Catch Me a Catch Read Online Free PDF Page A

Monday. How’s everything with you? Have you presented to Mecredi Cars?”
    “We’re ready
to go. The presentation’s in a few hours.” Mark sounded confident.
    Jason Mecredi,
owner and Chairman of Mecredi Cars, was notoriously difficult but Mark was
ready to go solo on a presentation. He was perfect partner material, and it
would be good to split the load.
    “All right,
Mark. I’ll talk to you later. Give ‘em hell.” He hung up. Annie’s voice drifted
up to his window. She wasn’t alone. He heard the deeper tones of a man.
    She laughed
warmly and his stomach clenched in an irrational burst of temper.
    I guess the
waiter’s wrong. She’s got a boyfriend after all. Acid burned in his gut. He
turned away from the half-hidden cozy tableau beneath him to stuff his arms
into a worn denim shirt. If she has a boyfriend, that’s her business. He hadn’t
come to Ireland to flirt with a woman. He had a job to do. And a relative to
find.
    There were
footsteps on the path below, then the heavy thud of the kitchen door. He rooted
out his plastic bag of washing from the bottom of the knapsack and went
downstairs.
    The buzz of
conversation ceased abruptly as he entered the kitchen.
    “You clean up
well.” Maeve flicked the kettle on. “We’ll be having dinner in a while; I hope
you’ll join us.”
    His stomach
was full of steak. But he could force something else in. “That would be great,
Mrs. Devine. I’ve no plans.”
    “Maeve.” She
spotted the bag hanging from his hand. “Washing?”
    “Annie said…”
    “I know, she
told me.” Maeve turned to her daughter. “Annie, take Jack out to the shed and
introduce him to the washing machine. You’ll find everything you need out
there, Jack.”
    It was warm in
the back garden. Annie silently walked around the corner to a small shed. The
door squeaked open, and she stood back to let him pass.
    He stopped.
    “What’s the
matter?” She was so close every tiny eyelash was visible. The dark pool of her
irises expanded, swallowing up the brown. Despite his determination not to get
involved, he leant forward and breathed in deeply. A scent of flowers, and
something lemony hung in the air.
    Tangible waves
of disquiet rolled off her. She ran the tip of her tongue over full, pink lips.
Desire flashed instantly, like oxygen flowing onto sparks. How would she taste?
She turned away, but he caught her by her upper arms and stepped into her
personal space.
    “Are you
avoiding me?”
    “No.” She
stepped back. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
    His hand moved
to her jawline. “That’s not all. There’s something different about you.” Her
skin was warm, strokeably soft. He shouldn’t be touching, but he couldn’t
resist. “I heard you laughing with a man, while I was getting dressed earlier.
Will he be joining us for dinner?” Damn it, he sounded like a jealous lover.
Sure, she’d leaned close to him in the car, let her fingers trail over his
face, then gazed at him with big brown eyes as though she wanted to kiss him,
but maybe it didn’t mean anything. Maybe she got a kick from leading a guy on.
    He rubbed his
thumb slowly over her jawbone. She was attracted to him all right; her swift
intake of breath was a dead giveaway. She swayed into his hand and her eyes
drifted closed like a virgin sacrifice, offering herself. His traitorous body
tightened in response. Some poor sap was going to be devastated if he took what
she was so blatantly offering. He gulped and took a step away. Jack wouldn’t be
responsible for another man’s heartbreak. He knew what that was like, and had
vowed never to trust a woman again. He loved women. Their smell, their taste,
the sound of their laughter. The last woman he’d given his heart to in New York
had seemed devoted to him. Right up to the moment he caught her in bed with
someone else. He lived life by different rules now. There were plenty of women
who were interested in spending time in his bed without falling in