Skinny Dipping Read Online Free

Silver.
    She began her ascent up the hotel steps, multitasking like she often did, she also fished through her bag. She grabbed the phone, the name screen reading Roger Smart. Her Dad. The phone stopped ringing.
    Her foot missed a step. Sliding like a novice acrobat she threw her hands out to find her balance. Her fur wrap fell to the floor. She dropped her bag creating a commotion as the contents clattered over the steps.
    “Damn,” she swore under her breath and dropped to the spot. She grabbed the wrap, dusted off the dirt and found that the blond man, who owned the Porsche, was suddenly by her side.
    “If only I had that affect on all women.” His voice was low. “Falling at my feet and all.” The cheek of him.
    She darted a glance in his direction. “You might increase your chances of women falling at your feet if you were…nice?”
    His eyes widened. “Nice?” A mocking expression spread across his face. “I’m helping you aren’t I?”
    “Not because you’re nice or a gentleman. You feel obliged.” She tore her gaze away. Whatever was she getting into? Besides, she had somewhere to be. “I’m letting you off the hook from any type of obligation here. It’s cool really. I don’t need help. I’m not that type of girl who always needs help.” She looked anywhere but at him, focusing onto the ground, grabbing two – three – four chocolate wrappers, shoving them into the bag.
    “I’m making an extra effort to be nice now. Is that okay? Is this help okay?” he asked pointedly, his eyes twinkling, playfully. God he was irritating.
    “That’s fine, I’m okay, thank you for asking,” she muttered. “But I can get everything, like I said, I don’t need help.”
    “Everyone needs a hand sometimes.” He remained stubbornly crouched by her side. His hands reached, picking up her personal possessions. A mischievous grin crossed his face. “You like chocolate? Yet so skinny.”
    “They’re for work.”
    “Yeah, right. I know women, they can’t resist chocolate.”
    She glared. “You see these wrappers,” she shoved one in her handbag. “All in the name of doing research for an advertising client.”
    “Is that what you call it, ‘advertising research’?”
    He was purposely trying to rile her. Yet she couldn’t help herself. “It’s true,” she said, with a little lift of her chin. Sophie saw a fifth chocolate wrapper, held the foil up to him. “This is precisely why you don’t understand women.”
    “I’m trying hard.”
    “I recently heard something memorable. I’ll repeat it. I’ll quote from a passionate person. ‘Make things happen. Don’t just try to do something.’” She repeated his words right back to him.
    He grinned. “Can’t argue with that,” he nodded and handed over her hairbrush, looking like it had combed a horse’s mane. Her makeup bag. Her perfume. Her synthetic purple wallet, with surf patterns and a Velcro pocket.
    He turned the wallet around in his hands and frowned. “A surf wallet?” He touched the canvas, almost tenderly. “I picked you as someone who liked chocolate, fast cars and adventure. Possibly even leather.”
    Sophie shuddered almost involuntarily upon saying the word “surf”, she couldn’t stand the water, the very thought of it scared her. “I do like leather.”
    He held onto the wallet. “Then why do you have this? It’s made of canvas.”
    She reddened. “A gift from my niece Annie,” she explained. “She’s eleven or twelve.”
    “So you like the beach and swimming? Is that why she bought it for you?”
    “I’m not sure why she bought it. She’s twelve and I didn’t want to offend her.”
    Her niece didn’t buy it because she liked water. Her whole family knew she hated swimming, or any water activity. “What I do know is she saved up her pocket money for it, thinking I would love it.” She snatched the wallet from his hand, and threw it in her bag.
    He grabbed her apartment keys with the mini tennis ball