Up to the Challenge (An Anchor Island Novel) by Terri Osburn

cupcake. “He likes dainty and sweet. The girl next door.”
    “And you’re more the boy next door trapped in a porn star’s body.”
    Sid threw her napkin at Will. “Har har har. Besides, he’s only here for five more weeks.”
    “So?” Will asked. “Give him a reason not to leave.”
    Another snort. Sid had never seen a man more determined than Lucas Dempsey to get
off
Anchor Island. There was nothing she or anyone could do that would make him stay.
    “Then have a fling. Maybe he’s not all that and a box of bonbons.” Will threw the napkin back. “Try him out. Take him for a test-drive. Make the man see Jesus, then leave him wanting more while you get him out of your system.”
    The idea had merit. Not that Sid had ever made a man see Jesus. In her limited experience, she was pretty sure sex with her had never been a religious experience for anyone. Forgettable, yes. Spirit moving, no.
    “I don’t know.”
    “And you won’t know until you try.” Will lowered her leg and collected the dishes. “You turn on the charm and that man doesn’t stand a chance. Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” With a wicked grin she added, “You might as well be under him when he goes.”

    Less than a week. That’s how long it took Sid Navarro to drive him up a wall. When not insulting him or making him look like a talentless chump, she was setting him on fire with a body that could fuel a man’s fantasies for decades. Half the time he wanted to throttle her, and the other helonged to drag her into the back room and have wild sex on the office desk.
    The woman was a menace. Challenging him at every turn. Turning him on without any effort whatsoever. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he liked it. Another indication he’d gone completely freaking whacko.
    “Look up, son, before you hurt yourself,” came a voice from Lucas’s left. His eyes shot up in time to see the tree less than a foot in front of him.
    That damn woman.
    He glanced over and spotted Artie sitting on a bench next to a mountain of a man. Lucas sighed and moved around to the front of the bench.
    “Thanks for that,” he said, gesturing toward the tree. “I was distracted.”
    “I’d say you were. What’s got your tail in a twist?” Artie asked. Before Lucas could answer, the old lawyer added, “You remember Randy Navarro?”
    “Sure.” Lucas extended a hand and took the opportunity to avoid Artie’s first question. “How’s it going?”
    Randy took the offered hand with an easier grip than expected for a guy with arms the size of Lucas’s thighs. “It’s good,” he said with a genuine smile. “I hear you’re working with my sister?”
    So much for avoiding the subject. “Yeah. She’s helping out while Dad recovers.”
    “That heart attack stuff is no joke,” Randy said. “Our dad had the same thing, but didn’t make it. I was relieved when I heard Tom had pulled through.”
    Sid had never mentioned her dad died of a heart attack. “We were relieved too. He’s coming home tomorrow, butrecovery will take another five weeks or so. You run a gym, right?”
    “I do,” Randy said with a nod. “Island Fitness. You looking for a place to work out?”
    “I’ve been keeping up my running, but missing the free weights I have at home,” Lucas said. “You offer any kind of temporary membership?”
    “We could work something out. Where are you running?”
    Strange question on an island so small. Lucas shrugged. “Around the village is about the only option, isn’t it?”
    Randy shook his head. “Sid runs along the beach next to Highway 12. You should run up there with her.”
    “Sid runs?” He was learning all kinds of things about his little coworker today.
    “Every morning like clockwork.” Randy pointed east. “Show up at mile marker ten at seven fifteen in the morning and you’ll catch her. No sense in running alone if you don’t have to.”
    Running with Sid gave Lucas an idea. Maybe it was time