Confiscating Charlie by Lucy Leroux Page B

was second guessing staying at the summer house. He hadn ’ t seen the staff here in years. And their curiosity seemed to be getting the better of them — they were all watching him a little too closely.
    He knew better than to suspect the staff would spy on him for his father. Henry wasn ’ t popular enough with them for that, so Noah could put up with their interest. They were simply surprised to see him. The novelty would wear off in a couple of days and they ’ d stop peeking at him from behind the curtains.
    And as long as his father stayed away in Asia on business then he was spared another lecture on picking a direction in life and following through on it. The only reason Henry hadn ’ t written him out of his will was due to the Harvard Business Degree Noah had earned before taking up his racing career.
    Noah ’ s racing sponsors had been unhappy to hear he wasn ’ t coming back, but he hadn ’ t been under contract, so they had no choice but to deal with it.
    At the moment they were offering him an absurd sum of money to come back. He was one of the most popular young faces on the circuit, and he definitely had the most female fans. But he had no intention of racing again. There was nothing new there for him. Once his sponsors accepted that, they ’ d soon find a replacement. Noah had only been with them for a few years, burning up the track and cementing a winning reputation in his first year.
    Before that, he ’ d been a semi-pro surfer for a few months, and prior to that, a beach bum. At twenty-two, he ’ d worn a lot of hats. But never a suit.
    He might have to rethink the suit. Since he ’ d left the hospital, Noah had been seriously considering his cousin ’ s offer. He didn ’ t want to work for any of the family businesses. And although managing one of Calen ’ s clubs sounded like fun in theory, he suspected he would soon grow bored. But Damov Industries had its fingers in a lot of pies, some of which included manufacturing.
    Alex had emailed him some early drafts of a next-generation hybrid engine Sergei ’ s company was developing that looked interesting. Noah wasn ’ t an engineer, but he did know engines. The idea of helping bring that one off the drawing board had a lot of appeal. But borrowing on Alex ’ s friendship with Sergei to actually get the job didn ’ t sit well with him.
    “ Going to get another beer! ” Sammy shouted from across the pool.
    Noah repressed a sigh. Sammy didn ’ t need another one, but as long he didn ’ t throw up in the pool, or cut his fucking hand open on a broken bottle, there was no need to get on his case. The last thing he wanted was to have to start policing his dumb-ass friends.
    His bottle was light. Swigging the last bit, he raised his head and called out to Sammy through the open kitchen door to bring him a refill. When Sammy didn ’ t reply, he tried again. A few minutes passed. Swearing, he stood up and headed to the kitchen.
    The sight that met his eyes stopped him in his tracks.
    Sammy was leaning against the cabinet, effectively trapping a young girl in a schoolgirl uniform against the counter. Belatedly, he recognized the Dalton Academy crest, his alma mater, embroidered on her shirt pocket. The plaid skirt was also in their colors.
    The girl had dark hair and full rosy lips under a pair of huge glasses. But the thick frames weren ’ t enough to obscure her fine features or the glow in her skin. And while her face was lovely, it may have paled in comparison to her body.
    She was tall and lithe with long legs, and full breasts. The skirt wasn ’ t all that short, but it was apparently short enough to give Sammy ideas. The stranger must have had some insight into what those were because she looked terrified.
    Shit . This must be Darla ’ s little sister. What the hell was her name?
    Suddenly, Sammy swooped in to steal a kiss. The girl grimaced and put her arms up, trying to push him away. The poor thing was trying to get her head as