Read Town Square, The for Free Online Page B

slumberous green eyes didn’t blink as their gazes met.
    His heart fell like a downed tree in his chest, and he felt the impending crash reverberate throughout his body.
    She was every man’s fantasy, and it took a moment for him to dial back the lust slamming through his body. After the way she’d acted toward him since the moment they met, this situation couldn’t be more confusing.
    “I should have known something was off the minute I found your door unlocked,” he commented, trying to find his balance. “Charlie from across the street said you always lock it.”
    She licked her blood–red lips, and a punch of arousal shot straight into his gut. “Right, and no one locks their doors in Dare.”
    “No,” he replied, not taking another step into the room. “Harriet, what are you doing?”
    The hand she raised to her chest was shaking. “I would think that’s obvious.”
    He looked at the floor and stared at the seams in the hardwood. Anything to keep his eyes off this goddess with fiery hair and moss–green eyes. If he looked at her, he’d never be able to resist her.
    “I don’t know why you’re doing this. You don’t even like me, and you sure as hell don’t want me,” he said.
    “You’re wrong,” she said, and the floor squeaked, signaling she was making her way toward him from across the room.
    When her slender bare feet appeared in his vision, he shook his head and met her gaze. “There’s nothing in the attic, is there?”
    “No.”
    For hell’s sake. She was acting like some Mata Hari, and he was just a regular guy.
    He ran a hand through his hair. “Harriet, I’m going to leave now, and we won’t speak of this again.”
    When he turned to leave, she flew in front of him, her hand cutting off his exit like a rail bar at the railroad track south of town. “No. Stay.”
    Part of him wanted to stay, wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything, but he had too much respect for her to let this play out. “If you really do like me, then we’ll go out on a proper date. I’ll take you to Nellie’s Tavern, and we can get to know each other better, but I am not just going to be with you like this. I have more respect for you than that, and frankly you’re too much of a lady to be acting this way. Plus, we work together.”
    She ducked her head to her shoulder and gazed at him with pouty lips. “Don’t you wonder why I acted like I disliked you so much? I was attracted to you from the first, Arthur, and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.”
    His body corded with tension. “Well, this is one heck of a switcheroo, and I’m more than a little embarrassed to say it’s too fast for me.” Even if he’d been in New York, he would have been surprised by a woman acting so forward.
    She slid close to him, and the hand she’d used to prevent him from leaving fell to his chest. “I want you. Don’t you want me?”
    He closed his eyes for a moment, fighting the temptation, but also listening to his gut. He’d been with a few women in New York, and their voices hadn’t sounded all business–like when they told him that they wanted him.
    Harriet’s did.
    He opened his eyes, trying to disconnect from the situation, to use his powerful observational skills. Yes, her pulse was hammering in her neck, and her breathing was rapid, but her eyes looked a bit too wild. And then he smelled the liquor on her breath. Okay, so she was nervous.
    “Why, Harriet? Why now?”
    “Because I’m leaving soon, and I want to be with you before I go.”
    Her green gaze didn’t falter, so he knew there was truth in what she said. Well, he’d known she was only passing through. She wasn’t meant for these parts, as out of place as fancy Italian gelato at an ice cream church social.
    “You’re giving me your notice now? Like this? I told you before that I’d help you with whatever you’re running from. You can trust me, Harriet.”
    Her lip started to tremble, and he could see how vulnerable she was now.