Kiss and Tell Read Online Free PDF Page A

other guy while old what’s-his-name, the guy who wants to marry you, isn’t around?”
    “Ugh, you make it sound so tawdry,” Leila moaned.
    “It
wasn’t
tawdry?” he asked.
    “No! It was…”
    “What?”
    “Magic.” Leila closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Oh no, did I just say that?”
    “I heard you say magic.” Simon chuckled. “Thank God.”
    Leila’s eyes shot open. “Thank
God?!
Whose side are you on? I’m losing my mind and you’re giving prayers of thanks?”
    “It’s just that I was afraid you were actually going to say yes to this Elliot bozo and never give yourself a chance to really fall in love.”
    Leila stared at her brother. His hair was blond, like hers, but wavy, not curly. His face was handsome, with refined features. His nose was perfectly sculpted with slightly flaring nostrils, his lips were graceful yet masculine, his chin strong without being mulishly stubborn. His eyes were a truer shade of blue than hers, surrounded by long, thick, dark eyelashes that seemed to be nature’s way of laughing at all of the women who spent a fortune on mascara.
    Her brother’s face was elegant, Leila thought sourly. Didn’t it figure.
    “I think,” Simon continued, “that maybe you’re in love with this ninja, whoever he is.”
    Leila laughed, a quick, loud burst of disbelieving air. “You think I’m in
love
with someone that I not only have never met, but that I’ve never actually laid eyes on?”
    “Stranger things have happened.” Simon shrugged. “They say there’s a perfect match for everyone. Maybe this guy’s perfect for you, and deep down, you recognized that.”
    Leila rolled her eyes. “I’d rather go with the too-much-champagne theory.”
    Footsteps on the stairs leading up to the deck made Leila sit up. Maybe it was the ninja. Maybe he was coming back.
    But it was only two of Simon’s friends, coming to say good night before they left.
    Simon didn’t stand up as he shook the couple’s hands, and as Leila excused herself, she felt his eyes on her. She knew he’d picked up on the fact that she was still waiting—like a fool—for that damned ninja to come back.
    Leila went into the house, gathering up a trayful of champagne glasses and little plates as she headed toward the kitchen. Simon was a firm believer in recycling, and he never used paper or plastic if he could help it. He’d rented thick, unbreakable glasses and plates from a caterer up in Venice. And he’d hired a local team of cleaners—most of whom had also attended the party—to come over that afternoon and get everything washed and picked up. Still, it couldn’t hurt to help.
    And as long as she was helping with the cleaning, she didn’t have to think.
    She didn’t have to think about Elliot’s plane landing on the tiny island in a matter of hours. She didn’t have to think about her conversation with Simon. And mostly, she didn’t have to think about the mysterious man who had kissed her and disappeared.
    Where had he gone? Why hadn’t he come back?
    How was it possible that she’d fallen in love
and
had her heart broken all in the span of a few short hours?
    Oh, no way, she told herself firmly. The things Simon had been saying to her were making her confused, that’s all. Tonight’s little adventure had nothing to do with love. She was simply overtired, that was it.
    Still, she couldn’t deny that those kisses were incomparable to anything she’d ever experienced before.
    “Hey, Cinderella.”
    Leila looked up to see Marsh Devlin standing in the kitchen door.
    “I was sure you’d have turned into a pumpkin long before this,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing his bathing suit and a T-shirt, with a towel draped over one shoulder. His hair was wet, and, naturally, it flopped down into his eyes. With an apologetic smile, Marsh raked his hair back, out of his face. “If I’d’ve known you were awake, I’d’ve asked you to join me for a