Read Meant To Be for Free Online Page A

mood dissipating in the face of her exuberance. “Sure, as long as it's not that nasty green stuff."
    She waggled a familiar white tea bag at him. “Only the best for my company."
    Garrett leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms and his booted feet. He watched Jessica move around the kitchen, pulling cups from the cupboard and milk from the fridge. Her gorgeous legs were encased in a slightly damp, skin-tight pair of well-worn jeans, her shapely ass just begging for his hands. She wore a red halter-top that crisscrossed over her ample cleavage. The wet, gauzy material clung to her breasts, leaving very little to the imagination. Garrett's hands clenched. Christ, how he wanted her.
    He cleared his throat, grabbed a small, dog-shaped squeaky toy off the table and started tossing it in the air. “I took a leave of absence from the force today."
    Jessica stopped dead in her tracks and stared up at him. “What? I don't understand. You love being a cop. Isn't that what you told me the other day?"
    He caught the toy in his fist with a loud squeak, his gaze locked on her face. “It's complicated."
    The tea kettle whistled, breaking the tension. Jessica gave him one last considering look before turning to take care of the tea.
    Garrett set the squeaky toy back on the table and came up behind her. She stiffened as he brushed against her and brought his hands up to rest on her bare shoulders. Her skin was warm and soft, and it took nearly all his self-control not to crush her in his arms.
    He closed his eyes for a brief moment to get himself under control only to have the flowery scent of her freshly washed hair assault his senses. It alarmed him how much he wanted her. How often he found himself thinking about her—fantasizing about her.
    Slowly, he turned her to face him. He reached up and tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. Her lips were parted, her cheeks slightly flushed. She was so incredibly beautiful, and some deep-seated instinct told him to turn tail and run as fast and as far as he could.
    Instead, he leaned down for the kiss he'd been craving all week.
    A knock at the back door broke the silence. Jessica pulled back just before their lips touched.
    The drumming of rain against the fiberglass awning that covered the back porch became louder as the door swung open. “Hey, Jess, sorry it took me so long. I got stuck on a phone conference with my new project manager in New York."
    Garrett swung around and scowled at his brother, who walked through the door as if he owned the place. “What the hell are you doing here?"
    Jessica stepped around him and took Nicky's arm. “No problem. Your brother was kind enough to keep me company."
    Nicky cocked a brow. “Garrett kind? Don't hear those words together in a sentence too often."
    "Very funny,” Garrett groused. “Maybe you should take your act on the road."
    Jessica frowned. “Be nice or you can both hit the road. And not that it's any of your business,” she turned the full force of her annoyance on Garrett, “but I asked Nick to come over and show me how to work my word processor."
    "Well, then Nicky can just march his ass back home, because I happen to know my way around a word processor well enough."
    With a dismissive smile, Jessica informed him, “'Well enough’ isn't good enough.” She moved to the stove. “Nick, would you like a cup of tea?"
    Nicky strode past him with a smirk and took a seat at the table. “I'd love a cup, thanks."
    Garrett glared at Nicky so hard it was a miracle he didn't burst into flames. He yanked a chair out from the table, spun it around and straddled it. On some level, it surprised him that Nicky was acting like such an ass. He'd never purposely gone after a woman he knew Garrett was interested in—not that there'd been all that many. Garrett could count on one hand the number of dates he'd been on in the past year, including a couple of one-nighters.
    But he hadn't been this gut-twisted over a woman since high