Once A Bad Girl Read Online Free Page B

worked through all the new discoveries, like the way he smelled close up, how the skin on his jaw was already starting to shadow, how silky his hair had felt when her fingers had accidentally brushed against it, how heart-stoppingly strong he was.
    She kicked off her shoes and watched him move behind the half-finished bar. He opened a fridge and rummaged through it. ‘I’ve got water,’ he said. ‘Sparkling and still. Then various sodas and juices. No champagne, I’m afraid.’
    He sounded so normal. ‘Water,’ Lottie managed. ‘Water is fine.’
    The bottle fizzed as he uncapped it, tipped some into a mug and pushed it in her direction. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Tell me why my mother should sell her stuff through you.’
    Josh drank straight from the bottle, watching as she fiddled around with the mug, then set it back on the bar. She stretched out her legs and wiggled her toes, which were dainty and battered looking. ‘Spencer’s offers first-class service to all clients. We like to think we treat each client not only as an individual, but as a friend, and we feel the same about all the antiques that we sell. We offer a competitive rate of fees, and use all available methods of promotion, including the internet.’
    Josh rolled his eyes. ‘You really pull in business with that speech? It’s lame.’
    She tucked her feet under the chair and eyed him from under those long, dark lashes. ‘You think you can do better?’
    ‘Probably,’ he admitted with a grin. ‘But I don’t want the marketing spiel. You told me the business was in trouble.’
    ‘It is.’ She picked up her mug, took a small swallow, then rolled it between her palms. ‘The last couple of years have been particularly tough. Auction websites are killing us.’
    ‘And you’re desperate to keep it going.’ It was a statement, not a question.
    ‘You could say that.’ She set the mug down, lifted her hands to her hair and did something to it that made it look slightly less of a mess.
    Josh wondered why she didn’t just take it down. He’d like her to take it down, he realised, and knew then that he was heading into dangerous territory. Problem was, he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his distance. She’d called him a creep. He couldn’t help admiring her for it.
    ‘The auction house has been in my family for a really, really long time,’ she said. ‘My great-granddad opened it. My dad inherited it when I was four. He met my mum when she sold some of her aunt’s jewellery. I can’t just let it close. When I found out that your mother…’ she paused, and clenched her hands together. ‘When I heard that she was selling some of her memorabilia, I thought this is it, this is my big chance. I didn’t take a second to think any further than that.’
    Her chin dropped to her chest, and she pulled in a breath. ‘I didn’t think about how it would look to you, having some total stranger use you to get to her. I’m really sorry. It’s a scummy thing to do.’
    Josh set the palms of his hands flat on the top of the bar. The brushed steel was cold and hard, in stark contrast to the soft, warm woman sat opposite. No-one had ever said that to him before. No-one had ever said they were sorry. It was an odd feeling. He liked it.
    Then her head jerked up. ‘How did you know I was there to see you, anyway?’
    ‘You kept looking at me.’
    ‘You kept looking at me,’ she pointed out. ‘Takes two to tango, mister.’
    ‘You’re very pretty,’ Josh said. ‘What did you expect?’
    Her mouth opened then closed again, and her cheeks went pink, but she didn’t say anything.
    ‘Am I edging back into creep territory?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘To be honest, you are so ridiculously good looking that my brain is a little scrambled right now. That’s why I couldn’t talk to you back at the conference. I just…you make me nervous. That’s all.’
    ‘And then I came over and acted like a total jerk.’
    I couldn’t