Free Summer Magic by Rochelle Alers Page B

store clerk or Randy Bell, leaving him to believe he was certain not to become one of her hapless victims. He pitied any man Caryn Edwards purposefully set out to seduce.
    “What are you going to order?” she asked, pulling him out of his reverie.
    He hadn’t glanced at the menu. “What did you order?” She told him and he nodded. “I’ll probably have the same.”
    The words were barely out of his mouth when Randy appeared, expertly balancing several plates and dishes along the length of his arm. His bright smile faded the moment he spied Caryn sitting with the tall, dark man who had come into Addie’s the night before.
    Randy’s professional smile was back in place as he neared the table. “Here we are. I hope you’ll enjoy.”
    Caryn was delighted with the beautiful presentation of the food. “It looks delicious.” Glancing up, she rewarded Randy with a sensual smile. “Logan has decided to order the same.”
    Logan rose from his chair, extending his right hand. “It’s nice seeing you again.”
    Randy shook the proffered hand. “Same here, Logan.” His gaze shifted from Logan to Caryn. “You two know each other?”
    “We should,” Logan replied. “We’re living together.”
    Randy was momentarily speechless in his surprise, but he recovered quickly. “I suppose you
would
know each other.” He flashed another professional smile. “I’ll be right back with your order.”
    Caryn waited for Logan to retake his seat, then reached for his left wrist, her fingernails biting into his flesh and leaving small half-moons. “How dare you tell him we’re living together.”
    Covering her smaller hand with his larger one, Logan held her captive. “We
are
living together. Would you have preferred if I said we were
sleeping
together?”
    “We’re not living together or sleeping together,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
    “Then what the hell are we, Caryn?”
    “We are
sharing
a house, Logan.” There was no mistaking the facetiousness in her voice. “Sharing a house is
very
different from living together.”
    He tightened his grip on her delicate hand. “Semantics.”
    Her eyes flashed sparks of green fire. “That’s bull!”
    Logan released her hand, then extracted her fingers from his wrist with a minimum of effort. “Eat, Caryn,” he ordered in a bored tone, waving a hand. She opened her mouth to come back at him, but he stopped her. “Let’s not quarrel in public. I don’t want everyone to think we’re having a lover’s spat.”
    Her gaze narrowed at the same time her fingers tightened on her fork. “You’re right. Let’s not quarrel.”
    Turning her attention to the dishes in front of her, she smiled. Eating would give her something to concentrate on rather than the man sitting less than three feet away. Spearing a small piece of crab cake, she bit into it, watching Logan observe her as she ate. The succulently prepared flaky crabmeat literally melted on her tongue. Each time she brought a portion of food to her mouth, his eyes followed the motion. She did not know why, but it was the first time she felt uncomfortable having a man watch her eat.
    Placing the fork on the napkin beside her plate, she stared back at him. “Do I have food on my face?”
    Logan shook his head. “No.” What he did not want to tell Caryn was that her mouth transfixed him. Picking up his own fork, he reached for a small portion of the untouched crab cake and popped it into his mouth. Arching his eyebrows, he chewed thoughtfully before reaching for a second piece. “Delicious.”
    Caryn folded her hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”
    “Sampling your food.”
    “Did I give you permission to sample my food?”
    “Have pity on me. I’m starved.”
    Leaning closer, she whispered, “Whose fault is that? Why didn’t you eat earlier?”
    He pilfered another portion of the crab cake along with several sweet potato fries. “I didn’t want to eat before I went swimming.”
    Chewing slowly, he