Bid Me Now Read Online Free PDF

turned up. Miri briefly thought of diving back into Dina’s for another five minutes, but when he spotted her and gave her such a wicked grin, Miri had no choice to start walking toward him. How, she worried at every step, could the man be so straight-out scary two days ago and today look so… friendly ?  
    “Good to see you again, Miri,” he said, extending his hand. His big grip felt as good as it promised: warm and strong and totally equipped for catching a woman when she fell over her shoes…
    “I saw you go into that fancy boutique down the street. Some retail therapy?”  
    Drat. Caught out. “Oh, yes, kind of.” She forced her tone to nonchalance, trying not to notice how perfectly his jeans sat low on his slim hips or how his black polo shirt hugged his powerful shoulders. “Actually, I don’t get much time for shopping.”  
    He nodded, but Miri suspected he didn’t believe her phony “I’m so busy” routine. “Well, I guess we’d better go in, then.”  
    “Yes. I have half an hour free.” She wondered if he was making fun of her. Of course he was. She could practically taste the deep chuckle buried in his throat. Oh, well, so be it. Keep it formal, focus on the outcome.  
    When he opened the door for her, Miri told herself sharply she didn’t like or need his gentlemanly behavior. He’d been anything but gentlemanly at their first meeting, and she wasn’t about to forget it. But she couldn’t deny it felt good to be escorted to her seat, and his choice of booth was perfect. Well away from the kitchen and welcomingly close to the air conditioning.  
    “Are you hungry?” he asked, waiting for her to sit before sliding into the seat opposite.
    “No. Iced coffee will be fine.” Looking around, Miri took a few seconds to absorb the familiar surroundings. She was in her favorite cafe. She was about to buy the mill. All she had to do was ask him.  
    Not so difficult.  
    “Coffee it is, then.” Nick signaled to a waitress, who arrived in turbo-time, blonde ponytail in full swing. She stared at Nick with what Miri judged to be outright lust. Miri knew the feeling. She knew the waitress. Tiffany. Eyes that were normally dull from boredom and an intelligence deficit had miraculously switched to high beam. But Nick seemed indifferent to her wide-eyed attention, ordering one iced coffee and one espresso. Tiffany wrote the order, slid a suggestive look at Nick, and then retreated in defeat when he barely acknowledged her.  
    He swept his gaze around the café. “Is this your usual hangout?”  
    “Yes. The coffee’s always good. Do you have a favorite place?” She was doing her best to sound aloof, but already Miri realized the futility. She couldn’t last with those dark gray eyes watching her so intently.  
    “No time for regular places. I’m traveling most of the time, so I’m rarely in the same place twice. My foreman Fitz fancies himself a barista, but his coffee’s pretty bad.”
    “Fitz?”  
    “Yeah, Pete Fitzroy. My site manager in the States. Irishman. We’ve been together since startup. He’s a good friend, so we tolerate his coffee.”  
    Presumably that was the older man in the pickup she’d seen leaving the mill. “Well, you must enjoy your work to travel so much.”
    “It’s okay most of the time. Sometimes it’s good to take a break.”
    “Are you enjoying Charmford?”  
    “Yeah, it’s beautiful.” His gaze devoured every visible inch of her.
    Miri felt the heat of his compliment. “Do you have a home somewhere?” she asked and then bit her lip, wishing it was her tongue. Damn. No personal questions.  
    The corners of his mouth curved up a fraction, as if sensing her regret. “Yeah, I have apartments in New York and in London, both more or less homes. At the moment, I’m mostly in the U.K., but being a New Yorker through and through, I’d rather be there.”  
    “That sounds interesting.” She mentally cringed again. God, why was she so