If She Dares (Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free PDF

felt too warm in the restaurant. “I was just realizing I haven’t told you about my new neighbor. Jack Reed.” There. No guilty secrets.
    Leaning back, Wren raised an eyebrow. “You were staring into space and have flushed cheeks because you were thinking about a guy? He must be hot.”
    Scorching. God, those mesmerizing eyes. “He’s attractive.”
    “And is he single?”
    “No idea.” That was a jarring thought. Truthfully, she
didn’t
know if he was seeing anyone. But the way he’d looked at Riley, the flirtatious drawl in his voice when he teased her, made her want to believe he was unattached. What if she was wrong?
    She ground her teeth together. “You know what? I probably should get going, make sure I have enough time to change and stretch before class starts.” She was in the mood to knock a sparring partner to the ground.
    “So I asked a couple of questions about the new guy in your building and suddenly you have to bail?”
    Riley forced a chuckle as she slid the straps of her gym bag onto her shoulder. “I’ve been taking classes for months. There’s nothing
sudden
about this.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Deciding to ignore Wren’s irritating smirk, Riley stood and thanked her sister again for the bracelet. It was a genuinely thoughtful gift.
    “Dinner last week, lunch today,” Wren mused as Riley pulled out cash for the bill. “Nice change of pace. For a while, you were so—”
    “Busy?” It sounded better than cowardly or closed off.
    “Anyway, it’s great to see you more often.”
    “What can I say? I missed my pain-in-the-ass kid sister.”
    “Maybe we should make plans for the weekend, too. I could bring over takeout and we can stream a movie.” Her smile was sly. “Maybe I’ll even get to meet your new neighbor.”
    “Did I already mention the part about you being a pain in the ass?”
    Wren grinned. “At least say you’ll visit my new job and buy lots of stuff from me so I look good to my bosses.”
    “Yes to the visit if it will keep you from stalking my building, but you’ll need to lower your expectations from
lots
.” With that, she waved and quickly departed before Wren talked her into spending hundreds of dollars on unnecessary lingerie purchases.
    Riley could drive to her class, but the nearest public parking for the gym was a couple of blocks past it, not any closer than where she was already parked, so she looked at the walk as her warmup. Her small umbrella shielded her from the worst of the persistent rain. The weather was midway between drizzle and downpour, with lightning and high winds predicted for tonight. What were the chances of two power outages in one week? She’d put fresh batteries in both her flashlights and bought a set of candles, just in case. Would it be the neighborly thing to do to knock on Jack’s door and ask if he needed a couple?
    Jack Reed by candlelight. Now there was a thought more sinful than the billion-calorie chocolate cake she and Wren had shared.
    Considering that Riley barely knew him—and their longest conversation had taken place in the dark—it was astonishingly easy to picture him. Jack smiling down at her, the muted light flickering over those muscular arms...
    The pulse of female appreciation that shot through her was a welcome surprise. While she had no intention of throwing herself at a near stranger, it was reassuring to know she could still experience a little harmless lust.
Baby steps
. Maybe someday she’d even go on a date again, like a regular person.
    Though she was grateful that Jack inspired hope of eventually emerging from her self-imposed isolation cocoon, she’d already dwelled on him enough for one day. She was dangerously close to obsessing like a lovelorn teenager. Plus, if she was distracted, her sparring partner would kick her butt in hand-to-hand exercises. Banishing her hot new neighbor from her thoughts, Riley reached for the door to the studio.
    Class went by quickly, and she relished the workout. After