Just Good Friends Read Online Free

night or two, though.”
    “It sounds like he’s cut quite a swath around here,” Kate
said with surprise. “For you to know that much about him.”
    “There’ve been a fair few girls through here who could give
you a review of his performance, let’s just say. Always someone ready to put
her hand up where he’s concerned. And some hearts broken too. That’s why there
was a vacancy for your position, you know.”
    “What? How?”
    “Bridget. Lovely to look at, and a kind girl as well. Too
soft, though. She fancied him for ages. When he started taking her out, she was
over the moon, hearing wedding bells. Course it didn’t last more than a month
or so. It never does, with him. He moved on to someone else, and that was the
end of Bridget. The same old sad, short story.”
    “He cheated on her?”
    “Not cheated, exactly,” Corinne admitted. “Gave her the push
all the same, though. She stuck it out here for a bit after that. But it got to
be too much for her, seeing him around the place, and she gave notice. So, from
what I hear, if you want a bit of fun, you’ll have it. But be warned, that’s
all it’ll be. He’s not a keeper.”
    “Thanks for the warning,” Kate told her. “But I think I can
safely promise you that I’ll never be interested in dating Koti James.”
     
    The sound of her alarm had Kate starting awake the next
morning with a familiar lurch of fear, followed by a quick sigh of relief as
she remembered where she was. She was safe across the world, she reminded
herself. She didn’t have to watch for Paul or think about him anymore. And she
was going swimming this morning.
    Thirty minutes later, she was bracing herself against the
predawn chill as she entered the water at deserted Takapuna Beach and gutted
her way through the first five minutes, always the most difficult part of her
swim. Another month, maybe, and it would be time to break out the full wetsuit.
Thank goodness the water here never got truly cold. She’d never been a member
of the Polar Bear Club, able to leap into the frigid winter waters of the San
Francisco Bay without a wetsuit. Or even the summer waters, for that matter.
Not enough body fat. That might make her look better in a swimsuit, but it was
a major disadvantage in cold water.
    Moving here had its upside, even though it had been forced
upon her, she realized as she watched the dawn tinting the sky over Rangitoto,
the huge volcanic island rising to seaward. Swimming in a pool couldn’t compare
to the intoxicating feeling of slicing through the gentle waves, being a part
of the ocean. And being able to roll out of bed and get here in a few
minutes—that was just icing on the cake.
    Exhilarated and fully awake, she emerged from the sea and
ran to the cold shower on the beach. Rinsing off under the spray, she struggled
as always to pull her clinging neoprene vest over her shoulders.
    “Need a hand?”
    She whirled, heart pounding and arms still caught in the
vest, at the sound of the voice. Koti stood a few feet away, looking down at
her.  
    “No!” She wrestled the cumbersome vest over her head as
quickly as she could, feeling better when her arms were free. “What are you
doing here?” She tried to sound calm as she turned off the spray and looked for
her towel, only to find him holding it out to her. She wrapped it around
herself, grateful for its protection, acutely aware of being dressed only in
her swimsuit. It was a modest, athletic one-piece, but she still felt much too
naked in the chilly morning.
     “Just out for a jog,” he said mildly. “Thought I recognized
you.”
    “Pulling my vest over my head, you recognized me,” she said
stiffly. “You have a good memory.”
    “For pretty girls, I do,” he grinned.  
    “I’ve got to go. Enjoy your run.” She grabbed the bag with
her things and headed for her car without looking back.
    Koti watched her leave, confused. What was that all about?
Women didn’t usually run away from him. It