Knox (Sexy Bastard #3) Read Online Free PDF

last couple of decades. The vegetable patch is a scraggly, weed-filled hole in the ground, and there’s a rusted-out old station wagon permanently parked in the driveway. Shelby looks mortified, but I smell one of Jackson’s practical jokes. I play along, telling her that years of New York City apartment-hunting will prepare a man for anything. I’ve seen worse.
    “Do we have to go in?” she whispers as I ring the doorbell.
    “You never know,” I tease her. “Could be a diamond in the rough.”
    “Was that a baseball pun, because—”
    “I just meant a regular diamond,” I interrupt.
    Just then something scurries out of the bushes and into a crack in the foundation. Shelby screams and practically leaps at my arm, squeezing my forearm as hard as she can. “On behalf of Jackson and all your friends and family, I forbid you to live in this apartment,” she hisses. I’m unexpectedly thrown by her touch. I guess a little bit of skin-to-skin is okay in an emergency.
    More than okay , my traitorous sex drive tells me. Let’s take advantage of this. Grab her arm too and . . .
    The door opens a crack, a wiry head of white hair pokes out, and an angry voice barks, “What’s going on out here?”
    “Sorry, we’ve got the wrong address,” Shelby says, still holding my arm and dragging me back to the car. I let her hang on until we get to the car doors, and it’s with a wrenching in my gut that we finally break apart to slide into our seats.
    We’re laughing, though.
    “What the hell was Jackson thinking? Is he serious?”
    “Hate to break it to you Shelby, but I think that may have been one of Jackson’s little pranks.”
    “Oh my god, what a jerk! I’m going to kill him.”
    “You gotta hand it to him, though, the guy puts in the effort.”
    “All I know is this next place better be legit.”
    A nice condo on a quiet block, the next spot does have potential. The realtor, Diane, meets us in the lobby and instantly launches into her sales pitch. The neighborhood is safe, the kitchen’s just been redone, the building’s got a gym and guest parking. And the schools in this area are some of the best in the city, she explains to us with a knowing smile.
    Shelby and I exchange a look.
    “Oh, uh, no, we’re not—” I start to say, but then Shelby loops her arm through mine with a smirk on her lips. My skin burns hot where it touches hers.
    “Public or private?” she says with a sugar-sweet smile.
    “Both. You’re in driving distance to two of the best private schools in the state as well as one of the top-rated public elementary schools in the city.”
    “Wow, lots of options, honey. Sounds like a place we could really grow into.” The realtor turns her back and Shelby gives me a little wink. I glare back at her, but this only makes her faux-innocent smile widen. She’s clearly enjoying herself. But that wink gives me a glimpse of the sultry side Shelby showed me the first night we met.
    Maybe Diane could make herself scarce for a few hours and give us a chance to give the place a trial run. Like any happy couple would.
    “Big closets,” Shelby says.
    “Yes. You could easily convert one into a baby’s room.” Diane gives us a pointed look. “If that’s the direction you’re going.”
    Shelby holds up her left hand and wriggles her fingers. “Still waiting on a ring,” she says. “He’s saving up.”
    Diane turns to me, taking the bait. “Better not make her wait too long. Wouldn’t want such a nice young lady to slip between your fingers!”
    My stomach churns. Not because I hate the suggestion, but because something about it sounds so right . A life here. A home like this one. A woman like Shelby at my side. I could actually picture it, the white picket fence and 2.5 kids, the whole shebang.
    Shit, why am I torturing myself?
    Oh right. I’m not the one doing the torturing this time.
    Shelby looks up at me with twinkling eyes. “Did you hear that, babe? Nice young ladies shouldn’t