Homecoming: The Billionaire Brothers Read Online Free PDF Page A

of that life get her down, but who chooses to smile instead. I see graciousness and hospitality—enough to welcome a stranger into your home, and to make him feel like … well. You make me feel like we’ve known each other longer and better than should be possible when we’ve only just met. It’s actually freaking me out a little.”
    Penny had to laugh. It was that, or cry—the emotion struggling up from her chest had to come out somehow. And given the choice, Penny would always pick laughter over tears.
    So she laughed, and held out her hand, and let herself enjoy the tremor of feminine awareness when his strong, callused fingers enfolded hers. “Considering the way Matty and I forcibly dragged you into our issues, I’d say you’re no stranger. So welcome to the family, Dylan—” She cut herself off, and this time the laugh was less shaky. “You know what? I don’t even know your last name!”
    His fingers tightened on hers for a brief, convulsive moment. He stared down at their joined hands, silent. The pause lasted one heartbeat, two—then Dylan looked her directly in the eye and said, “Workman. Dylan Workman.”

 
    Chapter Five
    “Dylan Workman,” Penny echoed, smiling. “How appropriate, for a man in your line of business.”
    Dylan dug deep for a carefree expression, even though, inside, he felt a little sick. What the hell was he doing, lying to this pretty woman about who he was? He knew it was wrong—and just then, he’d come so close to blurting out the truth that his heart was still pounding.
    Whether it was with relief or regret that he’d kept the deception going, he wasn’t sure.
    “I’d better finish up here so I can get out of your way,” he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand. Shorter and more curvaceous than the glamazon models Dylan usually dated, Penny Little had small hands, roughened in places by hard work. He found he liked the realness of her skin, the way her glow came from within rather than from a battery of expensive beauty products full of crushed diamonds and gold dust, or whatever.
    He liked Penny Little, period.
    Which was the problem, of course. He liked her, as a person—and he wanted her to like him back in exactly the same way. No preconceived notions based on his bank account, no weird inequality because she was technically his family’s employee, and definitely no chance that Penny might look at him and remember everything she’d heard about the Bad Boy Billionaire.
    He wanted her to get to know the real him. Just Dylan, no bells and whistles. And maybe he’d discover that wasn’t enough for her, but he needed to find out if a woman like Penny could want him for himself alone. He’d never have a better opportunity.
    Dylan listened for her light footsteps on the stairs as he ducked back under the kitchen sink to confront the leaky pipe. He removed and patched the problematic section of pipe with half his brain; the other half was focused on the woman upstairs.
    The woman whose brilliant smile in the face of a dark, murky past lit up the entire house, and whose no-nonsense attitude made her a force of nature.
    The woman who was currently unbuttoning that sea-foam-green waitress uniform and pushing the fabric off her creamy shoulders and down to her lush, rounded hips …
    A drip of cold water from the pipe splashed down on Dylan’s cheek, and he shook it—and the vibrant images in his mind’s eye—off with a gasp.
    Wiping his damp cheek on his T-shirt-covered shoulder, Dylan forced himself to concentrate on the plumbing. Luckily, it turned out to be fairly straightforward, and in ten minutes, he was tightening the segment of repaired pipe back into place. Shimmying out from under the cabinet, Dylan leaned over the sink to turn on the faucet and test the repair.
    “Looking good,” Penny said from behind him.
    Dylan jolted, suddenly hyper aware of how low his jeans were riding on his hips after crawling around on the floor and wriggling into the