
    I was almost near my resort when the hair on the back of my neck rose. A feeling inside of me compelled me to turn around. I stopped walking, ostensibly to gaze at the ocean and looked to my right.
    There was a man standing several yards away. He’d stopped to text someone, I guess. It gave me the perfect opportunity to take him in. I had my sunglasses on, so he couldn’t tell that I was looking at him and not the horizon. And he was glorious. Not a word I’d use often to describe a man, but he was tall with broad, muscled shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. He was bare-chested with a pair of navy blue swim trunks on. They sat low on his pelvis and showcased a chiseled six-pack. His legs were long and powerfully built.
    He’d obviously been lying outside, the sun had bronzed his skin, adding to the sculpted look of his body. He looked like he spent three hours in the gym every day and probably subsisted on baked chicken, brown rice and green smoothies.
    Being something of a fitness enthusiast myself, I could appreciate his obvious commitment to a healthy body. His head was bowed and he was still fiddling with his phone, so I looked some more. Brazen for me, I know. But he was clearly absorbed in his phone and hadn’t noticed me.
    He had strong features, a square jaw, high cheekbones and a nose with a slight bump in it, which saved him from being pretty in that Roman statue way. His hair was dark, short, like a military cut that had grown out for a few weeks or so. He had shades on, so I couldn’t tell the color of his eyes, but I’d guess they were pretty spectacular.
    I looked away from him. Enough was enough. He was beautiful. I started walking again, wondering if I should be so bold as to start a conversation with him. But then again, I was leaving in the morning.
    First to Raleigh for a few days and then Paris to meet up with my travel group. I was going on a culinary tour of France and I could hardly wait.
    I’d never see him again. Now was not the time to meet a guy. I’d set my goals and was about to achieve everything I’d every desired. I’d dared to stand up to my parents and won.
    I couldn’t let the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen slow me down. Besides, guys who looked like that only wanted one thing anyway. He was probably an arrogant, narcissistic jerk. Not that it mattered anyway.
    You’re leaving in the morning. You’ll never see him again.
    That thought made me stop. My heart fluttered and my stomach somersaulted. And I realized, I didn’t want to leave the island without at least knowing his name. What could it hurt to initiate a conversation? I turned around, surprised to see that he was only a few feet away this time.
    He looked at me and grinned. “Beautiful day, huh?”
    My breath caught in my throat. He didn’t seem arrogant. “Yes, it is.”
    He took his sunglasses off then. His eyes were the color of the sea on a cloudy, stormy day. Almost gray, sort of blue. Spectacular, just like I thought.
    “I’m Kael.”
    “Rain.”
    “May I walk with you?”
    His voice was deep, sweet and low and so polite and anachronistically chivalrous, next, I thought he might ask for my dance card.
    “Yes,” I almost whispered. Then repeated myself in a louder tone. “Yes.”
    We began to walk in silence. I suppose neither of us knew what to say. And I didn’t know what to think. I was a bit flustered by him.
    Random things came to mind. His cologne. It was a spicy scent that wafted