Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evie Read Online Free PDF Page B

locked.
    His eyes were a light hazel green, flecked with gold, brown, and gray. And they were piercing.
    When Max Galloway looked at you, you knew you were being looked at, that he was focused wholly on you and nothing else. It was an intoxicating feeling, and she imagined he’d gotten a lot of women into bed just by flashing those babies, and turning that beautiful mouth into a “come hither and you won’t be sorry” smile.
    She was not impervious to such sexuality, but she wasn’t thtupid , either, which meant she was going to have to work hard at keeping him at an arm’s length. Not because he might want her, but because she was very much afraid she might want him.
    He bit off half a slice of bacon. “I’ve already done a prelim investigation of the barn where you fell, but I’d like you to come with me and answer some questions. Can you walk that far?”
    I can walk anywhere you can, buster. Like a slug, but speed isn’t everything. Okay, so slugs don’t exactly walk, but that’s beside the point.
    She took a sip of coffee and nodded.
    “You sure?” he said. “I’m more than willing to carry you again, if it would help.” He popped the rest of the bacon in his mouth, which quirked up on one end.
    He was trying to charm her? What was that all about? Did he think they had some special bond because he’d rescued her?
    Shaking her head, she tucked into her eggs and bacon, spooning strawberry preserves on a toasted English muffin. She ate carefully to avoid hurting her tongue, and relished every bite, letting the warm food energize her. A day and a half of sleep had worked wonders in helping her body mend, but the food would help even more.
    She polished off her orange juice, set her napkin down, then rose to leave. Before she could get far, however, Max was around the table, beside her, his palm under her elbow.
    “You doing okay?” His eyes narrowed as he assessed her. “Honest. You look a little pale. Maybe I should go get one of the llamas and you can ride it.”
    She scowled at him. “Can’t ride," she said, talking out of the side of her mouth that didn’t hurt.
    “Why not? They look big and fat and strong to me.”
    Shaking her head, she said, “All wool. Too thin. No riding. Blockhead.” Then she clamped her mouth shut.
    “What was that last part there?” he challenged. “It sounded like you called me a blockhead.”
    She widened her eyes innocently and blinked, giving him a Who me? look.
    It took only a few minutes to reach the barn. Cool morning air wafting up from the water kept the temperature down and felt good against Evie’s skin. As they approached, the llamas turned in their direction, each fuzzy snout curved into a placid smile.
    “That black one,” Max said. “That’s Fernando, right? Lily is the white one and Lorenzo is the spotted one?”
    “Fernando, dark brown,” Evie cor rected. “Truly black llama… rare. ”
    The llamas. Her babies, her family, her closest confidants. They had been her saving grace since the day she’d come to Mayhem Manor and Thomas had told her the llamas would be her responsibility. There had been different llamas on the island back then, but Fernando and his son Lorenzo were descendants of the original herd. Lily had been purchased a few years ago and was Lorenzo’s dam.
    Gesturing toward Fernando, Max said, “He’s kind of cute, in a giant, alien, dust-mop sort of way.” He opened the gate and walked through ahead of Evie, but the llamas only blinked at him with quiet curiosity. As a group, they moved forward to inspect him, and he let them. He reached out and stroked Fernando’s coat. “He’s soft. Do you clip them like sheep?”
    “Yeth.”
    “That so? Tell me more.” He gave her the cockeyed grin that had probably gotten him everything he’d ever wanted all his life.
    She looked into his eyes and it occurred to her that if Max Galloway were a product on a grocery store shelf, he’d be labeled “SEX APPEAL!” in big red