True Love's Fire: A Red Hot Valentine Story (Hell Yeah!) Read Online Free PDF Page B

door and opened it. All he could see were two grocery bags being held by someone swathed from head to toe in a parka with a hood, snow pants and hiking boots. Elvis was short. “Mr. Walker?” sounded the voice from behind the bag. “May I come in?”
    A female voice.
    “Oh yeah, sure, sorry.” He opened the screen and stepped back and a dog came bounding in, shaking his coat. Snow flew all over the place. Next came in the woman, also dripping snow. “I was expecting a man.” He took one of the bags from her arms.
    “Sorry to disappoint you. There’s no man, just us. Thanks for holding the door. I’m Lia Houston.” She followed him to the kitchen cabinet and placed her sack next to his. “Dang, it is cold in here.”
    “You think?” Scott couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice if he tried.
    “No use being snippy, Mr. Walker. I’ll do what I can to help you.” Walking to the thermostat, she flipped the switch, standing on tip-toe.
    “Sorry. What’s the verdict?”
    “It won’t come on.”
    “That much I knew.” He returned to the fireplace and bent down, taking the sticks and rubbing them together once more.
    “What are you doing?” She seemed curious.
    “Starting a fire.”
    Lia drew closer, watching him work. He was really a very handsome man. Not too smart it seemed, but very sexy. His longish hair was ruffled, and he had a five o’clock shadow. She let her eyes take in his muscled-up body and she smirked when she saw his tongue peeking out at the corner of his mouth as he tackled the task of fire by friction. “Why don’t we do it this way?”
    She stepped closer to him, bringing a fresh womanly scent with her. Click. A whoosh of heat and light. “What?”
    “Gas fireplace,” she answered drolly and walked off. “I’m not flirting or anything, but I need to go in your bedroom.”
    Scott was startled. “What?”
    “Is that the only word you know?” She teased. “Don’t worry. Your body is safe with me. I just need to look out the window and see if there’s ice on the fan blades. The unit sits right by the house on that side.” She didn’t wait for his permission.
    While she was gone, he began to sort through the sacks, grumbling all the while. “I know lots of words. Cranky woman.” The more stuff he pulled out, the more perturbed he became. “I can’t eat any of this stuff.”
    “Why not?” She returned. “Move over.” She pushed him a bit.
    “What are you doing?” He let himself be pushed.
    “I need a boiler to heat water to melt the ice.” Lia spoke slowly, as if he would have trouble understanding. “And what’s wrong with the food?” She filled the pot to the brim, setting it on the stove and turning on the heat.
    “I eat paleo. Meats and vegetables. This is junk food. It’s bad for me.”
    Lia looked at him and giggled. His mouth was actually pooched out. “Sorry, it’s all I had. I split my food with you, you ought to be grateful.”
    “Grateful? Isn’t this part of your job?”
    “Actually, I do this out of the goodness of my heart to help Miss Mary.”    
    “Humph.” Damn. Scott would have felt mildly embarrassed, but he was just too irritated. Clearing his throat, he attempted to make conversation. “Well, thank you, then. But I still can’t eat most of this. I guess I’ll just starve.”
    Lia watched him. She couldn’t help but grin. Thankfully, her face was still covered by the scarf. She could smirk all she wanted to and he couldn’t see. “Cheer up. Just as soon as I get those fan blades moving, I’ll be out of your hair.” He didn’t answer. Smart man , she thought.
    Finally, he said, “I think it’s colder in here than it is in the icebox.”
    “Icebox.” She laughed. “That’s what my grandmother used to call our refrigerator.”
    “Yea, my mom did too. She was a bit old-fashioned.”  He pointed to the water. “I could have done that, if you’d just told me.” He felt a bit inadequate. “I’m not helpless, just