Loving Mr. July Read Online Free Page A

makeup. Suddenly it
seemed more worth it.
    “Clock upstairs said six,” Kurt replied in a
mild tone.
    He slid a pair of dark rimmed glasses onto
his nose that should have made him look like a geek, but instead
made her pulse race just a little.
    He stared at her.
    “Something wrong?” Cynthia asked.
    “You worried I wasn’t going to see you in the
fog or something?”
    Cynthia looked down at the brilliant yellow,
close-fitting workout outfit she had donned that morning. “Sorry,
only clean workout outfit I had.” Also the one chosen to bring as
much attention to them as possible, in the hope of embarrassing
Kurt enough to give up this crazy scheme, but he didn’t have to
know that.
    “And what’s all this?” Kurt pointed to the
bags of groceries cluttering the small porch area by the front
door.
    “You ordered healthy food. I followed
through.” Cynthia picked up one of the bags. “This is the only one
that needs refrigeration. Want to show me where things go?”
    Kurt grabbed the other three bags, perusing
the contents as he did so. “Anything besides rabbit food in
here?”
    “Nope,” Cynthia cheerfully replied. “You want
to lose body fat in three weeks, then you’re going to have to go
severe on your plan.”
    “You work fast. I haven’t even given you my
trainer’s cookbook yet.” Kurt indicated she should precede him up
the stairs to the main living area.
    “We go to the same gym, although I’m sure
you’ve never seen me there.” Cynthia called over her shoulder. “And
I know Carl. I helped him come up with a marketing plan for his
personal trainer business. I’m familiar with his cookbook. Have
several copies in fact.”
    “Oh.” Kurt’s voice held a note of
surprise.
    Cynthia looked over her shoulder to see a
nonplussed look on Kurt’s face. She turned around so Kurt wouldn’t
see the smile that came to her face. Yes I know Carl, she thought,
and I know how awful his food was before I helped him spice it up.
Food and how to cook it well, she knew. What Kurt didn’t need to
know was that she wasn’t going to cook from Carl’s published
cookbook. She was going to use his ‘before’ recipes, as in before
she helped him vastly improve their taste. And she couldn’t wait to
see Kurt’s reaction to it. He wanted to punish her a bit for the
photo shoot. Well, two could play that game. She hoped she could
serve the stuff to both of them with a straight face.
    Cynthia stopped at the top of the stairs.
After the rather non-impressive entryway, living area of Kurt’s
house brought on a bit of a shock. It was absolutely stunning. Her
dream home if she’d ever thought to dream that big.
    To her left, the expansive living area was
arranged to make the most of the straight-on view of the Pacific
Ocean. Floor to ceiling windows and sliding glass doors replaced
walls in the western side of the room. And the north- and
south-facing sides had been cleverly constructed to let in as much
view as possible while still providing privacy from the neighboring
homes.
    Kurt, or his decorator, she thought,
evidently also liked the same design aesthetic she did—clean-lined,
20 th -century modern furniture. From working in Sharon’s
shop, she recognized the Breuer chairs casually grouped around a
white Saarinen table, the black Le Corbusier sofas and the Noguchi
coffee table. Except that it lacked the color she would have
preferred and it could use more plants or flowers, she could move
in and feel perfectly at home. Suddenly Kurt’s offer to let her
stay at his house for three weeks took on some additional
allure.
    “Is there a reason why you’re not moving?”
Kurt’s voice behind her, where he was trapped on the stairs, jolted
her back to reality.
    “Sorry. Just admiring the view.” Cynthia
moved out of the way, heading to the kitchen at the rear of the
living space. That area didn’t disappoint either. A little
impractical with its gleaming white cupboards, white subway title
and white Viking