Hot Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page B

mentioned him to me before,” she reminded them. “And even if you hadn’t, you don’t think I could figure out for myself what a womanizer he is?”
    Fiona groaned. “He already hit on you.”
    Tammy snorted. “Of course, he hit on her. He’s Cody. He hits on you and Avery all the time—even though you’re with his friends.”
    â€œHe does that just to irritate Wyatt and Dawson,” Fiona said.
    â€œHe does it because he can’t help but flirt with any female with a pulse,” Tammy said.
    Tammy would understand that behavior; she had a reputation of being quite the flirt herself. Serena suspected this was because of Tammy’s awkward teens. Now that she’d lost the weight and cleared up her complexion, their brunette friend enjoyed male attention. But with Tammy it was mostly just flirting. Apparently Cody did more than just flirt.
    Serena chuckled. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t take his attention personally? He’s going to hit on Mrs. Gulliver too? She is pretty cute.”
    Tammy smiled. “Don’t you love the pink streaks I put in her hair?”
    â€œShe loves them, too,” Serena assured the stylist. “She’s been talking about adding some purple ones.”
    Tammy clapped her hands together. “That’s great. She’s eighty-six and open to change. When are you going to let me change your hair?”
    Serena shrugged. “I don’t have time.”
    But she actually kept it long and straight, because it reminded her of how her mother always wore her hair.
    â€œExactly,” Tammy said. “You’re too busy to deal with all that hair. Let me cut it off for you.”
    â€œHell no!” a deep voice exclaimed. Cody rushed into the kitchen as if ready to throw himself between Serena and a pair of scissors. “That would be a crime.”
    Wyatt sauntered in behind his friend. “You’re a firefighter, not a cop,” he reminded Cody. Then he pulled his fiancée into his arms and planted a big kiss on her—as if he hadn’t seen her in days, instead of hours.
    Serena felt that pang of jealousy again; she was envious of her friend. She wanted that kind of love—that kind of connection.
    Cody was here. Staying in the same house. And he apparently liked her hair. But he wasn’t looking for love. Even without her friends’ warnings, she would have recognized that.
    â€œCutting hair is not a crime,” Tammy said.
    â€œCutting her hair would be,” he insisted. And he reached out as if to finger one of the long strands. But he caught himself and pulled his hand back to his side.
    Serena’s face heated with embarrassment that she and her hair had become the topic of conversation. “What I decide to do about my hair is unimportant,” she said. “Have you learned anything more about the arsonist?”
    Hopefully they’d caught him. She couldn’t get over how close she had come to losing her home in the last big fire. She gazed around the kitchen at the cabinets she and Mama had stripped and re-stained a rich chocolate color, several shades lighter than the oak floor they’d also refinished. There was no part of the house—structure, contents or residents—that Serena and her mother hadn’t cared for.
    â€œYes,” Fiona chimed in, “do you have any leads yet?”
    Wyatt sighed and shook his head.
    And Cody clenched his jaw so tightly a muscle twitched in his cheek. They were clearly troubled that they hadn’t caught the guy yet.
    Serena’s nurturing instincts—inherited from Mama—kicked in and she turned toward the refrigerator. “I saved you some dinner,” she said. “There’s enough for everyone.” She pulled out the fried chicken and potato salad she’d made earlier.
    Fiona groaned. “If I didn’t have an appointment to try on wedding gowns, I’d take you up