Sand, Sun...Seduction!
Page 25
“Funny. I don’t actually remember the part in Cinderella when she had to change her panties.”
Lainey grimaced, disgusted out of her aesthetic appreciation. “Ugh. Darius. Seriously. Why do you have to be such a guy?”
“You do realize you’re practically forcing me to grab my crotch right now, don’t you?”
“All I’m sayin’,” Aggie stressed, “is that sometimes you gotta swallow your pride, think of the big picture. Normally when you castrate someone, the fate of your business ain’t riding on it.”
“What?” Lainey rolled her eyes. “The fate of my business is hardly riding on Cooper Mead’s penis.”
Darius’s snicker earned him two glares. “What? You said penis.”
“It’s resting on my shoulders,” Lainey countered, with the pious look of stone angels the world over. “And I can handle it.”
“I know you can! But use that big ol’ brain of yours. Bein’ attentive to a man with fame and money is just good business sense.”
Lainey turned her head to hide her frown.
“Cooper Mead is the Pied Piper of cool an’ you darn well know it. Where he goes, the puck bunnies and the sports fans follow. I don’t think makin’ nice with him is too much to ask! You know, most joints would kill to have a pro athlete walk through their door! And you’re the one always jabbering about selling this joint.”
“You do realize that Mr. Rich and Famous over there was interested in my phone number, not an endorsement deal,” Lainey pointed out.
“I think you mean Mr. Sexy, Rich and Famous.” Agnes sent an appreciative glance at the object of their discussion, who appeared to be talking to someone’s kid via FaceTime. “Emphasis on the sexy.”
“Well, Mr. Sexy, Rich and Famous,” Lainey amended, “is kind of a shallow, conceited jerk, emphasis on the jerk.”
“Who cares? I don’t wanna waste time talkin’ to him! Man who looks that good could have me anytime, anywhere.”
Heat, not unlike the sear of a good shot of whisky, burned in Lainey’s stomach at the thought of Cooper and sex, and her mind was seized by an alarmingly vivid vision of him, naked on a king-size battlefield, expertly wielding his…uh, sword.
Luckily the flashing of a disturbingly high number on the “Now Serving” sign above the imaginary bed doused the flame before it reddened her cheeks.
“Listen, your daddy was a good guy, but a so-so businessman. This place can use all the good publicity it can get. ’Specially the free kind.” Oblivious to Lainey’s inner turmoil, Agnes walked to the other side of the counter and hefted the tray of beer to her shoulder. “I’m gonna deliver these, but I want you to promise me that when you turn around and see that a certain teammate of his is here, you’re going to play nice, okay? Take care of things nice and quiet. Don’t make a scene.”
Aggie’s warning tone left little doubt as to the identity of Cooper’s teammate, and Lainey’s gaze jerked to the newly occupied table in the back corner, near the stage.
With a curse, she stomped out from behind the bar with every intent of telling table seventeen to go to hell, despite Aggie’s well-meaning advice.
Don’t miss Playing Dirty by Taryn Leigh Taylor! And be sure to look for her other hot romances
Kiss and Makeup
and
Playing to Win
Available now from Harlequin Blaze!
ISBN-13: 978-1-48802923-3
SAND, SUN…SEDUCTION! © 2009 by Harlequin Books S.A
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ENTICED
Copyright © 2009 by Stephanie Hauck
PROPOSITIONED
Copyright © 2009 by Leslie A. Kelly
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Copyright © 2009 by Lori Blalock Vanzura
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