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“We already did. Well, hell, why wouldn’t we? We told her you were the man she wanted. She’s, ah, she’s damn near convinced.”
Jake wasn’t listening. He was watching the woman again. And as he did, she raised her glass of wine to her lips, sipped at the ruby liquid, then ran the tip of her tongue over her lips.
A soft, low sound formed in the back of his throat.
“Jake? You okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, his gaze never leaving her.
“Did you hear what I said? She’s pretty much convinced.”
“Convinced of what?”
“That you’re the guy for her.”
“That I’m—”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “That you’re the man she should hire. See how she’s looking at you? She probably figures we’re telling you about her.” He gave a quick, all-too-cheerful laugh. “We told her she’d have to turn on the charm, come up with somethin’ special to convince you to—”
Travis, watching Jake’s face, said, “Caleb,” in a sharp, low voice.
“Something special,” Jake repeated carefully.
“And she will. She’s one hell of a resourceful female, Jake. If she decides she wants to grab your attention—”
“Dammit, Caleb,” Travis growled. “Will you shut up?”
“Wait a minute, okay? I’m explaining things here. Jake needs to know this is all about business, th
at Addison’s all about business …” His voice trailed off. “Jake?”
“Jake!” Travis called, but Jake was already shouldering his way through the crowd, anger churning in his belly where, moments before, there’d been heat.
CHAPTER FOUR
AT NINE, Addison had run away from home.
She’d done it before.
No special reason, just the childish hope that somewhere out there was a place where people read books instead of watching soap operas, where your mother didn’t spend hours putting curls in her hair and paint on her nails and then, though you hated it, doing those same things to you.
That time, instead of heading for the highway, she’d cut through the woods that led into the mountains.
Branches had slapped at her face, brambles had torn her shirt and jeans.
At last, she’d emerged into a clearing. And found herself face-to-face with a mountain lion.
The big cat had put back its ears and snarled.
Addison’s heart leaped. She knew a lot about mountain lions. They were fast. They were unpredictable. They were beautiful and intelligent….
They were also incredibly dangerous.
Adrenaline pumped through her muscles. Run, every instinct said.
Fortunately, her head knew better. Showing weakness would be the kiss of death.
So, though she was terrified, she’d held her ground. And—such a silly cliché—time stood still.
