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“Yes, and all it took was me getting half naked and you buying a full-size picture of yourself in a tux.”
“Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Your ego knows no bounds, does it?”
“Hey, I had more offers to buy that picture than I did sales of underwear. I could have made a fortune.”
Kirsty bit back a smile.
“So why didn’t you sell it?”
“I was worried what they’d do with it,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the women in this town aren’t all that predictable.”
Kirsty laughed.
“Aye, it could have been used for target practice,” she said.
“Or—as one woman told me—a fantasy aid in the bedroom.”
Kirsty couldn’t control the giggle that erupted. She waved as the pub staff left for the night. It
was just her and Lake—alone. And for the first time since she met him, he didn’t look all that threatening.
“As it is, Betty took the picture home with her,” Lake said, looking bewildered.
That was all it took to send her over the edge. She was laughing so hard that she had to clutch her side.
“That’s priceless,” she said at last.
“Glad you think so,” he drawled, but his eyes sparkled with mischief. “You’re not the one who has to deal with Betty day in and day out.”
Kirsty gave him a look that told him clearly that she wasn’t buying his “poor me” act.
“One—I’m sure you can handle it. Two—I’m sure you deserve it,” she said with a grin.
Lake ran a hand through his strawberry-blond hair.
“I’m not sure anyone deserves Betty,” he said.
There was an awkward silence. Kirsty folded her arms and looked around her for something else to talk about. This wasn’t the usual small-talk situation. This man was the enemy. The enemy who kept kissing her. The enemy who kissed her very well indeed. The silence stretched so far she couldn’t stand it any more.
“Do you want a drink?” she heard herself ask.
“No, I’m hungry.” The way his eyes darkened when he said that made her heart pick up pace.
“Going to the pub for some dinner?” she asked as she put some distance between them.
The corner of his mouth twitched with amusement and she got the nasty feeling he could read her mind. She inched towards the counter.
“Why? Do you want to join me?”
Kirsty shook her head. She cleared her throat. It was suddenly hard to speak. Lake didn’t help. He studied her as though she was some sort of experiment. Well, she wasn’t. She pushed up her chin. She was stronger than she looked. Hadn’t she won the war today? She looked at his smiling lips and his clear blue eyes and suddenly didn’t want him to go. She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do, but she didn’t want him to leave. Not just yet, anyway.
“I’m making pasta,” she said, disgusted that her voice had a quaver in it. “You can have some if you want.”
It’s only food, she told herself, no big deal. Her insides churned in disagreement.
“It’s not a truce or anything,” she clarified. “Especially as I’m now winning the war. It’s only dinner.”
