More Than Lust (Courthouse Connections Book 1) Read Online Free

Dearest managed to bring you back home and into the fold at Winston-Roe et al ? Since you’re here scoping out females, I assume she hasn’t managed to find a potential bride for you who meets her exacting standards.”
    Gray laughed. “Fortunately, she hasn’t. I leave the country on Monday for an undercover assignment. Mother thought when she got me assigned to the office here, she’d have me back under her thumb. I outsmarted her though, when I volunteered for this job after she feigned illness to get me sent home from the last one.”
    “Isn’t undercover work awfully dangerous?” Marcy asked.
    “It can be, but it’s a hell of a lot more interesting than drafting wills and planning estates for stodgy old men, the way Dad used to do.”
    The more that Andi learned of Gray Syzmanski, the less likely she figured it was that they might get together. The guy was old Tampa aristocracy, so entrenched that he didn’t worry about being tossed out of the yacht club for being improperly dressed when she’d spent close to an hour picking out accessories she didn’t think the members would laugh at.
    Scratch the fantasy about them hooking up, because they had to be as opposite as black and white—or oil and water if she wanted to be politically correct .
    It surprised her when Gray spoke briefly with Sandra as if they, too, were old acquaintances. Immediately afterward, he turned his attention back to Andi and slipped a powerful arm around her shoulders. “Hey, Miss Andi, what would you think of ditching this gig and letting me take you sailing out on the bay to watch the sunset?”
    Why not? It wasn’t as though Gray was suggesting that he take her to the nearest hotel—or home to meet the woman Marcy had just referred to as Mommy Dearest without even cracking a smile. “I’d like that, just so long as you’re not planning to make me swim back to shore. I can’t—swim, that is.”
    Gray lowered his voice, as though he only wanted her to hear. “I’ll have to teach you someday, but not today. I’m pretty sure my uncle’s boat is seaworthy—at least in the calm waters of Tampa Bay. It has diesel auxiliary power, so we don’t actually have to bother with unfurling the sails. We won’t have to worry about swimming back.”
    “Okay. If you’re sure I won’t tip the boat over. I’ve never been on a sailboat.”
    “This one’s big enough that moving around on her won’t tip her over.” Gray’s eyes twinkled when he reassured her. “Shall we go?”
    “Yes.” Andi didn’t even consider saying no. Gray attracted her like a magnet, so she set her drink and a half-finished plate of small sandwiches and cookies on a nearby table. She stowed the worry that crept into her head about getting water splashed on her dress-up clothes. Spending time getting to know Gray would make the price of a new outfit worth spending.

Chapter Three
     
    “Here we are. This is Miss Barbara , named after my grandmother. She belongs to my uncle now, since Grandpa Winston died. I always wished that he’d left her to my mother, but I can understand why he didn’t. Mother has never been crazy about the water.”
    Andi looked around the polished mahogany deck. “Hello, Miss Barbara . My, you’re a beautiful boat. How old are you?”
    “She’s a good bit older than either of us. I think she was built back in the early 1960s. Come on, I’ll show you the cabins.”
    Gray noticed Andi’s eyes widen as he showed her around the classic forty-foot Hinckley Bermuda cruiser. “You okay?” he asked when he caught her gaping at the well-equipped galley and head.
    “I think so. This boat is as big as my apartment, and it has considerably nicer amenities. I see what you meant when you said I couldn’t tip it over.”
    “Want to stay out here or go relax in the cabin? Since you haven’t worked sails before, we’ll use the motor today. Is that okay, or were you countin’ on a real sailboat ride?”
    He loved the way she smiled.