Pursued (The Diamond Tycoons 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she was turning into a sex addict. “I don’t watch TV.”
    “What do you mean you don’t watch TV?” He turned to stare at her incredulously. “
Everyone
watches TV.”
    She quirked a brow at him. “Not everyone. Obviously.”
    He named a few popular shows, but when she just shook her head, Nic sighed heavily. “Okay, fine. How about your favorite movie, then? Or do you not watch movies, either?”
    “I watch movies. But it’s hard to pick just one, isn’t it?” She did her best to keep from smiling at his obvious frustration.
    “Not necessarily.”
    “Oh, yeah? What’s your favorite then?”
    “Titanic.”
    It was her turn to stare at him incredulously. “You don’t really mean that, right? You’re just messing with me. You have to be.”
    “Why wouldn’t I mean it?” He looked completely disgruntled now. “It’s a fantastic movie. Love, passion, danger, excitement. What’s not to like?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Betrayal, maybe? Attempted suicide, attempted murder, poverty,
icebergs
, death. Not to mention the world’s most infamous sinking ship.” She paused as if considering. “You’re right. What was I thinking? It’s a barrel of laughs. Obviously.”
    He made a disgusted sound. “You’re a real party pooper. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
    “No.”
    “Well, then, let me be the first. You’re a real party pooper.”
    “I’m a realist.”
    He snorted. “You’re a nihilist.”
    She started to argue on general principle, but stopped before she could do more than utter a few incoherent sounds. After all, whom was she kidding? He was totally right. “Just call me Camus,” she quipped with a shrug.
    “Is that a movie?” he asked as he poured more batter on the griddle.
    “Are you serious?” she demanded, watching him like a hawk as she tried to find some kind of tell to prove he was messing with her. But the look he sent her was utterly guileless. Not too guileless, mind you. Just guileless enough, as if he really had no idea what she was talking about.
    Huh. Maybe he wasn’t so perfect, after all. The thought made her inexplicably happy, though she refused to delve too deeply into why that was.
    “Albert Camus was a French writer,” she told him after a second.
    “Oh.” He shrugged. “Never heard of him.”
    That knowledge made her infinitely more relaxed. “Oh, well, a lot of people would say you weren’t missing much.”
    “But not you.”
    “Maybe. Maybe not.”
    He grinned as he slid a plate piled high with perfect, golden, fluffy pancakes in front of her. “But you still didn’t tell me what your favorite movie is.”
    “I told you I couldn’t choose just one. Not all of us can wax poetic over a sinking boat, after all.”
    “More’s the pity.” He cast her a mischievous look that she immediately mistrusted. “But you know what? I think you’re right. I don’t think I can choose just one favorite movie. Now that I’m thinking about it, a few more come to mind.”
    “Oh yeah? Like what?”
    “
The Stranger
, definitely. And maybe
The Guest
. And—”
    “You suck!” she told him, breaking off a piece of pancake and throwing it at him. He caught it, of course. In his mouth. Without even trying. “Those are two of Albert Camus’s most famous works.”
    “Are they?” he asked, his face a mask of complete and total innocence. “I had no idea.”
    She studied him closely, looking for his tell. He was lying to her, obviously, but the fact that she couldn’t tell was odd. She could always tell—she prided herself on it. It’s what made her such a good investigative journalist. And such a lousy society columnist.
    The fact that he didn’t seem to have a tell fascinated her. And made her very, very nervous all at the same time.
    When she didn’t say anything else, he nodded at her untouched plate. “Eat your pancakes before they get cold.”
    “Maybe I like cold pancakes.”
    “Do you?”
    “I don’t know. Do I?”
    He didn’t answer. Instead