Someone Like You Read Online Free PDF Page B

the order to the chef. Twenty minutes later she would collect the food, sealed in foil-lidded containers and packed in a box, and head off. Her short walk from the pub to home was only slightly altered via the small detour to Dan’s place.
    She’d meant it when she’d told Ry and Julia that Dan would need space and time. She’d worked out the delivery schedule so Dan got to maintain his privacy in a respectful and dignified way. The fact that she didn’t have to look into his eyes was not a deciding factor in her plan. Not one bit.
    Lizzie stepped over the low fence in Dan’s front yard and walked over the grass. The crunch of the gravel on the driveway would have given her away so she’d developed this little detour to slip in unnoticed. This wasn’t sneaking around, she told herself. Or avoiding him. Nothing at all like that.
    When she reached the veranda, she carefully placed the food parcel on the doormat. With a self-satisfied smile, she stood up, brushed her hands together and took a quick look at the front door.
    Dan McSwaine was staring right at her.

CHAPTER
3
    ‘Elizabeth.’
    ‘Oh…Dan.’ Lizzie tried to hide the catch in her voice. So much for playing it cool. Seeing him standing there, his arms crossed against his chest, looking down at her with those piercing green eyes, had given her the shock of her life. She couldn’t even summon up her usual indignation at the way he used her proper name. Maybe it was something in the way he said it, gruff and deep. And while Lizzie had just two syllables, Elizabeth had a full four. Twice as much time to hear that voice. Oh no . Her heart picked up speed. She dropped her eyes to the box of food at her feet, anything to stop herself from really looking at him.
    ‘Sprung.’ Lizzie shrugged her shoulders and then looked up.
    Worst. Idea. Ever.
    He was kind of half naked. No, not kind of. Mostly, definitely, half-naked. In the desperate hope that her sunglasses were hiding her blatant appreciation, Lizzie took care to move only her eyeballs and not her actual head as she checked him out. His smooth chest was dusted with hair from nipple to nipple and was framed on either side by strong, muscled shoulders. And as she glanced lower, down his flat stomach, there was another smattering of hair leading to… Lizzie propped her hands on her hips for support and gulped. It led to loose, black boardshorts, only just clinging to his hipbones, so low slung that she wondered what was keeping them up.
    Oh God, don’t think of that!
    ‘You’re right on time,’ he said.
    She tore her gaze back to his face and noticed something happening to his lips. Although half-hidden by the rock star beard, there was a movement and yes, they were shifting at the corners, just the tiniest bit. In an upward direction.
    ‘Elizabeth, I want to thank you for—.’ The voice, like melting chocolate, seemed to stumble.
    She held up a hand. ‘It’s no trouble, Dan, really.’
    He pushed his midnight-dark hair back from his forehead. All kinds of muscles Lizzie didn’t even know the names of moved in his upper arms and broadened his chest.
    ‘The food has been amazing. I can see why Ry bought the pub.’
    ‘Fantastic,’ she sighed, totally distracted by his body, all hard ridges and muscles. He might have dropped a few kilos during his recovery but, upon closer inspection, Lizzie couldn’t seem to figure out where. ‘Err…good. Great. I’ll tell Ry. I don’t know why but he seems obsessively interested in your eating habits.’
    ‘That’s a change.’ Dan chuckled and the sexy sound of it flipped her insides. ‘He’s always been more interested in my drinking habits.’ When he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his boardshorts dropped lower still.
    Lizzie swallowed hard. ‘Well, enjoy.’ She nudged the box with her foot, pushing it a little closer to him.
    ‘Thanks,’ he said, almost under his breath. ‘I appreciate it.’
    ‘It’s no problem, Dan, really. I