Up to the Challenge (An Anchor Island Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

demure as Anchor was big.
    “How’s Tom?” she asked.
    “Good,” he said, turning over the menu. “Mom says he’s driving the nurses crazy.”
    “Anybody else here yet?” She dropped her keys behind the bar.
    He didn’t look up. “Flynn’s out back approving the fish. Last I checked, Chip was chopping vegetables.”
    The
tap tap tap
of knife hitting cutting board confirmed his words. Sid poured herself a soda and waited to see if her new coworker would put down the menu and actually talk to her. He’d ignored her long enough. If they were going to work together, that stopped now.
    “Pretty sure the menu hasn’t changed in five years.” Leaving her glass on the bar, she started lowering the chairs.
    “So I see.” He finally glanced her way. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
    Sid looked down. “What’s wrong with this?”
    He tucked the menu under his arm. “Your shirt says ‘Mechanics Do It With Lube.’”
    His shirt should have said
Captain Obvious
. “Yeah. So?”
    “So you’re dealing with customers and that shirt is inappropriate. This is a family restaurant.”
    Sid slammed a chair onto all fours and crossed the space between them, stopping just under Lucas’s nose. “Let me make this clear. I’ll wear whatever the fuck I want to wear, and not you or anyone else is going to tell me I can’t. I’ve worked in here for years and your dad has never had a problem with my wardrobe.” She eyed him up and down. “At least I’m not dressed like a pansy.”
    He took a seat. “While I’m in charge of this business, I’ll decide what is and is not appropriate. And there will be no dropping of F-bombs in front of the customers.”
    If he kept this up, she would have no problem pretending
not
to have feelings for him.
    “You may be used to calling the shots in your other life, the boring one, but I’ve told you once, you’re not in charge of me. We both know you need me. If I walk out of here right now, not only are you screwed, but your mother will snatch a knot in your ass as soon as she hears. So I suggest you take your
appropriate
speech and shove it.”
    Satisfied she’d made her point, Sid did a one-eighty and headed back to the chairs. Inappropriate. She’d show him inappropriate.
    “A little old for this rebel teen act, don’t you think?”
    She froze, chair in midair. The man wanted to die. That was the only logical explanation. With great effort, she returned the chair gently to the table, then casually strolledback to the bar. Jaw locked, she climbed onto a stool, leaving an empty seat between them. For
his
safety.
    “You’ve got some alpha thing going on. I get it. If playing captain gets you through the day, that’s fine. If you need to do the man act to make up for shortcomings in other areas, go for it. But I’ve spent my entire life dealing with guys like you. And I can give just as good as I get.” She leaned forward, dropping a hand onto his knee. The hazel eyes darkened, but he didn’t move. Sid ignored the shot of heat that raced up her arm. “We’ve got six weeks. You want to make this a pissing contest, give it your best shot.”
    He leaned so close, she could feel his breath on her lips. “Move your hand a little higher, and you’ll know there are no shortcomings here.”
    Sid jerked back, the heat from his body still imprinted on her hand. Her heart beat double time, and she feared he’d see how tempted she was.
    “You wish, pretty boy.” Desperate for distance, she all but ran to the farthest tables and started dropping chairs two at a time. How did he manage to piss her off and still make her want to jump his bones? Jerk.
    The noise of tables scraping the floor mixed with the blood raging in her head meant Sid didn’t hear Lucas come up behind her until he whispered against her ear. “You just lost round one. I’ll expect more of a fight in round two.”
    Sid suppressed the urge to swing a chair in his direction. Arrogant jackass. He wanted a fight,