Hooked for Life Read Online Free Page A

stopped in front of him, a little nervous too, he could tell by the way she clutched her little purse.
    He held out his hand and in that moment he felt something monumental about to happen and a second of pure terror when she hesitated. Catching her gaze, he held it and slowly she laid her hand in his.
    He breathed a sigh of relief and grinned down at her as she closed the door behind them.
    It was a total lie that they had reservations at seven-fifteen. But he needed to work fast if he was going to keep her from leaving in the morning.
    Placing a hand low on her back, he steered her through the lobby of the hotel and out into the setting sun. The last of the golden rays caught the fire in her hair and he stood for a moment just looking at her. She smiled at him and he smiled back as they continued walking to the car. Closing the car door after her, he went around to the driver’s side, praying what he had in mind for the evening would do the trick.
     
    Brady had a heck of a time sliding into Darren’s little sports car gracefully in her new heels but she had managed. She wondered where they were going and stole little glances at him while he drove the car effortlessly through traffic.
    Once the other cars thinned out she asked, “Where are we going?”
    He glanced her way and, smiling, said, “It’s a surprise.”
    She remembered the town well and she didn’t think there was a restaurant in the way he was heading. But it had been a long time, she could be wrong. All she could bring to mind was a few houses grouped together and…oh Lord. The Blacks’ farm was at the end of this road.
    A simple dinner out in a public place suddenly turned awkward and intimate. Exactly what she had wanted to avoid.
    “Are you taking me to your parents’ house?” she blurted out and her voice sounded loud even to her own ears in the quiet of the car.
    “It used to be my parents’ house but they moved to Florida after I came home from college. It’s just me now,” he answered with a smile.
    Brady thought about it for a moment and decided she didn’t like that any better, maybe even less.
    Then something else occurred to her. Was he planning on seducing her? She had refused to even contemplate the thought until now. But how did she feel about it?
    Glancing over at him, she decided it might be just what she needed. A quick, uncomplicated tangle between the sheets and she could put this whole infatuation with Darren Black behind her.
    There was no way he was going to be anywhere near as good as she had built him up to be in her head all these years and then it would be over. Then she could go back to her quiet life of writing and leave it all behind her.
    A little inspiration wouldn’t be unwanted anyway. It was getting harder and harder to write the intimate scenes from memory. It had been too long since she had found someone who caught her interest. But Darren certainly did.
    Brady decided she wasn’t opposed to the idea of him seducing her at all. There was no reason she couldn’t move things along a little, just in case seduction wasn’t what he had in mind.
    “Are you cooking?” she asked with a smile and turned toward him in the seat. It made the dress slide up her legs just enough to almost be indecent.
    “Uh, no,” he said as his eyes jerked from her legs back to the road, “I’m not much of a cook.”
    “Me either.” Actually she was a pretty good cook but she wasn’t getting dragged into cooking tonight.
    “I didn’t expect you to cook, Brady, I had old Marge cook for us.”
    “How is old Marge?” “Old Marge” had run the diner in town for years and had been old when they were kids.
    “She’s okay, had some heart trouble last year but pulled through fine. Moving a little slower maybe, but not much.” They shared a smile. Marge moving slow at anything was beyond belief.
    Brady turned to focus on the house as they pulled in the drive. She had always loved the way it looked, with the old-fashioned