Lessons in Rule-Breaking by Christy McKellen Page A

to meet his eyes in case he saw how awkward he was making her feel.
    He didn’t make any reply to her jibe, but when she flicked her eyes up to check what he was doing she noticed a small curl to his lips, as if he was trying to suppress a smile. His gaze was fully focused on what he was doing, but as she watched him move the pencil fluidly over the paper he glanced up for a second and caught her staring.
    She looked away quickly, heat burning her cheeks.
    Rosa appeared in the doorway with plates of food and Jess breathed a sigh of relief when Xander put down his pad and ceased the impromptu sketching session.
    Taking a deep breath, she tentatively started in on the scrumptious-looking salmon, asparagus and salad that Rosa placed in front of her. Her appetite seemed to have totally abandoned her now, but she wasn’t going to let her insecurities get the better of her—no way. Even so, she hardly tasted a bite of the meal as she worked her way through it. It was as if her taste buds had packed up and gone on holiday, making everything she ate turn to dust in her mouth.
    She put her cutlery down after managing only half of it, defeated.
    ‘How was your food?’ Xander asked, startling her as he laid his own knife and fork onto his empty plate.
    ‘It was delicious. I really enjoyed it. There’s just a bit too much for me here,’ she said, feeling the heat of her discomfort flaring in her cheeks. Looking down, she realised her hands were trembling so she hid them underneath the napkin on her lap, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
    ‘You know, I don’t think I’ve ever met a journalist who was such an awful liar before,’ Xander said, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head as he studied her. ‘You looked like you were being tortured all the way through eating that.’
    That did it.
    The stress of attempting to stay calm around him, the pressure of potentially losing her job if she couldn’t get him to play ball and his utter disrespect for her profession all collided in her head, shooting her blood pressure to maximum.
    ‘You know what, I didn’t want to believe all the gossipy reports about you being an arrogant idiot , but I can see now they’re totally on the money.’
    He stared back at her, eyebrows raised and a muscle twitching in his jaw, but didn’t say a word in his defence.
    Had she blown it losing her cool like that? Was that the end of this little fiasco? She felt as if the whole thing had spun out of her control and she had no idea how to claw it back.
    But instead of telling her to get out of his house, he picked up his sketchbook and pencil again and started to scribble away as if she weren’t even in the room.
    She sat for a minute or two, waiting to see whether he’d speak to her again, but he steadfastly ignored her.
    ‘Look, I’m sorry for losing my temper. I’m just feeling a bit...out of my depth at the moment.’
    Still nothing. Not even an acknowledgement that she’d spoken.
    ‘O-okay, then...well...’ she stuttered, scrunching up the napkin from her lap and dropping it onto the plate in front of her. ‘On that bombshell, I’ll let you get on with your picture and get back to my hotel.’
    Perhaps once she’d had a good night’s sleep everything would look rosier in the morning and they could start afresh. She tried not to shudder as she remembered the insect-infested room that awaited her.
    He said nothing as she slid out of her seat, stooping to pick up her shoes. She decided against putting them back on, mainly because it would delay her leaving, but also because her poor aching feet would have screamed at her to stop torturing them if she had.
    ‘Goodnight, Xander,’ she said to the top of his head before walking away from him, not daring to look back and catch the look of amusement that had to be taking over that unnervingly handsome face of his.
    * * *
    Slumping back against his chair and dropping his sketch pad and pencil onto the table, Xander watched