Reaching First Read Online Free Page B

about the city of Brotherly Love. Tyler drank deeply before he started to offer his own opinion about which teams in the league had the worst management, the dirtiest players, the most obnoxious fans.  
    Half an hour later, they were disagreeing good-naturedly about Texas’s chances of making it into the post-season. “Maybe if they had Ormond down there catching,” Will said. “But once he retired and decided to stay in town—”
    Tyler interrupted. “They can get by on their own catching staff. It’s the bullpen that needs help. A left-handed—”
    “Gentlemen!”
    Both men jumped like kids caught smoking cigarettes in the school bathroom. Tyler whirled around to find Emily Holt standing by the back of the van.  
    “Sorry,” Will said, and immediately pushed past him. He made a lot of noise gathering together his tools. More noise than was strictly necessary. Enough noise to cover up the sound of Emily’s tirade as she pulled Tyler toward the driver’s door of the van.
    * * *
    “Don’t do this to me,” Emily said. Anger tightened her throat, and her words came out a lot shakier than she meant them to.
    “Do what?” There was that easy smile, the one she’d seen in dozens of online photos the night before. She’d never admit how many hours she’d spent looking up exactly who Tyler was, trying to figure out exactly what she’d gotten herself into. The guy had to know precisely what he was doing. He had to understand how her heart skipped a beat as he looked down at her, how her lungs forgot how to breathe.
    The thought that he delivered that smile all the time to a million different women forced some of her rage back into her words. “Don’t screw this up, Tyler. You know I have to report on the hours you’ve worked. I have to swear in a court of law that you’ve completed your community service.”
    “I’ll work my hours,” he said, unperturbed. Damn, his voice was smooth, like an aged bourbon, soft and husky. It was a voice that belonged in a bedroom, a voice that should never rise above the most seductive whisper.
    “Stop it!” she said. “I’m not one of your squealing baseball fans, waiting outside the stadium after a game. Just stop it!” she said again, pulling away as he tried to settle a pacifying hand on her arm. “I agreed to do this because Anna’s my best friend. She needs you on her team. I don’t care what happens to you, Tyler Brock, but I’m not about to let my best friend fail because you can’t complete your sentence.”
    He looked shocked. Stunned. Like no one had ever failed to swoon before those storm-dark eyes, no one had ever resisted the chance for Tyler Brock to smile his easy, aw-shucks grin.  
    “You’re right,” he said, his voice truly dipped in remorse. “I wasn’t thinking.”  
    He refused to meet her gaze. He actually seemed upset, no, devastated. It was like she’d popped some invisible balloon that had hovered between them. She’d destroyed his confidence, shredded the swaggering attitude that had melted her the first time she saw him.
    And that was why she was still a virgin.  
    The thought almost made her reel. She was living the same pattern, over and over again. A guy liked her. A guy did his level best to seduce her. A guy got her this close to losing control.
    And then she snapped back to reality, like a binder clip clamping down on a stack of papers.
    The first couple of times it had happened, she’d been proud of herself. She’d known her parents would approve. Even Aunt Minnie would be proud. Emily had let logic rule over her emotions. She’d remained in control despite the fire of hormones, the roller-coaster swoop of desire. She’d sent home her disappointed dates, knowing she’d been true to her own beliefs.
    But Caden Holloway hadn’t gone home quietly. The day after prom, half the class was calling her Bluebell. She knew it was because she’d left the high-school quarterback with blue balls. His only revenge was taunting