Free Summer Magic by Rochelle Alers Page A

is.”
    Caryn sat, unblinking for several seconds. “Your mother is Irish?” He nodded slowly. “And your father?”
    “As WASP as he can get.”
    Her searching gaze moved slowly over his face, registering everything. She examined his wide mouth with a full lower lip, straight nose with a narrow bridge, the large black eyes with a hint of an upward slant at the corners,
and
the inky darkness of his skin. A smooth sable brown over layers of blue undertones. There were no obvious indications that Logan Prescott was anything but a descendant of African heritage.
    “I was adopted,” he explained as Caryn’s delicate jaw dropped slightly. A knowing grin tipped the corners of Logan’s generous mouth. Her reaction was similar to most who saw him with his parents for the first time.
    She recovered, squaring her shoulders and pressing her back against the cushioned chair. “I would’ve thought many things about you, but I don’t think I’d ever considered you being adopted.”
    Folding his arms over his crisply laundered blue shirt, Logan regarded her with a narrowed look. “You think about me?”
    “Don’t flatter yourself.”
    “Answer my question, Caryn. Do you think about me?”
    Their gazes met and fused across the small expanse of thetable. There was no hint of teasing or challenge, but there was a glimmer of an awaiting interest and expectation. In two days their initial annoyance with the other had slipped away, replaced by a dawning realization of a wanting to know more and wanting to see more of the other.
    “Yes, Logan,” she replied truthfully, “I do think of you.”
    He didn’t move, blink. “How?”
    “You’re arrogant.” He flinched noticeably. “And you’re also dictatorial, spoiled, chauvinistic …”
    “Enough,” he said softly.
    Caryn successfully concealed a smile when she saw his pained expression. “Oh, I have a few more adjectives.”
    He waved a hand. “Forget I asked.”
    “Have I not been truthful?”
    “Partially.”
    “Explain.”
    “I admit to being a little spoiled. That’s comes from upbringing, but I won’t admit to being chauvinistic or dictatorial.”
    She arched an eyebrow. “Are you the boss or a manager of a company?”
    “I work with my father.”
    “Does he own the company?”
    “Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”
    “You’re the boss’s son. You’re dictatorial. Case closed.”
    Logan affected a woeful expression. “You’re judging me unfairly.”
    “No, I’m not. Can’t you see yourself, Logan? There is nothing going on between us, yet every man I either talk to or smile at starts you glowering at them. Living with you will certainly not help my love life this summer.”
    Lowering his arms, he placed both hands, palms down, on the table. The smoldering flame in his coal-black eyes startled Caryn, eliciting a dizzying current of awareness of the tall, dark, handsome man with whom she would share the same space for at least a month. He angled his head, staring at her parted lips.
    “Are you looking for a summer dalliance?” His rich, deep voice lowered to a sensual whisper.
    She wanted to shout out a resounding
no
, or
that’s none of your business
, but decided against it. Shrugging a shoulder under her orange crocheted top, she smiled. “I wouldn’t put it that way. I’m more apt to say that I haven’t put it on my
Do Not
list.”
    Logan’s expression hardened. “Which means you are looking?”
    Caryn nodded slowly. “Somewhat.” She had half-lied. She actually wasn’t looking for someone to fall in love with because the pain of her failed marriage had not faded completely.
    Vertical lines furrowed his smooth forehead. She was looking and he wasn’t. And there was no doubt that she was looking. There probably wasn’t a man on Marble Island who hadn’t caught the hypnotic sparkle of her luminous eyes or her brilliant smile.
    The frown faded as soon as it formed. She hadn’t smiled at him the way she’d done with the