Carolina Heart Read Online Free

getting it on with teacher.”
    The tips of his ears heated. “Don’t be a jackass. She must be ten years younger than me. She’s a student.”
    “A very pretty one. It’s like revenge of the nerds, man. All those girls who never gave you the time of day in high school are begging you for extra credit.”
    All those girls who never gave you the time of day in high school . . .
    Girls like Cynthie Lodge.
    Max felt a pressure in his chest as if he were sixteen again, horny and hopeless and stupid with lust.
    She’d looked so . . . grown-up when he ran into her yesterday, the same and not the same as the girl who had blindsided him in high school, with her warm smiles and casual kindness and soft green eyes. She still resembled his adolescent fantasies, even though the smile was cooler now, the eyes more guarded.
    But his rational adult mind had registered the changes, the mermaid tattoo that twined about her arm, the generous breadth at breast and hip.
    The child.
    He wished she had returned his calls. He really wished he could leave her another message without coming across as some crazy, creepy stalker.
    He must have been silent too long, because Greg peered at him, his good-natured face creasing. “Hey, I’m kidding. I know you’d never do anything inappropriate.”
    “Thanks,” Max said.
    “You’re a nice guy.” Greg paused. “Clueless, but nice.”
    Max suppressed a wince. Julie, the last woman he’d been involved with, had said pretty much the same thing. Right before she moved out.
    “You just need to get back in the saddle,” Greg said encouragingly. “Plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch.”
    Despite the mixed metaphors, Greg’s message came through loud and clear. Max was touched by his friend’s concern. “I’m fine.”
    “Yeah? When was the last time you asked a woman out? Since Julie, I mean.”
    “This week.”
    “No shit.” Greg grinned. “Anybody I know?”
    Max cleared his throat. “Ah . . .”
    His cell phone rang.
Saved by the bell
.
    He fished it from his pocket and then stared, transfixed, at the display. C LODGE.
    His blood pounded, thick and low. “I should take this.”
    Greg settled his weight on the desk, as if preparing for a long stay. “Don’t mind me.”
    Frustrated, Max raked his fingers through his hair. But he couldn’t risk letting the call go to voice mail. What if she hung up?
    He turned away, cradling the phone to his ear, unable to control the leap of his heart or his voice. “Hi. You got my message.”
    “I . . . Yes. The first one.”
    “Right. Well, I only left one. I didn’t want you to think I was stalking you. Even if I kind of . . . Um.” Behind him, Greg made a strangled sound. Max took a deep breath. God, could he sound like a bigger loser? “Would you like to go? To the aquarium, I mean. Sunday?”
    “I would,” she said. “But—”
    “That’s great,” he said heartily before she could tell him no. “The tour’s at two. What time should I pick you up?”
    “You can’t.”
    “Right.” He was an idiot. Of course she didn’t want him to pick her up. She had children. She wouldn’t just invite a stranger to their home. “So, I’ll meet you there then.”
    “I have to work Sunday. My shift starts at four.”
    He had to keep her talking. He had to . . . “What kind of work do you do?”
    “I’m a waitress.” Her voice was slightly flat. Like that was the end of this discussion.
    “Okay.” Maybe her hours weren’t flexible. Maybe her boss was a jerk. “We could go earlier.”
    “But the tour starts at two, you said.”
    His thoughts raced. “
That
tour, yes. But we could do something else. What time is good for you? Ten? Eleven?”
    “I guess eleven. But—”
    “Great. They’re treating some sea turtles in the lab. I bet your kids—Hannah—would like to see that.”
    “Oh.” A new note in her voice. “She really would.”
    He cleared his throat. “Of course you