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gut.
    She was so beautiful. Yes , her mouth could sting, but that was easy to see through. Her tone and words were a self-defense mechanism. He actually liked the wit and sass she flung at him on a regular basis. It far out-weighed the silky come-ons he got but could see through. Those women wanted to use him for the power he held over their careers.
    Gabby wasn’t like any of those women. She had come right out and told him on more occasions than he could count, that she “in fact, did not need him.” And he could shove this or that up his ass, whatever it happened to be at the time. Her threats never failed to make him chuckle, which only seemed to piss her off more, and so the cycle began.
    Years later, he was finally at the end of his rope; the patience he normally boasted about was gone. He had to meet her—in person, face-to-face and see who it was he’d fallen for. It was crazy. He was crazy. They’d never swapped stories, or pictures for that matter. Oh, he’d tried. Given her pieces of his past, stories of the chilly home he grew up in, but she never returned the favor. She wouldn’t give him crumbs even of her personal life. That didn’t stop
falling for her from happening. Maybe because she was so elusive. Maybe because she seemed so unobtainable when he was sitting at his “highfalutin New York” desk. Whatever the reason, Gabby James sent a thrill zipping through him at the very thought of her.
    He wondered what could have happened to her in high school, in a small town that seemed so quaint and charming with its postcard perfect setting. The town square was everything he’d pictured. Awnings covered most of the stone or brick storefronts and flowers of all colors, planted in different sized pots decorated the entries. The coffee shop and café had seating for two out in the sun along the sidewalk.
    He’d gone to a private school in Connecticut before moving to New York for college. Shane had never looked at the world from a ny different viewpoint other than easy. Suddenly the picture of a quiet girl with long, dark hair, slouched down, her bangs covering her eyes as she sat in the back row of a classroom sent a pang of hurt and guilt through him. Not that he’d caused it, but for her.
    In that moment, Shane wanted her all the more. And for an added reason—to protect her.
    Dragging in a breath, he scrubbed his palms over his face. Ran his fingers through his short, light-brown curls and blew out the air he’d held. Feigning happy, he rounded the corner before Gabby really did kill the dear old matchmaker with her long, slim fingers, her nails short and free of polish.
    “Well there you go , sir. You’re back in business.” He saluted John.
    “Oh , son, how can I repay you?” Behind John stood Gabby, her head fell back as she looked at the porch ceiling in a dramatic flair. “I’ve got it! Gabby here makes the most delicious pot roast in the world. Soft and tender, you could cut it with a fork. And her mashed potatoes are so creamy, they’re like whipped heaven. She told me she was bringing some over for dinner tonight. How about you join us?”
    Shane bit his top lip as Gabby’s palm went with a resounding smack against her forehead. John didn’t look behind him to see the girl about to plot his death. Instead , he smiled the biggest shit-eating grin Shane had ever seen. “I’d love to. Count me in.” Shane grinned back.

     
    C hapter Six
     
    Gabby slammed the utensil drawer shut only to open it back up, rummaging for her favorite wooden spoon. All the while, muttering a string of curse words and death wishes as she continued to finish what was supposed to be a quiet dinner for two. Two—as in, her and John.
    “Where the fuck is it?” she asked the empty air around her. It was nothing special, a hand-me-down wooden spoon she’d gotten after her grandmother passed away. Its scratches and dark spots meant nothing to anyone else, but Gabby had learned to cook with it while