Page 5 of Mr. Dangerous

"Yeah," I said, not that I was eager to see anyone but my brothers. Some of the stereotypes about rich families being crazy are true. "Mitch, anyway. My grandmother's settled in LongIsland."

"I'm not sure how settled." Naomi’s expression changed, and then she said slowly, "You know she's coming out here for a visit,right?"

"Sayagain?"

"I had an email from your father to prepare the junior suiteforher."

"Oh, fantastic," I said. "We cancatchup."

Naomi looked at me quizzically, but I wasn't about to chat with her about the troubled dynamic in my family. There had been enough about that in the news, once upon a time. I pushed the French friestowardher.

She took a golden wedge and popped it into her mouth. Then she closed her eyes in delight as she chewed. "That's so good. I guess I wasstarvingtoo."

"They make the bestfrieshere."

"I bet they double-fry them. Frying them, freezing and then frying again makes for the crispiestfries."

"That sounds labor-intensive."

"It's worth it if you really love thepotato."

Once the conversational topic of French fries was exhausted, I cast around for something to say. The silence between us felt awkward. It was so different from the comfortable silence when we used to ride the swim team bus together to meets and back. After swimming, she fell asleep against my shoulder every time. Her hair would smell like chlorine and soak a wet spot onto my t-shirt. I would sit perfectly still so I wouldn't wake her, my long legs growing stiff because I couldn’t shift without herstirring.

"Do you still swim?" Iasked.

She swiped another French fry. "No. No time. I guess it's part of the jobforyou?"

I nodded. "I was hoping to spend some time in the surf out here. Get a waterproof cover forthecast."

"When I broke my leg, I had to wrap it in a plastic bag and balance in the tub with my leg outside the shower curtain. It mustbenice."

"If you're worried about me showering," I said, "You're welcome tocomehelp."

She leaned back in her chair, those hazel eyes light and mocking. "Even you can't afford that kind of help. Not when it comestome."

"Mm." When she smirked at me like that, I wanted to kiss that look off her face. God, even when she was being obnoxious, she wasgorgeous.

I wasn't going to let that comment pass without retaliation. I glanced across the bright tablecloth for the crumpled sticky note and swept it into my pocket, keenly aware of herwatching.

But I knew I would never call Amy. There was only one girl in Newport Iwanted.

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