Trial Run: Addicted To Love Romance Collection Read Online Free PDF Page A

whatever goes wrong with the boat looks accidental. We don’t want her catching on too soon.”
    “Absolutely,” Rob agreed. “What exactly do you want me to do, once we’re stranded?”
    “Just look after yourself. Ignore her completely. Any temper tantrums, tears, shouting, whatever – don’t give in to them. Are you tough enough for that?”
    Rob fixed an insulted expression on his face. “Trust me, if there’s one thing the last few years taught me, it’s how to ignore a woman’s emotional blackmail. I’m armor-plated, my man. Solid.”
    Jason laughed. “That’s what I want to hear. When I come to get you, I want to see a major change in my sister, a different person.”
    “By the time we get back, I guarantee she’ll be a lot wiser.” Rob sighed, pondering the task at hand. “So how do we get her to go with me to the Bahamas?”
    “Ah, that’s easy. Amelie is desperate to start up a business – any business – and prove her entrepreneurial prowess. But she needs access to funds for the start-up. She’s got a decent sum coming to her on her twenty-fifth birthday, but until then she can’t get to it without my approval. I’m sure she thinks I’m being stubborn on purpose, but I can see she’s just not mature enough to deal with a business alone, and none of her ventures involved a partner. She’s independent and stubborn.
    “So what I’m suggesting is this: get closer to her tomorrow, start chatting about her plans, etcetera, and if I know my sister, she’ll moan about me being difficult. Ask to see some of her ideas, pretend you can sway me, that you’re on her side, and then choose the Bahamas one over the others. I’ll play along, say that the least she could do is go scope out the place before she gets her heart set on it. You can tell her that’s where you were heading anyway and offer her a lift. My guess is she’ll jump at the chance.”
    “But I don’t have a boat.”
    “I can get you a boat by lunchtime.”
    “Okay. What about provisions? The least we’d need is enough drinking water...” Rob left the sentence unfinished when Jason started shaking his head.
    “Sorry, you can’t have that. It would make her suspicious. The most you can have is a two or three day supply of water and a few rations.”
    “Then I’ll need some tools, and things I can use to keep us alive, like a hatchet, for example.”
    “I can get you those, too. Make me a list, but try to stick to items that wouldn’t raise suspicion, okay?”
    “I can do that,” Rob agreed. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to rely on his wits to survive in the wilderness. One of the reasons he didn’t like the Everglades was because he’d gotten lost there on more than one occasion. Once, his rescuers had found him at the eleventh hour. But he was eight, not twenty-nine, and he certainly didn’t have the knowledge or tools to help his situation.
    “You don’t mind sleeping rough for a few days to help me out, do you?”
    “You’re joking, right? Don’t worry about my sleeping arrangements. A beach in the tropics is no hardship to me. Worry about Amelie. I’m not sure she’s had one day when she couldn’t get exactly what she wanted.”
    “You’re right there. I am concerned about her. But I’m even more concerned about your sanity. Not sure you realize what you’ve signed up for here.”
    “It’ll be easy. I can just shut her out. No problem there. I can be incredibly deaf when I want to be.”
    “Hmm... I don’t know. Some of her weird girly moods can wear down even the most balanced human being. I couldn’t forgive myself if my best friend turned into a blubbering mess because of my little sister.”
    “I’ll be fine. If anyone will be blubbering, it will be her.”
    Jason snorted. “You wanna bet?”
    It was Rob’s turn to fix Jason with a penetrating stare. His best friend’s lack of confidence was downright insulting. “Yeah, why not? What on? Cash?”
    Their teenage gambling