Man Shy Read Free Page A

heterosexual —”
    “ She ’ d freeze up. That icicle act of hers is the real reason she hasn ’ t been able to find a date for the party. Anytime a guy shows a little interest —”
    “ She turns into a snow princess, ” Brody guessed.
    “ Right. And since I know how important this date is to her, I didn ’ t want to give her an opportunity to shoot herself in the foot again. ”
    “ I see. ” So the woman had unplumbed depths. Great. “ Look, if Mallory has problems c”
    “ None that need trouble you, ” said Kyle. “ All she wants is an escort, not a lifetime commitment. ”
    Which should have been a relief, since marriage did not figure prominently in his future plans. His parents had done the wedding thing. Repeatedly. To date, he had four stepmothers, six stepfathers, and enough step-siblings to populate a small continent. None of his parents ’ marriages lasted, which probably had something to do with the fact that infidelity was an honored Hunter family tradition.
    He frowned at the glob of guacamole on Kyle ’ s partially eaten enchiladas. “ Good. ’ Cause I ’ m definitely not looking for a wife. ”
    “ I ’ m not looking for a husband, ” Mallory told Brody. She waved a spoon to emphasize her point. “ I ’ m perfectly happy being single. But my family just doesn ’ t get it. ”
    After leaving Chico ’ s, Brody had shown up on Mallory ’ s doorstep, armed with a list of questions and a couple of hot-fudge sundaes. In his experience, there wasn ’ t a woman in a thousand who could resist the allure of chocolate.
    He set his empty sundae dish on the trunk Mallory was using as a coffee table and settled back against the cushions of the love seat. “ Families tend to tune out anything they don ’ t want to hear, ” he said, thinking of his sister, Jenna, whose seemingly irrational behavior should have clued the family in that something was wrong. Unfortunately, no one had paid attention until it was too late.
    Though they didn ’ t look alike, Mallory reminded him of Jenna. She had the same quiet dignity, the same guileless gaze, the same air of vulnerability. “ Families just don ’ t listen, ” he said.
    “ Oh, they listen when it suits them. ” Next to him, Mallory scraped the last of the fudge from the bottom of her dish. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with her hair straggling free of its braid to curl in tendrils around her face and a tiny smudge of chocolate on her chin, she could have passed for one of her own students. “ Believe me, when they meet you, my family will be all ears, straining to hear every last detail about our imaginary relationship. ”
    “ So fill me in. ” He leaned closer to wipe off the chocolate with a corner of his napkin, but paused with his hand just inches from her face, arrested by the sudden look of panic in her eyes. “ You missed a spot, ” he said, handing her the napkin. “ On your chin. ”
    Shifting her gaze away from him, she scrubbed at her chin. He watched in fascination as the color rose in her cheeks. What had she thought he was going to do? Kiss her? Not that the idea hadn ’ t crossed his mind. But why such a strong reaction? She acted like she ’ d never been kissed before, yet surely, if she ’ d dated the same man for eleven years, she was accustomed to kisses. Kyle had warned him Mallory was shy, but her behavior was more than just a natural reserve. She seemed almost frightened.
    Brody frowned. Forget it, Hunter , he told himself. This woman ’ s hang-ups are none of your damn business . “ So, ” he said, his voice carefully casual, “ how exactly did we meet? No, let me guess. I was the tour guide on your trip to Romania, right? ”
    His words earned a smile. She met his gaze. “ No, I didn ’ t figure out the Romanian connection until this evening. Basically, all I told my family was that you were tall, dark, and handsome. ”
    “ What? ” He widened his eyes. “ No background? No occupation? ”
    “