What a Rich Woman Wants Read Online Free Page A

we should go over first. When can we meet?”
    â€œHow about now? Do you like Mexican food?”
    â€œOh, uh, yes, actually, I do, but—”
    â€œYou know Señor Tequilas on Collier Boulevard? Why don’t you meet me there in half an hour?”
    â€œI’m not…I don’t…”
    â€œYou have other plans?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI’m starving. You like Mexican food. You want to talk to me. So I’ll see you there.”
    Niko waited on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. He hadn’t been raised to be a gentleman, but he’d learned to behave like one. When he’d escaped Jacksonville after Carlos’s trial, he’d had one goal: to leave his past behind. To that end, he’d reinvented himself, become a law-abiding citizen instead of a hoodlum. The DA in Jacksonville had helped as much as he could, greasing the wheels to get Niko a job in the Waldon County jail, which eventually landed him a spot as a deputy. Niko had spent much of his free time filling in the gaps in his education. He’d spent hours at the public library, boning up on proper etiquette, learning how to dress appropriately, how to survive in the world he aspired to be part of.
    Lesley drove into the parking lot in a white Lexus, parking decisively in the first open space she saw. She left the vehicle without checking her makeup in the rearview mirror or fussing with her hair. Niko had no idea why not doing those things should please him. Maybe it was her no-nonsense attitude. Or maybe she knew she was stunning and didn’t need to reassure herself every five minutes.
    She wore white slacks and a sleeveless red turtleneck. Her hair wasn’t as tightly coiled as it had been the first time they’d met, but was clipped up and back, leaving that sweep of bang to fall across one side. She pushed her sunglasses up on her head as she approached.
    He liked the way she looked. Like cool vanilla ice cream with a sweet cherry on top. Too bad she seemed insistent on keeping herself in the back of the freezer. Everything about her said, “Look, but don’t you dare touch.” Idly Niko wondered what it would take to thaw her, even while he told himself there was no point in trying. His instinct told him she’d be worth the effort.
    She gave him a small, polite smile. “Deputy Morales.”
    â€œMiss Robinson.” He mimicked her tone and smile.
    She laughed. She had a nice laugh. Throaty and genuine. “All right, you win, Niko. You can call me Lesley if you’d like.”
    He grinned. “I’d like. Shall we?” He held the door for her.
    No sooner had they stepped inside than a short, round, dark-haired woman bustled forward. “Ah, Niko, my bambino. Where have you been? I no see you for a week.” She pulled Niko into her embrace, rising on tiptoe to kiss him on both cheeks.
    â€œIt’s good to see you, too, Alicia,” he told her when she stepped back. “This is my friend, Lesley. Lesley, this is Alicia Sanchez. She and her husband Estaban are the owners.”
    â€œNice to meet you,” Lesley said.
    â€œCome, come. I have table for you outside, yes?”
    â€œIs that okay?” Niko asked Lesley.
    â€œSure.”
    Within minutes they were seated at one of the outside tables. A basket of warm tortilla chips and homemade salsa arrived along with cold bottles of Dos Equis. Niko tapped the neck of his beer bottle against Lesley’s. “To beneficial partnerships.”
    She raised an eyebrow and took a drink straight from the bottle.
    â€œI gotta say I didn’t figure you for a beer drinker,” said Niko. “The sangria’s pretty good here. They’re also known for their margaritas.”
    â€œBeer with tortilla chips and salsa is one of life’s true pleasures,” Lesley informed him. She loaded a chip and munched.
    â€œWhich you don’t allow yourself to indulge in very often.”