NicenEasy Read Online Free PDF

on the hard floor. “Actually, I’m here because of you.”
    “Why?” Carl panted slightly, hurrying next to her. She
figured he could wheel a case and tote a briefcase on his own, however,
hotfooting didn’t seem his style. She took the briefcase from him.
    “Ever since you hit the New York Times list, people
have wanted to meet you and you’ve kept yourself quiet.”
    He grimaced. “I was working. Insurance agents don’t get a
lot of time off.”
    “You’ve kept the day job?” Considering how well the book had
done, she’d have thought he’d give it up. Especially now he had a three-book
contract.
    He huffed. “Well, it was nice to pay off the house, but I
still have to put the kids through college. Four of them, all bright enough to
go, four of them all wanting Ivy League. I gotta have a regular job until I’m
sure.”
    She hustled him into the taxi, handing his bag in after him
and letting the cabbie take care of the wheeled suitcase. “The second book
should take care of that. And you’re writing the third on time, so you’re
good.” When she’d brought his deadlines forward to take account of the sudden
popularity of the first book, he’d hit every one. He’d seemed too flustered,
too disorganized to keep to a tight deadline when he’d first written the book,
and she suspected that was one of the reasons Nancy had passed him on to her.
But he’d got the hang of it and then, proving her assessment of him when she’d
first read his manuscript, his book had become a runaway success.
    The cabbie took off, nearly throwing her into Carl’s lap. He
didn’t seem to mind, helping her to sit with a gentleness that belied his burly
appearance, his hands lingering on her body. Her senses went on alert. Donovan
Harvey was a fantasy, but this was work and she never confused the two.
    “I’ve had the series in my head for years,” he confessed.
“Scribbling all the time. I could never get on the family computer long enough
to get it done, but then my wife bought me a laptop for Christmas…”
    She let him rattle on while her mind wandered yet again to
the vision she’d woken to. A broad expanse of chest, a strong shoulder forming
her pillow, one arm around her waist, holding her securely. It had taken five
minutes to extricate herself without waking him. She had a fifteen-minute drive
to think of Donovan and make sure Carl wasn’t divulging any important
information before they reached the airport hotel where the convention was
taking place.
    By the time they reached it, she’d realized that Carl could
drive her seriously insane if she saw him on a daily basis, and since she was
based in New York and so was he, that could happen, especially if the series
continued as successfully as it started.
    She soon found that the way to cope with Carl’s chatter was
to tune him out and return occasionally to check in with him. He’d talk for
hours, but he was one of the restful kind who didn’t necessarily need an
answer. She had to treat him well, even if he did have a tendency to put his
hand on her knee and try to slide it up her thigh. Three times in that journey,
she had to move away or simply move his hand. He didn’t seem to take offense,
although had it been anyone else, she would have.
    The taxi drew up. “We’re here,” she said brightly. “Let’s
get you checked in.”
    In this huge barn of a hotel, she was slightly relieved that
they couldn’t find a room for Carl close to her, considering his propensity to
let his hands wander. The place had been letting conventioneers check in early
as rooms became available, so Carl had to be satisfied with one a floor above
the room Allie shared with Nancy. Who’d given a sleepy, Cheshire cat smile when
Allie had rolled in at 6:00 a.m. to get ready for the day ahead. She’d had to
stop at the main desk to get another keycard. Either that or go back to
Donovan’s suite and wake him up, something so tempting she didn’t do it. She’d
slipped in the