Free Playing For Keeps (Emerald Lake Billionaires 2) by Leeanna Morgan Page A

staying here.
    An out-of-work genetic microbiologist would cramp Ryan’s style and make him wish that she wasn’t working for him. Especially when he found out what she did in her spare time.
     
    ***
    Sophie glared at the men sitting at the kitchen table. “Who took my car keys?”
    All four men looked at her innocently. Tanner, the security specialist who’d seen her at the campground, had joined Ryan, Jamie, and Danny in the kitchen. They were busy munching chocolate chip cookies and drinking big mugs of coffee.
    “I know someone has my keys. I left them beside the telephone.”
    Danny filled his mouth with half a cookie. Sophie narrowed her eyes. She didn’t know Tanner very well, but of everyone sitting at the table, Danny was the most likely to tell her where her keys were. “I need to go into town to collect an order I placed last week.”
    Danny glanced at Ryan and kept eating.
    Sophie moved closer to Danny’s chair. “I know you’ve got something to do with it, Danny O’Brien. Where are they?”
    “I don’t know,” he muttered. “Ask Ryan.”
    Ryan stopped chewing.
    Sophie turned her attention to her boss. “You can’t make me stay here.”
    Tanner reached for another cookie. Sophie picked up the plate and held it away from him. “No one gets another cookie until I know where my keys are.”
    Tanner sighed. “You’re a cruel woman. Would it make any difference if I told you Rachel baked those cookies before she went to work this morning?”
    She glared at Tanner. “I don’t know who Rachel is, so it doesn’t make one bit of difference.”
    Ryan coughed.
    “Be careful not to choke,” Sophie said sweetly. “You won’t be able to tell me where my keys are if you’re gasping for breath.”
    The smile she got in return made her knees weak. She straightened her spine and pretended she hadn’t seen the gleam in Ryan’s eyes. He had an annoying habit of being incredibly charming when he wanted things to go his way. But no amount of charm would make her forget that she was looking for her car keys.
    Ryan walked across to their makeshift counter and poured himself another mug of coffee. “Rachel is John Fletcher’s fiancée. He also has a daughter called Bella. I’ll take you across to their home and introduce you to them.”
    “That won’t be necessary,” Sophie said. “I won’t be here long enough to meet your neighbors.”
    “You will if you can’t find your keys.” Ryan aimed another lethal smile at her heart.
    Sophie ignored him and turned her attention back to Danny. He squirmed under her gaze. Tanner’s laugh turned into a cough when he saw the terror on Danny’s face.
    “Danny, why don’t you go outside and see if the timber from Jake’s Hardware has arrived?” Ryan said quickly. “Make sure you leave the delivery slip in my office.”
    Danny moved faster than a streak of lightning. Before Sophie took another breath, he was gone.
    Jamie shook his head. “He can’t stretch the truth to save himself.”
    “He’s the most honest male in the room,” Sophie said. “And before you tell me that none of you know where my car keys are, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I know where your car keys are.” Three pairs of eyes swiveled toward the kitchen counter. Sophie smiled and dangled Tanner’s keys in the air. “Look at this. One set has mysteriously reappeared.”
    Jamie looked between Tanner’s car keys and the plate of cookies in her other hand. “I don’t know where your keys are, but I wouldn’t mind another cookie.”
    Sophie held the plate toward him. “You’d better take an extra one for Danny.”
    Jamie took a handful of cookies and left the table. “I know it’s none of my business, but Ryan’s got a point. If someone’s trying to find you, this is the best place to hide.”
    Sophie looked at Ryan. “You told them?”
    Jamie shook his head. “He didn’t need to. You’re as jumpy as a Jack-in-the-Box when someone comes here. I thought you had