Free Playing Hooky (Teach Me Tonight) by Lily Rede, Jane Gaudet Page A

a series of successful books about lost civilizations that were
irritatingly good. She’d never admit that she’d greedily gobbled them up,
seduced by the witty, smooth prose that brought ancient cultures alive with a
touch of wry humor. Underneath his serious, seemingly humorless mien was a
darkly funny man in touch with the core of what made humans oh so human.
    Molly
wished the ground would open up and swallow her every time their paths crossed.
She was smart and she loved her job, but she wouldn’t be winning awards anytime
soon. The mirror told her she was pretty-ish, with reddish-brown hair, a few
freckles, and plain blue eyes. She wasn’t voluptuous, but she wasn’t a stick
either. In short, to everyone other than the sixth graders who looked at her
with adoration when she performed a particularly flashy chemistry experiment in
class, she was average.
    There’s
nothing wrong with being normal.
    Why
Bree insisted on trying to pair her up with a man completely out of her league
was beyond her. It wasn’t as though he was interested . He always nodded
politely and made forgettable small talk when Bree dragged them together at
every extended family BBQ, birthday party, and major holiday, but that was it. She could feel him looking down on her with those sharp cobalt eyes, and
Molly Callahan didn’t need someone like that. She had enough on her plate
without having to think about seducing a man who had no interest in being
seduced.
    Not
that it wouldn’t be fun to try ,
she thought, arousal heating her as it did whenever she imagined Jack Roman’s
big, muscular form moving smoothly against her, inside her.
    She
shook her head and shut down that line of thinking as the marina came into
view, along with the yacht that would ferry them out to the island.
    I’ll
have to thank Bree ,
she noted breathlessly at the sight of turquoise waters stretching out as far
as the eye could see.
    Once
Molly had decided to skip out on this year’s reunion and actually take a
vacation, Bree had made it her mission to find the perfect private island
resort, even surprising her with an upgrade to business class to make the
flight more bearable. Halfway around the world, it was hard to think about how
upset her parents would be that she was playing hooky. It’s not as if they
would ever find out. Patrick and Fiona Callahan thought she was at the school’s
annual faculty and staff retreat, and that’s how it would stay, thank you very
much. They never needed to know that the retreat was optional.
    And
Molly could avoid Jack Roman for a few more weeks.
    She
stepped on the yacht and a steward immediately came forward to welcome her and
hand her a glass of champagne. Molly looked around, noting a number of white-clad
staff.
    “Where
is everyone?”
    “The
resort doesn’t officially open for two weeks, but we’re allowing a few guests
to try out the facilities to allow us to perform a test run.”
    “So
I’ve got the place to myself?”
    Molly
nearly squirmed in delight at the thought.
    “Almost,”
admitted the steward, “There are a total of five suites booked for the next
week, and then more guests will arrive.”
    He
nodded to the stern.
    “Perhaps
you’d like to join the others and get acquainted? The island is small, and you
may want to socialize during your stay. We’ll be departing momentarily.”
    Molly
nodded her thanks and sipped her champagne, trailing fingers along the railing
as she strolled the length of the yacht, the tension of the last few months
slowly unraveling.
    The
guests were easy to spot, and Molly sized them up, only half-curious – a cute
pair of honeymooners who seemed more interested in each other than in their
stunning surroundings, a middle-aged man in a flowered shirt, carrying a camera
and a bird book, and –
    All
the air left Molly’s lungs in a whoosh.
    He
was standing with his back to her, but the glint of sun off golden hair, the
leashed strength and fluid muscle that made her think of a