Smitten by Janet Evanovich Page B

public place.” He tangled his hand in her hair. “You need to take some time out and come to terms with your own sexuality. And you have to give some serious thought to me. I’m in love with you.”
    Lizabeth swallowed. “Wow.”
    Matt opened the bathroom door and nudged her forward. That wasn’t so bad, he decided. Now it was out in the open. He said it out loud, and his voice hadn’t cracked, and he hadn’t fainted, and the world hadn’t come to an end. He’d broken out into a cold sweat, but he didn’t think anyone would notice.
    He passed Elsie in the foyer. “You’re sweating like a pig,” she said. “It must have been hot in there.”

Chapter 4
    Matt was in love with her. She’d run it over in her mind a hundred times in the last three hours, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt. It was flattering, of course. And exciting. It was also frightening. She wasn’t ready. It was all happening too fast.
    Well, if it was happening too fast, it was her own fault. She’d encouraged him. Worse than that, she’d taken the initiative. And he was right about the teasing part. She always managed to lead him on in public places. It hadn’t been intentional. Matt called it teasing, and she supposed it might look like that from his point of view, but she knew that sort of teasing wasn’t part of her makeup. It was more that she was testing the water, and she’d unconsciously provided herself with a chastity belt. It had been cowardly, she decided. But smart!
    She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. Her curtains were open, allowing the cool evening air to fill her room. Moonlight spilled over her bedroom floor, and Carol the Cat stretched across the bottom of the summer patchwork quilt.
    â€œYou see what that man has done to my life?” Lizabeth questioned Carol. “He’s made me into an insomniac. He’s disrupted my emotional stability.”
    It was a nice disruption, she admitted. Her life was immeasurably richer since Matt had come into it. Okay, so if it was so much richer, why was she so worried? What was the problem? The problem kept slipping away from her. That didn’t mean it didn’t exist, she told herself. All it meant was that she wasn’t able to nail it down.
    The silence was pierced by a woman’s scream. It was a scream of outrage, not terror, Lizabeth decided, scrambling to her feet. She heard the sound of someone running, and she reached the window just in time to see the flasher sprint into her yard.
    He stopped short and looked up at Lizabeth, not bothering with his flashlight. The sky was clear, and there was enough moonlight toilluminate the man’s pale skin. He stood absolutely still for a split second, then he waved. It was a little wave, the kind you do with just the tips of your fingers and your hand held at shoulder level.
    Dogs barked throughout the neighborhood, a police siren sounded in the distance, and the man took off at a dead run and disappeared into the night.
    Elsie rushed into Lizabeth’s room. “Did I hear someone scream? Was that pervert back here?”
    â€œHe must have frightened some lady down the street. And then he ran through the yards trying to get away. He stopped only long enough to wave.”
    â€œYou mean I missed him again?”
    â€œYup.”
    Elsie pressed her lips together. “Was he naked?”
    â€œYup.”
    â€œWas he dangerous-looking?”
    Lizabeth smiled. “No. He wasn’t especially dangerous-looking. In fact, he looked quite harmless.”
    And there was something familiar about him, she thought. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.
    â€œIt’s them harmless-looking ones you have to worry about,” Elsie said. “This guy could be a killer. He could be a rapist.”
    Lizabeth pulled the curtains closed. “I don’t think he’s a killer. He