Challenging Andie Read Online Free Page A

mother’s death,” Andie muttered. Her head was bent and her hands lay still in her lap.
    “I don’t expect you to.”
    A sweep of damp eyelashes, then her red-rimmed eyes stared into his.
    “It’s too soon,” he said, wondering at the echoing ache inside as he gazed at her tear-stained face. “Let’s go to your house. We can talk for a while. Are you able to drive?”
    Andie nodded mutely and swept her tongue over her bottom lip. She reached for the door handle. “Follow me home.”
    *****
    The first indication that something was definitely up was the cars lining the street as Andie drove down it. By the time she arrived at her house, the full horror of the situation became clear. Cars were everywhere. A small crowd of people all started shouting and running her direction as she pulled into the only available parking spot. She blinked at the rapid fire of camera flashes as she climbed out of the car, and stopped dead as a woman stepped into her path, thrusting a microphone under her nose.
    “Miss Harte, what do you think of the news?” the poised brunette she recognized from the evening news asked. “Can you talk to our listeners for a moment?”
    The crowd pushed closer, buffeting Andie. Thoughts tumbled chaotically. What were they talking about? “Uh…”
    “Leave her alone.” A tall figure pushed through the throng of photographers. “Miss Harte has no comment at this time.” Reaching her side, Ryan clasped her arm tightly. “Say nothing,” he warned quietly. “We’re getting out of here. Follow me.”
    “Miss Harte, please. Your reaction…”
    Andie grabbed her bag from the passenger seat, slammed the car door and locked it with the key fob. Ryan’s arm slipped around her shoulders, effectively shielding her from view as the flashes reached a crescendo like a fireworks display. He walked her to the car he’d abandoned in the street and helped her quickly inside.
    “Buckle up,” he ordered, revving the engine.
    Andie took one brief last look at her home, before they left the circus behind, and made for the motorway. “What were they talking about? What news?”
    Ryan’s jaw clenched. “Let’s not worry about that now. We need to ensure we’re not followed.” He glanced into the rearview mirror. “I don’t want to go to London. They’ll identify me soon enough, and then the whole crowd will turn up at my apartment.”
    He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, located a number, and called it. “Brianne? Hi, it’s Ryan. I’m in England. Is the key for the cottage in the usual place? I need to lie low for a while.” He listened for a moment, then his shoulders relaxed. “Okay, under the third plant-pot, got it. Yeah, I’m fine, I’ll call you later. Thanks, honey.”
    He disconnected the call and glanced at Andie. “We’re going where they won’t find us. It’s about half an hour down the coast. Why don’t you close your eyes and have a sleep for a while?”
    It was the most ridiculous advice Andie’d ever heard. She’d been flirted with, shocked out of her skin, thrown right into the bowels of despair reliving her mother’s death, then pushed around by a greedy bunch of vultures waiting outside her house. How could she possibly just close her eyes and fall asleep? She closed them anyway.
    When Andie floated back to consciousness, she was surrounded in warmth. She breathed in the scent of sandalwood and warm man and snuggled closer. She seemed to be floating in the air. It was like being in the middle of a cloud. Except for the hardness underneath her cheek, and the heartbeat that thudded in her ear as it rested on that warm, firm surface. “Mmm,” she murmured.
    “We’re here.”
    Andie heard the words, and felt them rumble through the surface beneath her cheek. Her eyes flicked open, and the soft, dreamy state she’d been in evaporated in a heartbeat. “What… Put me down.”
    Her body tilted, the warmth disappeared from behind her legs, and then she felt solid