Unexpectedly You Read Free Page A

Officer Landis I had breakfast with this morning?”
    His slow drawl stiffened her spine. She wheeled around and narrowed her eyes. “You had breakfast with Brandon?”
    “That’s right.” He gave her a pointed look, knowing without a doubt that she was single-handedly responsible for the early morning visit with the rookie peace officer. “Apparently someone had plastered my mug shot around town, warning people about my intentions.”
    Her cheeks turned a shade lighter than her cranberry-red hair. “How unfortunate for you.”
    He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I told Officer Landis that this bordered on harassment and slander, and when we find out who is responsible, he offered to arrest them.” He enunciated the last three words to ensure it got through her thick head of hair. Though he doubted anything could penetrate the mass of curls.
    Her expression remained neutral. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want to nail your head to the wall.”
    A bark of laughter erupted from the group of men behind him.
    Her gaze shifted and she frowned. “You and your men jolted me out of bed at the crack of dawn. Do you even care?”
    He shot her an exasperated look. “Look around, lady. This is a commercial zone we’re talking about. Not residential.”
    “I live here, so that makes it residential.”
    He looked past her at the enormous paw-shaped welcome sign displaying Paws on the Beach, the business she ran out of her converted garage. He arched his brows. “Your sign there says otherwise.”
    “Unlike you, I’m respectful of my neighbors. That’s why we don’t open until eleven.”
    He rubbed his jaw in annoyance. “Yeah? And how’s that working for you? Maybe if you opened earlier and closed later you’d start to see a profit. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”
    “I do mind.” She pointed to the excavator his men were preparing to use. “What is that thing for?”
    He adjusted his sunglasses so she could no longer see his expression. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s to pull up the grass.”
    “Pull up the grass,” she repeated, aghast. “You can’t do that. That plot of grass is our dog park.”
    “Wrong. This here—” he spread his arms out wide, “—is where the parking lot will be, and right behind it will be my three-story personal residence.” He had the satisfaction of seeing her already pink complexion get even pinker.
    “What do you mean?”
    He grinned. “I mean, we’re going to be neighbors.”
    “You c-can’t be serious,” she said, her eyes almost crossed.
    “Just try me,” he drawled.
    “Your p-plans said nothing about...you plan to live here?”
    “Don’t sound so excited.” He knew the threat of building his ostentatious structure would ruin the quaint character of Bella Del Mar, not to mention completely eliminate her ocean view. The bluff was worth it, seeing how an angry red blotch suffused Emma’s pale face.
    She gaped at him. “You can’t do that.”
    “Wrong. I can and I will.” He gestured to turn back toward his men, but Emma grabbed his arm.
    He flinched, her touch unexpected. Her long, slender hands pressed into his forearm, and the feeling of protectiveness that overcame him was surprising and unwelcome. He narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses.
    Of course he was aware of her situation. Bella Del Mar was a small town. People gossip. He knew she’d lost her husband to cancer and was now in debt up to her ears with a daughter about to go to college and a business that was barely above water. He’d offered to help her a few months ago, but the woman standing in front of him with her green eyes blazing was as stubborn as a two-year-old negotiating naptime.
    Her gaze remained fixed on his face. “You can’t,” she insisted, despite his assertion. “Mrs. Madsen designated this piece of her property to the community to be used as a dog park.”
    He stared at her from behind his sunglasses and then his eyes traveled