Deliciously Sinful Read Online Free PDF Page A

milk. “I’ve never met anyone so arrogant in my entire life. And everything’s a battle with him. I mean, I’m the boss!” She stabbed herself in the chest with her index finger. “He should listen to me instead of trying to turn the Green Leaf into some version of a chic Los Angeles restaurant.”
    “I ate his lamb.”
    Phoebe blinked. “What?”
    “The other night, after everyone had left.” Jesse lowered her voice. “Don’t tell my dad. He’d freak if he knew I ate even one bite of a dead animal. But oh my God , Phoebe. Nick Avalon knows what he’s doing when it comes to cooking meat. Did I tell you I had his duck the other night, too?”
    “Stop!” Phoebe raised her hand. “I don’t want to hear any more. You used to confess when you snuck out at night to go down to the river. Why does this seem worse somehow?”
    “Because you know my dad’s a militant freak about vegetarian eating?”
    “He is not.” Phoebe felt the need to stick up for her brother-in-law, who was one of the sweetest, nicest people she had the pleasure of knowing. “He’s always let you make your own choices about what you consume.”
    “Yeah,” Jesse scoffed. “But you know how he’d always look so sad if I ate chicken or something. Like I was disappointing him.”
    “You never disappoint your father, Jesse.” Steve wasn’t just Phoebe’s brother-in law; he was her best friend.
    Judy, his wife and Phoebe’s sister, had died five years ago. At the time, Phoebe had been living with her aunt and uncle in their huge Victorian house, and Steve and Jesse had eventually moved in as well. Just when Steve seemed to finally be getting past the death of his wife, Phoebe’s aunt had passed away. And then Uncle Dan had followed within a year. Now there was a sadness about Steve that hovered like a dark cloud.
    Shaking the thoughts away, she focused on what her niece was saying.
    “Pheebs,” Jesse said. “Even you have to admit Nick is really cute.”
    Phoebe pushed herself off the wall. “What do you mean, even I?”
    “You’re picky.”
    “I am not! I’m just…particular.”
    “Particularly picky.”
    “Not true.”
    “You can’t even remember the last time you had your muffin buttered.”
    Phoebe looked away, thinking. “I can too remember when I last had my muffin buttered.” What was she saying? “I’m not going to talk about that with you!”
    “Exactly. So what’s wrong with Nick?”
    “What?” Phoebe demanded. “W-what are you talking about? Even if I were interested, which I’m not, he hates me.” She shook her head. What was Jesse thinking? “And we work together!”
    Jesse shook her head. “He doesn’t hate you.”
    “Do you have a dreadlock in your eye? Because you obviously have some clouded vision.”
    “I don’t think I’m the one with limited sight here.”
    “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “I may be young, but I”—she tapped her temple—“I see things.”
    Phoebe laughed. “Oh, do you now? And I’m supposed to take love advice from a teenager?”
    “Yeah. In fact, I smell things, too. Like something burning. Like, now .”
    Just then, the distinct scent of something that was indeed burning filtered into Phoebe’s nose. “What’s he done now?” Dropping the cartons of soy milk, she burst through the storage door, ran down the hallway, and headed straight for the kitchen. Where she found Nick Avalon surrounded by a cloud of smoke. Smoke and a group of her staff, who were watching him with expressions of awe.
    “What’s going on here?” she demanded.
    He took a sip of his ever-present glass of golden liquid. He usually licked a wedge of lime after each sip and, as he did so now, she couldn’t help it. Her gaze drifted to that luscious mouth of his, and she watched him lick the tart fruit.
    When she glanced back up, he was watching her with a devilish gleam in his eyes.
    Damn. Had he known she’d been distracted by that gorgeous mouth of his? She