The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series) Read Online Free

that Tessa seemed to notice. Or if she did, she did a brilliant job of ignoring him.
    “So, sis, when are you moving home? The sooner you do, the sooner Mom and Dad will stop bugging me to find a nice girl to married before it’s too late.” James shoveled a forkful of lasagna into his mouth and chewed noisily. “Like I’ll have any trouble getting a wife when I’m ready.”
    “What girl could resist you with your stellar table manners?” Sally rolled her eyes.
    “I’m not moving back,” Tessa said, her voice quiet and controlled but with a hint of determination in it. “I moved to New York and I’m staying there. Well, at least until I head off to somewhere else. I’m thinking I’ll go to San Francisco next, paint the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. Maybe I’ll even paint the redwoods.”
    “You paint?” Logan asked.
    “Yes, and sketch. I’ve even dabbled in sculpture once or twice but I don’t care for it.”
    An image of her molding soft clay in her hands flashed through his mind and his gaze drifted to where her fingers stroked a path in the condensation on the outside of her wine glass. The combination was oddly arousing.
    “You know those redwoods are teaming with spiders, right?” Sally asked.
    “As I was saying, I’ll paint the trees from a safe distance, like maybe from Oregon.” She bit her lower lip, looking around sheepishly.
    Everyone laughed.
    “Before you ask, yes, I’m afraid of spiders too,” she said.
    “Good to know, especially while camping in the woods where I’m sure there are hundreds of spiders per square inch.”
    “I choose not to hear you right now,” Tessa said, smirking. It was the first sign of humor and lightheartedness he’d seen from her. Maybe she was finally warming up to him and forgetting about the accident. He liked her more laid-back side. A girl with a sense of humor was a good thing. Maybe a week with Tessa wouldn’t be so terrible after all.
    “You know you can paint anywhere in the world and still have your home base here in Cutter’s Creek,” Joe said. He was a man of few words it seemed, letting everyone else do most of the talking, but when he spoke, the rest of the family listened. “It would be nice to have you home with us when you’re not working.”
    Tessa sighed and dropped her fork, letting it clang onto the plate. “I have a boyfriend, a serious one. I couldn’t possibly move back now.”
    Damn. A boyfriend.
    “A boyfriend? Since when?” Her mother fired questions at her so quickly he thought he might have to duck and cover. “What’s his name? Why can’t he move here with you if he’s so serious about this relationship?”
    “We met a little while ago on the subway. He’s a finance guy… On Wall Street.” She took a sip of her wine and Logan noticed her gaze dart around the table. “His name is Richard…Stroker…”
    “Stroker? As in Bram? Are you dating a vampire?” Sally asked, giggling.
    “That would be Stoker, actually, but close,” Logan said.
    “Stroker…man…” Tessa took another sip of wine. More like a gulp.
    “Strokerman? That’s even worse,” Mary, Tessa’s younger sister, said.
    James turned in his chair and stared at Tessa. “So you’re dating a guy named Dick Strokerman?”
    The entire table laughed except for Tessa. Logan almost felt bad, except that the guy’s name was too funny to ignore. That couldn’t be his real name. No parents were that cruel, were they?
    “He prefers Richard, and if you ever meet him, that’s what you’ll call him. Got it?” She glared at each member of the family.
    “Why didn’t Richard join you this week if you two have suddenly gotten serious?”
    Logan might be new to the family, but even he could hear the suspicion in Martha’s voice. If her own mother didn’t believe her about this guy, then he was right in feeling the same way. Something about Tessa’s body language didn’t ring true. Not that what her body was doing or not doing should mean