Read Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) for Free Online

“Hey, watch it. I don’t wake up looking like this.”
    “Oh, really?” I grinned.
    He set his phone down on the table. “Yeah, not everyone is Mr. Perfect.”
    I acted like the insult didn’t get to me and looked through the pub window to see if I could catch a waitress’ attention.
    “I already ordered for you,” Mark explained, removing his feet from the bench across from him so I could take a seat.
    “Thanks.” I settled down with my forearms on the table. “So why does today suck?”
    He shook his head. “Lunch was crazy, and we were short staffed. Two people called in sick. Actually, they were likely hung over.”
    I chuckled. “No shit.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it was a whole lot of fun,” he continued, sarcasm flowing. “You should try it some time.”
    “Cooking on a line? No way. I can’t even make toast.”
    Mark smirked. “You rich boys…”
    I shrugged, not able to argue with him.
    “You sure you don’t need an assistant or something?”
    I rolled my eyes. “To do what? Check my mail and feed my fish?”
    “You make your life sound so boring.”
    “It is boring.” I leaned back against the bench’s backboard, relishing the breeze wafting down the sidewalk. Half of the shops downtown were closed, making it a quiet late Sunday afternoon. Only a couple other people sat in front of the pub, and no more than half a dozen more could be spotted on the sidewalks in both directions.
    “Then why are you still here?” he pointedly asked.
    I sighed and ran a hand through my hair that was still damp from the shower I’d taken right before walking over. “Sometimes boring is good.”
    “Hm,” he said in a tone that told me he wasn’t convinced.
    The pub’s door swung open and out walked Sasha, the raven haired bartender. She set the frothy pints of amber beer on the table and smiled at me. “How’s it going, Luke?”
    “Great. How are you, Sasha?”
    She set her palm against a cocked hip. “Can’t complain. You boys knock on the window if you need anything else.”
    “Thanks,” Mark said, his tongue practically hanging out of the side of his mouth as he stared at her. Sasha turned away from us, and Mark craned his neck to watch her hips sway in the cut-off jeans.
    When the door slammed shut behind her, he finally turned back to me. “Dude,” he said simply, the one word saying everything.
    “Your ogling is pretty hardcore,” I butted in before he could go on. “Watch it. She might kick you out.”
    He shook his head. “Uh-uh, man. It’s not me she wants. It’s you.”
    “What, Sasha?” I scratched my head and gave it some thought. She was pretty, sure, as well as nice. I’d just never felt any sort of chemistry between us.
    Mark took a gulp of his beer. “You could take her home in a heartbeat if you wanted.”
    I lifted my beer, then set it back down. “I’m glad you have confidence in me.”
    “So why don’t you?”
    Gazing down at a thick crack in the table’s wood, I wondered how much I felt like sharing?
    “Is this because of What’s-Her-Name?”
    “Sure, but that’s not her name.”
    “I’m trying to make talking about her easier by not even saying her name.”
    “I appreciate that,” I said, meaning it. “And I don’t know, really.”
    “You never rebounded.”
    I laughed so loud the couple sitting at the other table glanced over at us. “I don’t need to rebound,” I argued.
    “Right.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him, his nonchalance completely unreadable. Did he really believe me?
    “Good luck finding anything permanent and real in this town.”
    “Don’t say that,” I groaned.
    “It’s true. This pond is about as small as they get.”
    “Maybe you haven’t fished hard enough.” I grinned at him before picking up my glass again.
    “Seriously, though. You’ve been lots of places. South America. Europe.”
    “Don’t forget West Virginia.”
    “Exactly.” He ignored my joke. “You know what the women of the world are