Read Barefoot Bay: Silhouettes on the Sand (Kindle Worlds Novella) for Free Online

about politics or baseball. Yet, one way or another, the proud father’s conversations always came back to the youngest Ivory and his five-year-old exploits. C.J. couldn't see scandal rags anywhere in that family picture. "What about the other brothers? Are they popular in the news too?"
    "Couldn't say. Usually Nate did something to put the family in the spotlight. Beth occasionally mentioned the others in passing. I think she worries most about the senator."
    "Senator?" Holy shit. Brother Mitch sitting beside her at dinner was Senator Mitchell Ivory. Crap. How had it escaped her that she was spending the week with the closest thing to American royalty since the Kennedys?
    * * *
    The plans for tonight were supposed to be dinner with his brothers and sister on the N'Vidrio , then tomorrow he'd be attending the family dinner along with any cousins, aunts, and uncles who were already in town for the wedding. Dinner at Casa Bodega for just him and C.J. was not on the tightly packed schedule. The intriguing contrast of sweet chocolate-brown eyes and her stalwart effort to fit in had the invitation slipping from his lips before he had time to give any serious thought to the consequences of dinner for two. Though, on a practical note, tonight could be used to solidify their story, should the Colonel get her alone. Hearing footsteps, he glanced up in time to see C.J. coming down the hall, a cup in each hand.
    Her stride was wide, pounding, and determined. "I think I may have given Veronica another reason to boot me out of this place as a trespasser."
    "What did she do?" Chase was almost to his feet when C.J. shook her head and shoved a hot mug in his face, urging him back to his seat.
    "I hope you like coffee. You didn't strike me as a tea person. And to answer your question, Veronica didn't do a thing. I refused to let one of the café workers bring us the coffee."
    "What do you mean, refused ?"
    "I was standing right there." C.J.'s voice rose half an octave. "I insisted I could carry the coffee myself. Veronica may have glanced in my direction at exactly the moment I'd repeated I could certainly carry my own damn coffee. I mean, seriously? Doesn't it strike you as a little absurd to walk away and have someone else bring me the coffee, when, if I waited another thirty seconds for them to pour the cup, I could bring it myself? Really just ten if you don’t count the twenty seconds it took to argue the point."
    A still small voice deep in the back of his head screamed this was a test. "Perhaps."
    Her gaze narrowed, and he got the distinct impression he'd given the wrong answer.
    "If you want milk or sugar, you'll have to go get them."
    "No." He didn't see the point in mentioning that, regardless of her insistence, shop personnel would come along any second and check on them. It was how things worked in his world. Occasionally to the point of waitstaff becoming a nuisance. "Black is fine." Looking over the rim of his cup, he noticed she drank hers black as well. That had him wondering what part of a man's world did she live in?
    "Are you ready?" Missy stood in front of them, empty-handed. "If you'll follow me to the dressing area, you can try on what I've chosen for you."
    Chase sat back and took another sip of his coffee. He wished he could have seen C.J. standing her ground. She was proving to be nothing like he expected. Most women would have fallen over themselves for the wardrobe he offered to buy, and yet she honestly didn't seem to want it. What he thought of as a little stubborn, she probably saw as independent. Either way, it was a breath of fresh air from the plastic women who passed through his life. He'd finished his coffee, and one of the café staff had, indeed, come by to see if he wanted another cup. He'd almost finished his second cup when the door to C.J.'s changing room finally opened.
    "I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see …" His last words slipped away. Producing a coherent sentence was no longer an option.