A Word with the Bachelor Read Free Page B

nice.”
    â€œAre you serious?”
    â€œCompletely.” She adjusted her sunglasses. It was a beautiful day in late September and this road to town went around the lake. The surface of the water sparkled like diamonds as the sun sank lower in the cloudless blue sky. “The problem is that your nice muscles haven’t been stretched in a while.”
    â€œYou know what I think?”
    â€œNot a clue,” she said, wishing she could see his eyes behind those too-sexy-for-words aviator sunglasses. “But I bet you’re going to tell me.”
    â€œDamn straight.” He looked over, his mouth pulled into a straight line. “I think you’re a fugitive from fantasyland.”
    That would be a step up for her after nursing Garrett through cancer and watching him take his last breath. “Oh?”
    â€œI’m not a nice man. If you were smart, you’d ditch this job and get the hell out of here. Away from me.”
    â€œHmm.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?”
    â€œYou think I’m fragile and I think you’re a fraud. So what we have here is a standoff.”
    â€œGuess so,” he said. “Sooner or later one of us is going to blink and it won’t be me.”
    â€œSounds like a challenge or a treaty to me. Maybe both.” It was going to take a lot of convincing to make her believe he was as unfeeling as he wanted her to think he was.
    â€œFor the record, it makes good sense to coordinate shopping since you’ll be doing the cooking and don’t know what Harley likes.”
    That made her smile. Big bad warrior was hiding behind the world’s most unattractive dog. But she just said, “Understood.”
    â€œYou hungry?” The words were unexpected, but they were nearing the Blackwater Lake city limits.
    â€œStarving.”
    â€œMe, too. Let’s get something to eat.” He glanced over quickly as if checking to see whether or not she’d noticed him being nice. “Grocery shopping will go easier that way.”
    â€œI think so, too.” And that’s the first time they’d agreed on anything in the last twenty-four hours.
    He stopped the jeep at a stand-alone building near the end of Main Street, not far from city hall. There was a sign on the outside that read Bar None, with crossed cocktail glasses on it.
    â€œDon’t tell me,” she said. “I’m driving you to drink.”
    â€œYou said it, not me.” But his teeth flashed in a fleeting smile before he got out of the car.
    Erin opened her door and slid to the ground, then met him on the sidewalk. The wooden exterior was reminiscent of a miner’s shack and the heavy oak door had a vertical brass handle. Jack grabbed it and pulled the door open for her.
    The pulse in her neck jumped as she passed him and walked inside. Heat from his body was enough to sizzle her senses and short them out. That was probably the reason it seemed to take longer than usual for her eyes to grow accustomed to the dim interior after being outside.
    â€œThis looks nice,” she finally said.
    â€œIt’s okay.”
    Lining the walls were booths with leather seats and lantern-shaped lights. Dark beams ran the length of the ceiling and old wooden planks covered the floor. An oak bar with a brass footrail commanded the center of the room.
    â€œTable or booth?”
    She scanned the bistro tables scattered over the floor. “Where do you usually sit?”
    â€œAt the bar.”
    She should have guessed and would have if she wasn’t standing so close to Jack. Worn jeans, gray hoodie over tight black T-shirt, scuffed boots. This was as much a uniform for him as the camouflage he’d no doubt worn in the military. He’d been so right about what she was thinking yesterday. Not so much about sleeping with him, although she’d gotten as far as wondering what he looked like naked. But she found him incredibly hot and was mortified that