Swept Away by Kristina Mathews

actually asking for advice. “What impresses a woman? Besides six-foot-three inches of lean muscle, abs of steel…”
    “So you struck out, huh?” Fisher teased him, almost like a sister.
    “I just was wondering what I’d do if I wanted to woo a woman.”
    “How do you woo a woman?” Fisher sat down on the other rolled up boat. “Who are you and what did you do to my friend Cody?”
    “Maybe I’m his evil twin.” Cody joked.
    Fisher took a moment to answer.
    “Take it slow. But not too slow. Get to know her, but don’t tell her everything about you all at once. Leave a little mystery.”
    She paused again, as if was searching the inner recesses of her mind for that golden nugget of truth.
    “Oh, how the hell do I know?” Fisher shrugged and hopped up. “I’ve had just as many serious relationships as you.”
    “Come on.” Cody pleaded. “Help a guy out.”
    “Why don’t you ask your brother?” She turned her back on him and mumbled to herself. “It’s not like anyone sees me as a real girl.”
    She stalked off toward the river.
    Carson stepped out from behind the stack of boxes. He could barely contain a chuckle. His brother really didn’t get women. Not their minds, anyway. He had a pretty thorough knowledge of their bodies. But that wasn’t going to help him here.
    “I think what Lily wants is to be left alone. So she can do her job.”
    “You don’t seem to be leaving her alone.” Cody accused, seemingly unfazed by the fact that Carson had overheard his conversation with Fisher.
    “We’re working.” Carson clutched the thick file folder containing the bank statements. “Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the details.”
    “Of course.” Cody’s tone was light, like nothing bothered him. “None of my business. I’m just the pretty face on the webpage.”
    “Oh, so now you’re interested in accounting procedures?”
    “Sure. Why not?”
    “You’re just interested in the accountant.” Carson shook his head. “Typical. But you need to be careful. She’s not here for your personal pleasure.”
    “Or yours.”
    “You think I don’t know that?” Carson was more than a little irritated. “You think I don’t realize that having her in that office means neither one of us can have her anywhere else?”
    “Look, I’m not stupid.” Cody was frustrated, too. That much was obvious. “I’m not going to hit on her and then drop her just like that. I like her.”
    “You like her?”
    “Yeah. I like her. She’s different. Special,” Cody said. “She’s smart, too.”
    “Smart enough not to fall for your tired old lines.”
    “She inspires me.”
    “Really?”
    “Yes. Really. She makes me want to be a different person. A better person.”
    “Wow. I had no idea she meant that much to you.” Carson couldn’t tell if Cody was sincere, but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Frankly, he was surprised Lily had held his attention this long. “Still, I think you need to try a different approach.”
    “Like what?”
    “You can’t just throw out one-liners. Not if you want more than a one-nighter.”
    “I figured that.” Cody just hadn’t ever known any other way to relate to women. Except for Fisher, he’d never really interacted with women outside of his job. And part of his job was to be charming. Whether they were grandmothers or Girl Scouts, he put on the same act of the outgoing outdoorsman.
    “Maybe you could show a legitimate interest in the bookkeeping.” Yeah, that would happen.
    “I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Cody admitted. “I mean, it’s not like that stuff is really interesting.”
    “It is to her.”
    “Yeah, but…” His brother had always avoided anything to do with numbers and finances. As long as he had gas in his truck, beer in his fridge, and a roof over his head, money just wasn’t something he worried about. Besides, Carson took care of that stuff. He didn’t need to bother with it.
    “I bet you don’t even