Read So Many Men... for Free Online

manpower.
    “You do?”
    Tess nodded. “I can’t explain it, but I really want to be part of this club. I know if I join, then take on this project, I may be making more enemies than friends. But if I can make just one new friend in the process, it’ll be worthwhile. And if not…well, I’ll know I did the right thing by trying.” She shrugged. “Besides, Project Mentor needs our help more than I need new friends.”
    “Oh, that’s really sweet.” Cassie’s eyes narrowed and she chewed her bottom lip as though thinking about Tess’s plan. “You would have a hard time pulling this off on your own.”
    Tess held her breath and waited.
    “We’ve always followed April because she usually makes the best decisions, but in this case…” Cassie’s gaze held Tess’s. Excitement sparkled in her eyes. “Tell you what, let’s go see Terry to get you on board as an official member. Then what would you say to you and I paying April a visit?”
    “I’d say that’s a plan.”
     
    “I’ LL HAVE THE ROAST BEEF on whole wheat, hold the mayo, no pickle and a small house salad, ranch dressing on the side.” Mason handed the waitress his menu that Friday afternoon, then turned to Tess, who sat across from him, flanked by Cassie and a man named Josh—a friend of Tess’s.
    The man hovered over Tess in an annoyingly territorial manner. Try as he might, Mason couldn’t stem the irrational jealousy he felt as Josh draped his arm across the back of her seat. Mason frowned. Good God, he had turned into a hormonal teenager.
    Tess smiled, her eyes shining as she glanced over the menu, seeming to take great pleasure in the simple act of ordering her meal. “I’ll have some of that shaved blackened chicken on pumpernickel rye—” her gaze flicked to Mason “—load on the mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickles…lots of pickles. I’ll have that with onion rings and the Caesar with the shrimp and…a loaded baked potato.”
    While their waitress took Josh’s order, Mason stared in wonder. “You can’t possibly eat all of that.”
    “I’ll put a good dent in it. Josh gave me a good workout this morning. I’m starved.”
    Ha. Just as he’d suspected. Mason eyed Tess’s friend as his jealousy stepped up a notch. Some friend.
    The man was groomed to the max, from his perfectly styled hair to his buffed nails. He was built like a line-backer, with straight, honest features. April would have jumped him in a minute. A picture of Tess’s workout flashed through Mason’s mind and he stifled the image, frustrated that he should even care about this woman’s romantic liaisons.
    Tess McClellan was a sensual woman, and he couldn’t deny a definite attraction. Her sex life wasnone of his business, though, even if fantasies of her had haunted him since their meeting at the park earlier in the week. After his disaster with April, the last thing Mason needed—or wanted—was to rush into another relationship.
    Not that Tess was remotely his type.
    Her cell phone rang and Mason did his best not to eavesdrop as she murmured consoling words to some guy named Kyle. She’d put her hair up into a kind of twist, but loose curls had escaped to fall around her face and the nape of her neck, giving her a wild, untamed look. Mason fisted his hand against the surprising urge to touch one of those curls, to pull the clip free and run his hands through those glorious red waves.
    He gave himself a mental shake. What was wrong with him? Normally he went for a more…conventional type of woman. Tess McClellan certainly didn’t fit that bill.
    “Mason, what time does it start?” Josh’s question pulled him from his reverie.
    Mason turned to him and blinked. “I’m sorry, what time does what start?”
    A knowing smile broke across the man’s face. “You know, you can’t fight it, bro.”
    “Excuse me?”
    Josh cocked his head in Tess’s direction. “She’s like magic—”
    “Oh, look. Here’s our food. That was quick. Thank goodness.