Want Me

Want Me Read Free Page B

Book: Want Me Read Free
Author: Jo Leigh
Tags: It's Trading Men
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“I was a teenage girl. That wasn’t decorating, that was illustrating. I was constantly falling madly in love with movie stars or deeply wounded singers.”
    “Your bedroom always looked nice. Smelled great, too.”
    “Yes, because I wasn’t a savage who left my unwashed gym clothes to stew on the floor for months.”
    “Oh.” Nate leaned back. “That actually makes sense. We were pigs, weren’t we?”
    She gave him an eye-roll. “I gather you want some assistance with the furnishings?”
    He shook his head. “More than that. I need someone to help me find the right place, then furnish it. A woman’s touch would be welcome. I’ve been building basic housing for a long time, living in tents or huts. I don’t know the market at all. But I can hire someone if you’re too swamped.”
    “I imagine I can take some time out of my busy schedule for an old friend.”
    He slapped back the rest of his beer and met her gaze again. He was going to be living in the same house as this newly sexualized Shannon, in the room next to hers. He might as well get this out so he could get on with things. “You’re still a beauty,” he said, his low voice carrying over a sad Irish love song. “More now than when you were in all those crazy pageants. You must have every man with a heartbeat after you, Princess. Every one.”
    The blush that blossomed on her cheeks spread like a light show. He used to make her blush as a parlor trick, something that would make her furious and hopefully storm off to her room. Now he found the contrast of her pale skin and the fire of her emotions far too fascinating.
    “You’re going to cause trouble, aren’t you, Nate Brenner?” she asked, just loudly enough for him to hear.
    “As much as humanly possible,” he admitted. Then he smiled, because what the hell else was there to do about it? “Will you excuse me?”
    “Sure,” she said, her look suspicious.
    Close to the bar he decided beer wasn’t going to cut it. He ordered a boilermaker and drank it down right there on the spot.
    * * *
    “I S HE ?”
    Shannon almost dropped her glass at the whisper behind her. It was Ariel, who didn’t seem at all sorry for sneaking up on her like a thief. “Is who what?”
    “Single.” Ariel had to lift her head to see Nate standing with Danny in the midst of the crowd. Midnight, and hardly anyone had left the now stifling room.
    “Yes, he is,” Shannon said. “But he’s not here for long.”
    “He doesn’t have to be. All I’d need is one night.”
    Shannon frowned at her cousin. She’d been sweating—everyone was—and dark tendrils of hair were stuck to her face and neck. The way Ariel gasped for breath was more a result of the dancing she’d been up to than her interest in Nate… Still, Shannon could be mistaken about that. Ariel looked ready to pounce.
    “If I do put him on a card, you’ll have to be quick. It’s first come, first served.”
    “Did you see how I caught the bouquet?” she asked. “I hate being single. I honestly do. It’s a pity your guy isn’t going to be around for the long haul. I like his laugh. That’s huge for me. A sense of humor. You can get through most anything if you can find something to laugh about.”
    “You met him?”
    Ariel sighed. “I did. He was great. But he was very involved in a conversation with Danny. Evidently I wasn’t enough to distract him.”
    “Let me guess,” Shannon said. “Notre Dame?”
    Ariel rolled her eyes. “I swear, I could have stripped right down to nothing and neither of them would have blinked.”
    “I doubt that. But I don’t think they’ve seen each other since college. All those games to catch up on.”
    “At least he was funny.”
    “Humor’s on the top of my list, too,” Shannon said. “Along with shared values. And kindness.”
    “Don’t forget great in the sack,” Ariel said, still craning her neck to gaze at Nate.
    “I can’t help you with that one.”
    “You’ve never…?”
    “No.

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