Untrusting Hearts: A Contemporary New Orleans Romance by Madison Hartt, Evan Asher

cockroach if it crawled onto her dinner plate, then lifted her gaze to meet his. She could see the wheels turning in his mind. If he was composing a new insult for her, she wasn’t going to hang around to hear it. “Will that be all?”
    “No. There’s more.” His voice was low and husky. With his disheveled hair and stormy eyes, he exuded a roguish masculinity.
    She shook free of her observations. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What else is there?”
    “There’s this.” With a moan, he removed his hand from her arm, slipped it around her, and pulled her close.
    She was shocked into immobility. As he claimed her mouth with his, she instinctively melted into his arms. It was not a long kiss, but it was spectacular. Exquisite feelings rushed through her like wildfire. When it was over, she continued to lean against his broad chest for a breathless moment, inhaling his clean, manly scent.
    Gradually, she regained her composure and shoved him away. “That was a disgraceful thing to do,” she gasped. “Not out of character for you, I would assume. But disgraceful.”
    “If I’d asked first, would you have acquiesced?” His eyes challenged her.
    “What do you think? Of course, I wouldn’t have! Under the circumstances, it was completely inappropriate.”
    “Why?”
    “A kiss is supposed to be a tender exchange between people who at least like each other. I feel nothing but contempt for you.”
    “Exactly.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I was compelled to do it. Maylene might have been peeking through the blinds.”
    “What?” She stared at him in surprise.
    “I didn’t want to let her down. It’ll make her happy to see us getting along so well.”
    “Aren’t you considerate? Putting aside your own feelings to please someone else.”
    “I like to help out whenever possible,” he said humbly.
    “Maylene, my foot.” Her eyes burned with outrage. “Don’t act like you did this for her.”
    “Alright, fine.” He gave her a slow smile. “If you won’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.”
    She stepped from the car, prepared to deny it, but the words wouldn’t come. “You’re unbelievable.”
    “The compliments just keep rolling in. Thanks again.” He gave her a jaunty little salute. “Oh, and before you storm off, don’t forget your purchases.”
    Grabbing all the sacks except the one containing the little bird, which she stuffed up under the front seat, Jade glared at him. He rested his long fingers on the keys in the ignition and said, “I’ll be back at seven. I don’t like to wait, so be ready.”
    “And I don’t like to be rushed, so don’t show up early and expect me to be breathlessly awaiting your arrival. And anyway, maybe I’ll be too tired to go. It has been a busy day.”
    His eyebrows shot up in surprise and a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “And keep Maylene from showing off her establishment? I doubt that.”
    “No, I suppose I can’t get out of the evening. But don’t push me, Gage. I don’t play those games.”
    “What kind of games, I wonder, do interest you?”
    He was toying with her. And enjoying it. She slammed the car door, turned on her heel without giving an answer, and marched toward the house. She heard him start the engine and move slowly down the drive as she climbed the brick steps, face flushed and heart racing.
    Jade stood on the porch and watched him pull into the street. Her lips still tingled from his kiss, even as her anger simmered. The man was impossible, charming one minute and rude the next. Her hand shook slightly as she opened the door.
    As soon as she was inside the house, she heard Maylene speaking from the living room. “I think you’re making this far more complicated than it need be, dear.”
    As Jade deposited her things on the table in the entry hall and headed toward the sound of conversation, she heard a male voice respond to Maylene’s statement. “On the contrary, I’m trying to simplify matters.”
    “For