Free Cinderella and the Playboy by Lois Faye Dyer

told him as he dropped into the seat.
    Butch obligingly lay down between Chance and Jennifer, technically outside the dining area. Ears perked, eyes alight with interest, he watched the diners at the neighboring tables.
    The cute young waitress who took their order clearly adored Chance.
    “You have another admirer,” Jennifer teased as the teenager disappeared into the restaurant.
    “Carrie?” he asked. When Jennifer nodded, he grinned at her. “Nah, I’m helping her brother study for his SATs, that’s all. He’s a bright kid but the family doesn’t have the money to send him to a topnotch med school. If he scores high on the SAT, he’ll have a better shot at scholarships.”
    “What a lovely thing for you to do,” she told him. “You’re a surprise, Dr. Demetrios.”
    “Why?” he asked, resting his forearms on the tabletop and leaning forward, his gaze searching hers.
    “Because you have a reputation as a playboy, which infers you’re shallow. But the more I get to know you, the more complicated you seem.”
    He smiled, a slow upward curve of his lips. “I’m not complicated,” he murmured, his voice husky with need. “At the moment, I’ve got only a single interest.”
    “And what would that be?” she asked, mesmerized by the heat in his eyes and the sensual curve of his mouth.
    “You.” He closed the few inches between them and covered her mouth with his.
    The kiss was sweet, slow and filled with heat. Jennifer felt her toes curl as desire moved like languid fire through he veins.
    “Um, excuse me.” The hesitant female voice had Chance lifting his head.
    “Ah, coffee.” He sat back to give the waitress room to empty her tray, setting steaming coffee cups in front of them and a carafe in the center of the table. “Thanks.”
    The fresh-faced teenager smiled shyly in response and whisked away.
    Jennifer was disoriented and slightly dizzy from the kiss, while Chance appeared to have gone from arousal to casual friendliness in a matter of seconds.
    Determined to match his seemingly unflappable coolness, she sipped her coffee, eyeing him over the rim while she scrambled for casual conversation.
    “Did you grow up here in Boston?” she asked, settling for a standard, getting-to-know-you topic.
    “No.” He shook his head. “I spent my childhood in upstate New York. I moved here when I took the job at the Armstrong Institute. What about you—did you grow up in Boston?”
    “No, I lived in a small town in Illinois until I moved here last year.”
    “What made you choose Boston?”
    “I had a friend from high school who moved here. She encouraged me to join her. She loved the city, especially all the American historical sites. We used to visit a national historical treasure nearly every weekend.”
    “Used to? Why did you stop?”
    Jennifer shrugged. “Renee met the man of her dreams and it was love at first sight. They married after dating for three weeks and have been traveling the world ever since. He’s an archeologist and they’re currently living in Central America while he helps excavate a Mayan temple.”
    “No kidding?” Chance looked intrigued. “Now there’s a job that sounds interesting.”
    Jennifer laughed. “Every guy who hears about Renee’s husband’s job says that. There must be a frustrated adventurer hidden in every male on the planet.”
    “Maybe.” He grinned.
    The waitress arrived with their food, interrupting their conversation. Jennifer indulged in crepes drizzled with chocolate sauce while Chance tucked into a Spanish omelet. By the time they’d finished eatingand had poured a second round of coffee, they were deep in a discussion of movies they’d seen.
    “You like chick flicks,” Chance told her. “Most of the movies on your best-of list are romantic comedies.”
    “I liked the movie Hunt For Red October and that’s not a chick flick,” Jennifer protested.
    “No kidding—you like that movie?” He lifted his brows in surprise. “I’ve seen