Read Welcome to the Dream (A Celeste Cross Book, #1) for Free Online

‘I'll be there
as soon as I can.’
    Celeste brushed a hand over
the flowers of one of the massive rhododendrons that were growing
close to the house. It was a full, vibrant purple color. She let it
distract her as she waited for him,
    ‘ I've got to go. If you need to
call me, my number is on the fridge.’ Jack nodded towards the
house.
    For a second Celeste began
to blush. Jack was about the most attractive man who'd ever
wandered across her path. Then she realized what he was really
saying; he meant she could call him if she had any problems with
the house.
    She gave a stuttering little
laugh. ‘Sure. Thank you so much.’
    ‘ Enjoy your stay.’ He leaned in
again, offering her his hand.
    Again she took it, and again she
let him do all the shaking, not caring that his hand was slightly
dirty and there were prickles here and there of dust and small bits
of grit from his crawl underneath the house. ‘Nice to meet you,
Celeste. That is your name, right?’
    She nodded, following him
back around the side of the house.
    ‘ Well I hope you enjoy your stay
here, Gresham City is great, when it's not sweltering hot that is.’
His cheeks rounded out with a deep smile. It was an odd move,
because you would swear with somebody that looked just as tough and
diligent as Jack did, that he wouldn't be able to offer such a
friendly and fulsome grin.
    It kind of almost sent
butterflies through her stomach.
    He nodded her way again. ‘I'll
see you around.’ He turned and walked off.
    ‘ Thank you. Do you need a lift?’
she asked, seconds before she glanced down the driveway and saw a
white, old, beaten up and rusty Land Rover. ‘Never mind, I couldn't
see your car,’ she said quickly, cheeks impossibly getting hotter
considering how burnt they already were.
    ‘ Thank you for the offer, ma'am.’
Jack suddenly stopped a couple of meters from her car, leant down
and picked something up.
    She walked over to him just as
he turned and handed her a book. ‘It must have dropped from your
luggage.’
    She took it off him. It was
her absolute favorite book. It was completely worn, the cover
dog-eared and torn in various places. The title was still readable
though: Lucid Dreaming.
    For a second she almost
winced. To a man who was no doubt as tough and sensible as Jack
appeared, lucid dreaming probably sounded like airy fairy hippy
talk.
    But he didn't say anything,
and neither did he look incredulous. He just handed it to her with
a smile, turned around, and walked off.
    ‘ Bye,’ she called after
him.
    He put up a single hand and
waved without turning. Then he got in his car and drove
off.
    Slowly Celeste forced
herself to walk back into the house. She shut the door, leaning
against it and letting her jaw open as she shook her
head.
    Wow, just
wow. She thought as she
tapped the book in her hands. Jack West, you are one attractive
man.
    Celeste walked into the
kitchen, dumping her book on the bench, and then turned to look at
the fridge. There, written on the white enamel in what looked like
blue liquid chalk, was a neat row of numbers, with Jack's name
written above them.
    Susie, Susie,
Susie, why didn't you tell me? Celeste wasn't the kind of girl to fan her face or cram her
head into a pillow and give an exuberant scream. Instead she just
gave another little shake of her head, and finally trotted through
the kitchen and up the stairs. She walked into the room that was to
be hers for the duration of her stay, and then walked all the way
over to the window to check that he was really gone before she
pulled her singlet off and flicked it onto the bed. Then she
wrestled out of her jeans and headed to the
shower.
    Maybe Gresham City would be
more interesting than she could have hoped for. Or at least it
could be if she ran into the main attraction again – Jack West. A
small smile played across her lips as she reached for the
tap.
     
     

Chapter 4
    Jack West
    He'd been called back to the
base. Cindy had found something.
    He kept on