The Navy SEAL’s Holiday Fling: Ballybeg Bad Boys, Book 3 Read Online Free Page A

shampoo onto her hair and lathered it vigorously. Why did he, of all men, possess the power to make her blood hum? He was a liar and a fraud. He’d used and discarded her without a word of explanation. And yet he’d saved her life this evening.
    Why had she agreed to talk to him? Curiosity? While she was dying to know why he’d been masquerading as a French chef, she was furious with herself for wanting to spend time with the man.
    Because that was the real reason she’d agreed to see him this evening. Since his pump-and-dump stunt over the summer, he’d been on her mind far more frequently than she cared to admit. Their fling had meant something to her. He was the first man to make her feel alive, to truly bring her pleasure in bed. She’d always wondered why her friends made such a big deal about sex when she found it ho-hum at best. The first night with Jean-Baptiste—Liam, she supposed she should call him—she’d finally understood what the fuss was all about. Her cheeks burned at the memories, and her heart rate kicked up a notch. He’d shown her how much fun sex could be and had proven once and for all that her ex-boyfriend had been wrong: she wasn’t frigid or disinterested in sex…if she was with the right man.
    Fifteen minutes later, she was clean and dressed and ready to face her visitor—more or less.
    When the bell chimed, she adjusted the skirt of her corduroy dress and wrenched open the door, determined to treat him with cool reserve. Her resolve melted the instant she laid eyes on him.
    Liam wore casual blue jeans and an open-necked shirt, revealing a hint of the intricate Celtic tattoo that circled his neck. His gaze roamed over her body, sending a searing heat up her cheeks and down to parts of her anatomy that really should know better.
    “You’re beautiful,” he said in his low, husky voice, tinged with an American rather than a French accent.
    Jill narrowed her eyes and stepped to the side to let him enter. “Don’t try to flatter me.”
    A slow-burn smile spread across his handsome face. “No flattery needed. I speak the truth.”
    “That must be a novelty.”
    His smile faded and his expression grew serious. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth. I shouldn’t have started dating you, but I was lonely and—”
    “And I was willing and available,” she finished for him.
    “That’s not what I was going to say.” He pulled a bottle of red wine from inside his jacket. “Want a glass of vino while we talk?”
    She opened her mouth to refuse but then caught sight of the label. It was a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon made by one her favorite wineries. He’d remembered her preference. Her treacherous heart beat faster.
    “Okay,” she said. “A glass of wine, an explanation, and then you leave.”
    “To use the beloved Irish phrase, fair enough.” He was grinning now, drawing attention to the adorable dimples in his cheeks. Infuriating man. Was her urge to slap him or to kiss him stronger? It was hard to tell.
    “Take a seat while I open the wine,” she said and gestured toward the living room.
    Her mother had renovated the cottage when she’d bought it a couple of years previously as an investment property. The original idea had been to lease it to holidaymakers looking for a quieter location than the center of town, but when Jill moved back to Ballybeg after a year in Dublin, her mother gave her the lease at a bargain rate in return for the cottage’s upkeep.
    During the renovations, the wall dividing the two rooms downstairs had been knocked down to form one large room. The door to the kitchen had been removed, and a cute little archway now divided the kitchen from the open plan living area, giving Jill a perfect view of Liam.
    While she uncorked the wine bottle and fetched glasses, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was more handsome without the bushy eyebrows and beard, although she missed his tousled shoulder-length hair. His new look didn’t dim