Steal My Heart Read Free Page A

and bow tie. She couldn’t pretend not to notice the form of familiar, rock-solid muscles beneath those fancy clothes. She couldn’t ignore the neatly cut black waves of hair gleaming under the low lights. She couldn’t disregard his eyes, as hard and blue as sapphires, which always seemed able to see through her.
    Just as he was doing now.
    But how in the world could Mark Storm be here ? Now ?
    He gave her that free-and-easy, lady-killer smile that used to thrill her. “Well, well, well. Scouting for a story, Paige?”
    She swallowed, though there was no moisture in her mouth, and returned her sauciest smirk. “I’m always scouting, Mark. The more relevant question is what are you doing here?”
    “You act as if I couldn’t have friends in high places.”
    “I wouldn’t think you’d attract these kinds of friends in prison .” She punctuated the word and watched him almost wince.
    He chuckled to cover it. “You’d be surprised.”
    “When did you get out?”
    He shifted his weight, as if wanting to put his hands in his pockets. Why did he have to look so sexy all dressed up? “Six months ago.”
    “Your sentence was shortened? Or did they release you for good behavior?” Her tone reeked with cynicism. But trust was something she was short on these days.
    Ever since the night the police came to her house and arrested her husband on nineteen counts of Burglary and Grand Larceny. And she learned he’d been at that game for a long time. They’d taken Mark away, leaving her with the same feelings of loss and abandonment and grief she’d had when her father died when she was sixteen.
    She watched the muscle in his jaw tense. “Something like that. I didn’t think you were interested in the details.”
    She straightened her shoulders, wondering why she couldn’t catch her breath. “You’re right. I’m not.”
    The music headed to a crescendo. “Nice of you to have the band play our song.”
    “I didn’t request it,” she lied.
    “Didn’t you?” He eyed her as if he had some kind of supernatural vision that enabled him to read her thoughts. “It would be a shame to waste it.” He held out his arms, clearly challenging her. “May I have this dance?”
    She snorted a panicked laugh. “You must be joking.”
    “Trust me, Paige. I’ve never been more serious.” The look he fixed her with made her shiver. Had he seen her talking to the band? Did he know what she was up to? No, that was impossible. She’d been too careful. Still, better to play along for now.
    “Only for a minute.”
    “That’s all I need.” He took her in his embrace. Nerves and heat skittered across her skin. She hadn’t expected it to feel so good in his arms.
    Cautiously, she laid her hand against his strong chest, feeling the muscles under his dress shirt. She inhaled the cologne he liked to wear and resisted the urge to lay her head against his chest as well.
    They moved slowly across the floor as the music swelled with the line about a thousand violins playing. The band was better than she thought.
    Memories assaulted her. She and Mark used to dance together like this in their living room to the old jazz tunes she loved. She’d been so in love with him once. Once, she thought nothing could ever tear them apart. How wrong she’d been.
    A scriptwriter for Our Day Will Come . She’d gullibly believed that was what he did for a living the whole six months they were engaged and the whole two years they were married. She’d been so in love with him, she probably would have believed him if he’d said he was the CEO of the entire television network. But it had all been a pack of lies. The night he was arrested, she’d learned with painful clarity that Mark Storm was liar and a thief.
    At first she couldn’t believe it. There had to be some mistake. They could do something. Hire a good lawyer. They would fix it. Then she went to see him in prison.
    “Is it true?” she had asked him through the glass barrier.
    He