Lady's Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

distance away, peering at her dubiously and shaking off periodically.
    Jamie’s laughter subsided, although he couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off his face … until Annie squirmed out of her wet shorts. “Whoa!” His brows shot up. “I mean … wow, you look … nice.”
    Their gazes met over the unexpected compliment.
    Judging by Lady’s matted hair, Annie couldn’t imagine looking more unkempt than she did at the moment. She had mud on her arms and legs, mud between her toes, and she was pretty sure she was as deep a crimson as the color of her bikini. But he was being serious. The twinkle remained in his eyes, but she recognized a serious compliment when she heard one. Her brows twitched in surprise. “Thanks.”
    Abruptly, he began to laugh again, apparently coming to his senses.
    “Sorry! I’m sorry. How ‘bout we leave the boating for another day and head to the beach to rinse you off?”
    Annie smirked. “Yeah … didn’t think you’d want me in the house like this. Sorry for spoiling your date with my dog.”
    “On the contrary, you made my night,” he reassured her.
    He hauled the little dory out to hose down later and together they walked to the beach with Lady ambling sullenly behind them, more at Jamie’s side than Annie’s, but Annie wasn’t particularly displeased by that fact at the moment.
    As the sun disappeared to the West, the color of the sky deepened to crimson and plum. Annie was certain she couldn’t have planned a lovelier evening for a first dip in the ocean. The breeze was balmy, the sand warm and Jamie’s presence was strangely comforting. Not that anything would happen, she reasoned, but if anything were to happen, she somehow sensed he was the right guy to have at your side.
    On the beach, the warm sand felt glorious between her toes. Annie could barely contain her joy. She called Lady to her side. Lady peered up at her grudgingly and stayed exactly where she was. “I think you’ve won over my dog,” she told him.
    He responded with a crooked smile. “One down, one to go.”
    Before Annie could even register what he’d said, he exclaimed, “Check this out.” He stopped and faced Lady, slapping his hands to his knees before turning and sprinting out to the water.
    Lady hunkered down playfully and barked and then bolted after him. Annie watched as her dog chased him into the surf and for a long moment, stood observing in amazement. She thought about joining them, but a lifetime of prudence buried her toes into the sand.
    At the management office, she’d picked up a newspaper with a headline that read, “Declaration of War Alert.” The article was about the Portuguese Man of War lurking in Charleston waters—blue bottle jellyfish with stinging tentacles that “hang as long as a tree is high.” She really didn’t relish the thought of encountering one of those …
    Lady swam after Jamie completely without fear.
    As Annie watched, he spun around and waited for Lady to reach him and then enveloped her within his arms, praising her generously. Even once he held her, Lady continued to paddle instinctively, reciprocating his affection with eager attempts to lick his chin.
    You can’t always wait for the perfect time, her grandmother’s voice coached from the grave. Sometimes you have to jump, Annie.
    She had an overwhelming desire to be part of the moment.
    And she was filthy. I mean, really, did she plan to just walk the beach looking like a sand monster?
    “Just do it,” Annie whispered to herself, and for once she didn’t think about what she was doing. She took a deep breath, banished all thought from her head and sprinted in to join them.
    It was the most fun she’d had since she was a child.
    They spent about an hour frolicking in the surf. And to Annie’s relief, she didn’t spot a single Man of War, not even amid the clump of sargassum weed that wrapped itself around her ankle.
    Jamie taught her how to find sand dollars and showed her where loggerhead