Walk on the Wild Side Read Online Free

did, too.
    â€˜And what were you having done?’
    â€˜Facial, massage, hair.’ She shrugged and lifted the cup to her mouth.
    â€˜Cut or wax?’
    She nearly choked on the coffee. ‘Cut.’ She tried to lie like a pro but she knew her colour had risen higher. The nerve of him.
    He was grinning wildly now. Openly laughing at her plans for the day and stupidly she felt the need to justify it—even when it hadn’t been her idea. ‘I haven’t had a day off in four months. My boss said I needed to recharge my batteries.’
    â€˜A beauty salon wouldn’t be the place to do that.’
    No. She’d have picked an art gallery. Preferably one in Paris. One day she’d get to do the travel thing—once she had her career established.
    â€˜What about some fresh air? A walk somewhere nice? Wouldn’t that be more of a boost?’
    Of course he would be the outdoor sports guy—the sport billy, with a practically-kill-yourself-climbing-a-mountain-to-feel-good approach to life. She couldn’t think of anything worse. She just wanted to relax—and rest. ‘Fresh air isn’t good for my skin,’ she said with a helpless gesture.
    â€˜No?’
    Was the man blind? She was practically albino. Well, not really—the hundreds of freckles proved her pigment worked all right. She felt her flush deepen. ‘I burn really easily.’
    â€˜You could wear a hat,’ he drawled.
    She opened her eyes ingénue wide and batted her lashes as she drawled right back at him, ‘And ruin my hair?’
    His gaze rested on the tangle and then sliced into hers again. A split second of solemnity froze them both.
    And then they laughed—simultaneously, genuinely. Sheshook her head at her lame little joke. But the amusement warmed her veins better than the energising coffee she’d just swallowed.
    â€˜Tell you what, Ms Spa Treatment, seeing you’ve lost your day at the salon, let me take you out instead. We’ll see how much better you feel after some fresh air.’
    She met the inviting blue pools that were his eyes and couldn’t ignore the tingling sensation spreading over her skin. Had she bumped her head in that accident and not realised? Because she was thinking all kinds of weird thoughts now—such as that this guy might actually be hitting on her. And that just couldn’t be possible. ‘Um…’
    â€˜Come on, come and have some fun.’
    â€˜It isn’t fun outdoors.’
    â€˜You’re afraid.’ The smallest hint of provocation sharpened his gaze.
    â€˜No,’ she denied, ‘I’m just not…’ Believing this guy had just asked her out. ‘Interested.’
    â€˜Really?’ His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Not even a little bit?’
    She swallowed. He knew he was gorgeous, didn’t he? But before she could think up even a vaguely suitable reply, he tweaked her nerves that bit harder.
    â€˜You don’t like a challenge?’
    â€˜You’re seriously suggesting that a day outdoors would be better than a day at a spa.’ She finally managed to answer, amazed her voice didn’t break like a teen boy’s.
    â€˜A million times better.’
    â€˜That’s quite some promise.’ She sipped the last drop of her coffee and wrinkled her nose as she got the bitter bits.
    â€˜You’re going to take me up on it?’
    She avoided his eyes as she thought about it. Really, it was a no-brainer. She couldn’t bear the thought of goingto the spa and apologising for her tardiness now. And she couldn’t go to work. As the only female designer, Kelsi felt a certain pressure to do better than the boys, but working extreme hours on a deadline had left her jaded and in need of a break—something her boss had noticed, hence the spa thing. She couldn’t let them know she hadn’t showed up.
    And what else would she do? She’d been working so