Hot SEAL, April's Fool by Becca Jameson (smart books to read .txt) 📗

until their lips met. “All of my attention was on you, ladybug. I guess I was blinded to any other girl in school.”

April’s panties dampened at his statement, mostly because she knew it was true. He’d never paid a bit of attention to any other girl in school. Why exactly had he left her without a word?

When he released her to continue eating, she took the opportunity to watch his every move. The man was sex on a stick. Every ripple of muscle up his arms. The way his pecs flexed when he lifted his sandwich. The soft wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that came out when he smiled at her.

“I’m surprised she’s still single,” Cole commented. “She’s so pushy. It’s a wonder she hasn’t conned some guy into marrying her.”

“Oh, she has. She married Seth Romanoff. They divorced about a year later.”

“Seth Romanoff? Wasn’t he the quiet guy who played the clarinet?”

“That’s the one. Nice guy too. Not sure why he married her. I’m pretty sure she made his life miserable, spent all his money, and then left him.”

“Shit. That sucks.” Cole shuddered.

April concentrated on her sandwich again, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Cole Landry was in her kitchen, sitting at her table, eating lunch with her like they’d never been apart.

She was struggling to wrap her head around this situation and what the future might look like. Obviously, it was way too soon to think about the future at all, but it was hard to ignore the fact that she had four more days with this man, and then he would be gone. Again.

“So, what happens now?” she asked as they finished eating.

Cole flinched and lifted his gaze. “About what?”

April cocked her head to one side. “About the shop and your Dad and the money. Those tiny little details.”

“Oh, that. Right. Well, at some point, I need to face Amanda, but I might put that off until tomorrow when we meet with the lawyer.”

“Do you expect any bombshells from the lawyer?”

He shrugged. “Seems like every moment of the past forty-eight hours has been one bombshell after another. I assume my father had a will, but that’s all I know. Not looking forward to spending any time with Amanda and Jacob though.”

“Seems like you’re going to have to deal with them several times until you get this all straightened out and figure out what to do about Chamberlain.”

“Yeah.” His phone suddenly rang and he pulled it from his pocket and held it up. “Speak of the devil,” he murmured as he swiped the screen, put the call on speaker, and surprised April by setting it on the table. “Hello, Amanda.” His voice was even and raw.

“Where are you?” she nearly shouted.

“Why?”

April loved that he didn’t answer her. The man was not a pushover for anyone.

“Because we have a crisis on our hands and you need to be fixing it.”

“What’s the crisis and how do you expect me to fix it?” Cole was smirking. He knew he was needling Amanda. April thought it was hilarious.

“Cole Landry,” she shouted. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, and I need you to speak to Mayor Chamberlain. Explain the situation. Work out a payment plan or something.”

“With what money?” Cole asked, leaning back in this chair. Outwardly he was cool as a cucumber, but April saw the way he fisted the napkin as if he’d like to scream. It wasn’t his style though. The man did not lose his temper.

“Yours, of course. If you don’t have it, make an arrangement.”

Cole gave a sardonic laugh. “I’m not paying that man a dime, Amanda. You might want to think about how you are going to get out of this mess. Chamberlain isn’t hunting me down to pay your husband’s debts. He’s hunting you.”

“Don’t you go there, Cole. You’re a part of this family. This is your problem too. I expect you to figure it out. It’s the least you can do after abandoning your father for ten years and leaving him to run the family business alone.”

“He was hardly alone. He had Jacob. If your son wasn’t such a lazy bum, he could have been helping Dad out.”

Amanda gasped.

Cole didn’t give her a chance to respond. “I’ll see you at the lawyer’s office tomorrow. Goodbye, Amanda.” He ended the call while she was screaming into the phone once again.

A second later, April saw the first real crack in his armor when he shoved the chair back and strode from the room. There was only one place to go. Her bedroom. He didn’t close the door, but April figured he needed some time to himself, so she didn’t follow him. Instead, she cleaned up their plates from lunch and put everything away.

After a few minutes, she padded to the doorway of her bedroom and stood in the entrance.

Cole was standing by the only window, staring outside, his back to her, his hands on the top of his head. Even from behind she could read his posture as tense with frustration.

April considered her options for a few moments. She could ask him if he needed anything, but that sounded lame in her mind. She could leave him alone and go back to the living room, but she hated the thought of him standing there alone.

Finally, she went with option three and shuffled across the room. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and hugged him close.

He dropped his hands from the top of his head and reached back to pull her around to his front. He kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here. I’m not sure I’d be able to survive this week without you at my back, literally. It means the world to me.”

She held him tighter, inhaling his scent. It was hard not to wonder if he was just pointing out how convenient it was that he had her for a friend, or if it was more than that. Granted,