Free The Laws of Attraction by Sherryl Woods Page B

wouldn’t even set foot on the grounds at Rose Cottage again, despite all those pretty words and promises.
    She was still beating herself up as she lingered over her second cup of coffee when someone knocked on the kitchen door, then walked right in. She glanced up, fully expecting it to be her sisters, only to find Joshthere in another pair of faded shorts and another of those equally disreputable T-shirts. He looked incredible. Her resolve to forget about an affair sizzled and died.
    Without saying a word, he walked over to the table, leaned down and kissed her. The first touch of his lips on hers was a shock. She had a hunch he’d meant it to be nothing more than a casual, good-morning kind of kiss, but it set off enough heat to boil eggs. Her head was spinning, and she was pretty sure her eyes had to be crossed by the time he pulled away. If he’d been trying to prove that he’d meant what he said the night before, he’d accomplished that and then some.
    “I thought you might be over here beating yourself up about trying to seduce me last night,” he said as he casually turned to the coffeepot and poured himself the last cup. She’d drunk all the rest of the coffee herself.
    Indignation flared at his comment, even though he’d guessed exactly right. “So what? You decided to come over and toss me a consolation prize?”
    He laughed. “No, I came over to prove that you have nothing to worry about. A couple more kisses like that one and I won’t be able to resist you. My noble intentions will fly right out the window.”
    She frowned at him. “Was that my mistake last night—not grabbing you and kissing you right off the bat?”
    “You didn’t make any mistakes last night,” he assured her. “Aside from being a little premature.” He surveyed her. “Why aren’t you dressed for fishing?”
    “I didn’t know we were going fishing,” she said, her tone still peevish. He’d thrown her completely off-kilter yet again. It was getting to be an annoying habit. Themen she liked were predictable. None of them would have turned down her offer of uncomplicated sex.
    And, she was forced to admit, none of them would have been back here this morning suggesting a fishing trip.
    “You have something else planned?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    “Then let’s get a move on. Those fish won’t wait forever.”
    She grinned despite herself. “I thought the object was to relax, that actually catching a fish didn’t really matter.”
    “It doesn’t to me,” he said indifferently, then winked. “But you seem to need immediate gratification.”
    “Is that an insult?”
    He laughed. “Nope, just an observation. We’re going to work on that.”
    “What if I don’t want to change?” she asked curiously.
    “Then it will be more of a struggle than I’m expecting,” he said easily. “Go, put on a swimsuit under your clothes. Maybe I’ll let you race me to the dock later.”
    “Will you let me win?”
    “Not a chance.”
    Ashley laughed. “Now you’ve really made it interesting. I’ll be right back.”
    Upstairs, she pulled on her prim, one-piece bathing suit, then added a T-shirt, shorts and a pair of dingy sneakers she hadn’t worn since college. She grabbed her cap from the day before and a bottle of suntan lotion. She hesitated in the bedroom doorway as if she were forgetting something, then realized that going fishing didn’t require a tenth of the paraphernalia she took with her to work each day. It was actually a relief to go downstairs without a purse or briefcase weighing her down.
    She took the keys from a peg on the wall, then announced, “I’m ready.”
    Josh grinned. “Love the shoes. They make a statement.”
    She glanced pointedly at his faded and misshapen boat shoes. “It’s not as if you just stepped out of a designer shoe showroom.”
    “Hey, don’t you dare insult these old things. They’re just getting comfortable.”
    They’d barely stepped out the back door, still