The Perfect Con (A Bad Boy Romance Novel) (Bad Boy Confessions Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

than a vague honking near my ear. “I could go without dancing for a few more.”
    “Oh, come on!” I cried.
    “I’m game,” Gabe chimed in. “Dinner, and then dancing. How about it, Maddy? Dare to match my tango? Something in your eyes just sings of roses between your teeth and skirts slashed to mid-thigh.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
    “Let’s meet at Belly of the Whale in half an hour,” I suggested. Belly of the Whale was a kitschy diner that was structured like a sperm whale. The walls even had ribs. It was adorable; it was my favorite place to eat in Aurora Beach, and had been since I was a kid. There was a bar, but it was really still a place for people of all ages. “That place is really fun.”
    “No,” Leo replied flatly. “Garrison’s or nothing.”
    Argh. Garrison’s. I’d been there before, and it was completely dull. The people eating there spoke in pointedly low tones, the wait staff wore suits, and it was so quiet, you could hear the clink of individual knives and forks.
    “Who do you think you are, my father?” I asked.
    “I know I’m not your father,” Leo replied, growing another two inches again. “If you were calling me daddy, you’d have learned how to show respect a long time ago.”
    My head and my panties went up in flames simultaneously. “WHAT?”
    Gabe chuckled. “Yeah,” he agreed, “what?”
    Leo stepped closer, and I felt a heat crackle in the space between us. What the hell? Did my nipples just pull tighter at the sensation of the warmth of his body? “Look,” he said, “Miss Castillo—with all due respect—this is not a date. This is a business meeting.”
    “With dancing,” Gabe added. Leo shot him a look.
    “With dancing,” Leo agreed. “And that business meeting must take place at Garrison’s—for business, not personal, reasons.” God, he was so—firm. In every respect. “Now, do you have business, not personal, reasons to hold the meeting at Belly of the Whale instead?”
    I pouted and said “No,” but there was a greater part of me that just wanted him to drive that shovel of a hand into my curls and clench and pull. A part of me that dripped when he said, “If you were calling me Daddy”…
    “Then we’re in accord?” Leo asked. “Garrison’s?”
    “Garrison’s,” I muttered. It didn’t really matter, and I was curious about Leo—and about his proposal—and this pseudo date wasn’t about any particular menu or ambiance. It was about discussing business in private, which had been my suggestion in the first place. I grimaced. “Garrison’s at four. And then Rainbow Disco. Deal?”
    Gabe and Leo shared a look. “Deal,” they agreed, traipsing off toward their vehicle. Leo’s eyes glimpsed me once more before our moment was cut short by the wall of a building cropping up between us.
    Madeline looked at me incisively. “I guess you’re going to get the well dressed one,” she muttered.
    I blinked, making a conscious effort to clear him from my head, and turned to focus on Madeline. God, she was a grim specter by comparison. I feigned shock and confusion, placing a hand to my chest and a furrow on my brown. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I breathed. “You didn’t find Mr. T-Shirt to be arousing?”
    “He was all right,” she allowed. “He wasn’t 6’4” with a no-nonsense Ivy League haircut, though.”
    “No, but he was 6’3”, wasn’t he? This isn’t a date, anyway,” I rebutted, leading her back toward my car in Lot D. “This is a business dinner.”
    “And business dancing,” Madeline added. “It’s fine. If you want to relive the horror that was Anthony, it’s your problem.”
    I whirled on Madeline with a scoff. “What are you talking about?”
    “I’m not blind, and I’m not deaf,” Madeline told me plainly. “Saw your face when you saw Ivy League, and yet I heard you saying you were converting to lesbianism right before we left for Aurora Beach. But, again,