Free Hoping for Love by Marie Force Page A

Rather than risk letting him know how much his touch had affected her, she decided to concede defeat on the money. “Fine. Anything else?”
    His face twisted into a stricken expression again. “I, uh…”
    “Look, I know I took you by surprise today, but the only reason I came was to reimburse you. I’m not looking for anything else. I enjoyed meeting your brother and Stephanie. They’re very cute together.” She paused before she added, “It was nice to see you again.” Turning away from him, she headed for her car.
    “Wait.” He took hold of her arm. “Don’t go.”
    She released a deep sigh. “It’s obvious I’ve made you extremely uncomfortable. Let me go, and we can all be more comfortable. Okay?”
    “No. It’s not okay. I don’t want you to go.”
    “
Why?
”
    He stared at her for an extremely long—and very uncomfortable—moment. “I thought about you this week.” Each word seemed to cost him something critical.
    Was it possible for words alone to render a person completely paralyzed? Apparently. She stood frozen in place, waiting to hear what else he would say.
    He rested a hand on her shoulder. “When you came into the restaurant… In the very second you walked through the door, do you know what I was thinking?”
    Since she’d also been rendered mute, she shook her head.
    “I was thinking, gee, I wonder who Grace is mocking with her inappropriate laughter right now. And then I looked up, and there you were. That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”
    She stared at him, still not sure she was hearing him correctly. He had to be making that up. He wasn’t really thinking about her! When would he let her down easy and tell her she was a really nice girl, but he wasn’t interested?
    “Grace?” He waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you still with me?”
    Forcing the fog from her brain, she nodded. “I’m sorry I surprised you.”
    “It was a good surprise. A very good surprise.”
    “Really?”
    “
Yes
,” he said with that grin, that deliciously sexy, dimpled grin that made her heart race and her mouth go dry. “Really.”
    “You didn’t look happy to see me.”
    “I was very happy to see you.” His brows knitted with what might’ve been confusion. “I was surprised by just how much.”
    Attraction zinged between them like a live wire. She wanted to smooth his hair and touch the stubble on his cheek to see if it was coarse or soft.
    He continued to look intently at her, as if he was memorizing every detail. “So you’re here for the weekend?”
    Forcing herself not to wilt under his scrutiny or the hot sun, she said, “Until Monday.”
    “Good.”
    “Why is that good?”
    “Because that gives us plenty of time to hang out and have some fun.”
    “Oh. It does?”
    “Sure does.” He bent at the knees to look her in the eye. “If you want to, that is.”
    Summoning her best haughty tone, she said, “I’m not opposed to fun.”
    “Well, thank goodness for that. I’d hate to think you were a bore or something.”
    Grace gave him a playful shove.
    He started to stumble backward, and she tittered with laughter as she grabbed him to stop the fall. Somehow she ended up pressed against his chest with his strong arms wrapped around her.
    “You laughed when you thought I was going to fall,” he whispered in her ear, sending goose bumps careening down her spine.
    The aroma of sunscreen and hot man filled her senses, making her feel warm all over. “I most certainly did not.”
    “Did so.”
    Smiling, she relaxed into his embrace and decided this was going to be an awesome weekend.

Chapter 7
    Filled with irrational excitement, Laura McCarthy drove into the parking lot behind the Sand & Surf Hotel. After ten of the worst days of her life, the battered old hotel looked rather good to her. The idea of hauling her carload of stuff up three flights of stairs to the manager’s apartment didn’t hold much appeal, but she couldn’t wait to be settled once and for