A Fair to Remember Read Online Free PDF Page A

about me. Tell me why you’re still single after all these years?”
    He picked up another flat rock and skipped it across the water. It bounced to the middle of the moonlit river and disappeared. “I was no monk.”
    “So,” she said, trying to lighten the mood, “tell me about your most inappropriate relationship.”
    He looked at her like she was crazy. “No.”
    “C’mon. You already know about mine.”
    “ No .”
    She bit her lip. “Are you saying there were no inappropriate relationships?”
    “I’m saying I’m not discussing them with you .”
    His gaze landed on her mouth where it lingered for a moment before returning to her eyes. His nostrils flared slightly and she knew what he was thinking. He was thinking exactly what she was. Of its own accord, her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
    Was it self-preservation that they both looked away at once? But just when she thought she’d dodged a bullet, back he came.
    “You scared of me, Liv?”
    “What ? No. ” She gave a laugh like scared was the last thing she could possibly be.
    He sighed, then reached down to pull off a boot.
    “What are you doing?” she inquired.
    “Take off your clothes.”
    Instinctively, she clamped her hands across her chest. “ What ?”
    “C’mon. Not all your clothes. Just your dress. Your boots. Let’s go swimming.”
    “Now ?”
    “We’ve done it a million times here.” Off came his other boot. “C’mon.”
    Off came the black T-shirt over the holy-crikee ripped muscles of his torso. She inhaled at the sight of the new-to-her tats that covered one shoulder and forearm.
    He followed her gaze and grinned. “Or are you scared of that, too?”
    Oh, no. Not the tattoo. What was under the tattoo. She was definitely, definitely scared of the carnal thoughts his sleek, beautiful physique inspired.
    The owl they’d been listening to flapped across the water with low, swooping beats of its huge wings, barely skimming the surface of the river.
    “I-I’m still a little drunk and, obviously, I-I don’t have a bathing suit.”
    “When did you get so prissy? Underwear always sufficed before. When naked wasn’t appropriate.” He grinned and loosened the button on the top of his jeans and she heard the toe-curling sound of his zipper sliding down.
    “We only skinny dipped once when we were fourteen and it was pitch black.” She watched the smooth, thick muscles of his back bunch and move beneath his skin like quicksilver as he slid off his jeans. He was wearing boxer briefs which outlined his taut thighs and backside, a view that made her mouth go dry.
    He gestured at the dark night with one hand. “C’mon. It’s hot. And since you’ve put the nix on discussing what’s got you so spooked, what’s a little swim between friends? We’ll never get this place to ourselves again.” Jake waded in a few steps then dove underwater.
    Grown men and women cannot be friends. Her sister Kate had declared when Olivia had mentioned her onetime friendship with Jake as a perfect example of male-female friendship, Because in the sage words of Billy Crystal’s Harry to Meg Ryan’s Sally , ‘ the sex part always gets in the way .’
    A warm rush of longing shuddered through her as Jake shimmered under the surface of the water. Kate was right.
    The sex part was a problem.
    He shot straight up out of the water and gasped, the water sparkling in his hair.
    Definitely a problem.
    *
    The cold water sang against Jake’s skin but seemed to have little effect on his reason for this little detour in the first place.
    He ached.
    He knew better than to imagine he’d ever stop wanting her. He’d spent the last twelve years aching for Olivia Canaday. Now, here she was, within reach, and he’d resorted to a cold dip rather than doing what he really wanted to do. Because he could sense her quippy little flirtations were really just a way to straight arm him into believing they could simply be best friends again. Not gonna happen .