In Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page A

glove, but way too short. It hit mid-thigh and accentuated her full curves.
    "Hurry," Raul called again from outside the door. "He's eating a late lunch at the diner up the street."
    Di opened the door and Raul moaned. "Fabulous. He doesn't stand a chance. But those shoes. They're all wrong. Nicole?"
    Nicole came running.
    "Her shoes!"
    "What size do you wear?" Nicole asked.
    "Tens."
    Nicole gasped and then gave Raul a shrug.
    "Don't worry," Raul said, before he went back into the main room and clapped his hands. "Attention, ladies. We need a pair of size tens, worthy to catch a hunk and accent this dress."
    "How about mine?" an attractive woman with her foil in her hair asked.
    "Perfect." Raul went to retrieve the high-heeled mules right off the woman’s feet.
    "Just leave them here with Raul when you're finished with them. And make sure to tell Raul everything. That's the price you have to pay for borrowing them. And maybe—do something naughty in them?"
    "Naughty?" Di thought about arguing, but figured Raul would have the last word. "What should I do?"
    Raul gave a larger-than-life gasp and put his hand on his hip. "You poor thing. You will be my special project. First , get over to the diner. Run, don't walk.
    “ Second , smile at every man there on the way to Jake's table. He's so predictable. He always sits at the back.
    “ Third thing on the agenda, thank him for the dress and tell him I said it's a sure-fire lure way to get lucky. Ask him if that's what he had in mind."
    That didn't sound so hard and, as Di walked into the diner it became easier by the second. The faces staring at her communicated their appreciation, bolstering her confidence to an all-time high. She didn't even wobble in her borrowed heels, too much.
    She only hesitated once, when she spotted the elderly woman who'd sat across the aisle from her on the plane.
    Small world.
    * * * * *
    Jake watched his new neighbor wend her way toward him like a drunken sailor and wondered what had possessed him to buy her a dress certain to make him so hard he wouldn't be able to walk either.
    But , it wasn't just the damned dress. Raul had transformed her into the proverbial swan and the dress had only gilded her fucking golden feathers.
    Why did she have to know Boyd? Not just know him, she was close enough to stay at his house.
    How close was that? Was she sleeping with him? Did he dare just come out and ask? "Are you sleeping with Boyd?"
    Di's stopped in front of him, her blue eyes wide. She blinked once, then twice. "No! I've never. No, I'm not." Her mouth snapped shut.
    Relief. He believed her. "How do you know him?"
    "I met Boyd in New York City, when he called the college where I work asking for advice on a painting he was interested in purchasing. This compulsion to talk about Boyd borders on obsessive."
    Jake didn't want to go there. Boyd was the one with the obsession. Wasn't he?
    "You gave him advice about a painting? What is it you do , exactly?"
    "No business talk. I'm on vacation. Two weeks in paradise, and I want to remember this trip for as long as I live. I'm looking for someone to show me a good time, no strings attached. I thought I'd found that man. Was I wrong, neighbor?" She gave a look around as though not comfortable making a public declaration.
    Neighbor. There was the rub.
    She moved closer. "Are you up for the job?"
    Jake smiled. Not only was he up, he was harder than granite.
    "If he turns you down, put my name at the top of the list," one of the locals sitting at the next table said loudly.
    “What’s your name?” she asked as if she had every attention of adding him to her to-do list.
    Jake didn't want to think about anyone else taking her up on her generous offer. "Two weeks in paradise, huh? With me? And your roommate is okay with this?"
    "Boyd is busy writing. He says he's creating the next New York Times bestseller about the art world and doesn't want to be disturbed on penalty of death."
    Jake huffed and ignored Boyd’s