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Hayley stammered.
    “Fire away,” Drew said, moving forward and brazenly entering her personal space.
    He was so close that her nose almost touched his Adam’s apple.
    “Okay, well, what made the show decide to tape an episode here in Bar Harbor?”
    Drew exhaled his breath. Hayley was hit with a blast of mint. At least he brushed
     and gargled. For that, she was grateful.
    “I’ve always been a fan of this beautiful little hamlet. I’ve spent many summers boating
     around the island, browsing the gift shops, enjoying your famous lobster rolls, but
     here, now, in the dead of winter, I am happy to report Bar Harbor is just as charming
     and inviting.”
    Hayley looked up at him, her mouth agape. “Didn’t you just say . . . ?”
    “That was off the record. This is on the record.”
    “Oh. Okay.”
    “In fact, there are fun little surprises to be found everywhere in this town,” Drew
     said, stepping closer to Hayley as she tried casually backing away from him.
    Did he just call her “little” again?
    “Great. I think I’ve got what I need,” Hayley said quickly, eyeing the door.
    “That was just one question. I’m all yours. Ask me anything.”
    “No. I think that will do it.”
    “Then let me ask you a question.”
    “Uh, I really should go. . . .”
    “Are you as hot with desire as I am?”
    “Probably not, to be honest.”
    “Those adorable rosy cheeks tell another story.”
    “I’m just embarrassed for you, that’s all.”
    “I know all about you shy small-town girls. You just need a little push.”
    He called her a “girl.” Okay. Points for that one. No, on second thought, he was too
     disgusting. No points at all.
    And that’s when he grabbed Hayley by the arms and rammed his lips into hers, and now
     she was caught in an impossibly grotesque situation.
     
     
    Hayley would’ve preferred Alex Trebek making a pass at her.
    Not this scumbag.
    She struggled in his strong grip. It just made him even more excited.
    He was backing her toward the blue-and-white canopy bed.
    She reached up with her right hand and grabbed his dimpled Dudley Do-Right chin, yanking
     it down hard. His tongue snaked out of his mouth; he shut his eyes tightly, as if
     he assumed this was foreplay.
    Hayley grabbed hold of his tongue and pulled hard. His eyes suddenly popped open in
     surprise and he tried saying something. He couldn’t, though, because Hayley was holding
     on to his tongue like some slippery, flopping fish on the deck of Mona’s boat. When
     she let go, he retracted his tongue and immediately began rolling it around in his
     mouth to check for damage.
    That’s when Hayley slapped him.
    Hard.
    He stumbled back, caught off guard, throwing a hand to his cheek.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he wailed.
    “Teaching you some manners,” Hayley said. “I’m sure where you come from, girls fall
     over themselves to get your attention. Here in Maine, we don’t give a rat’s ass about
     how much money you have or how many people know you.”
    He stood there silently, sizing her up and down, deciding on his next move.
    Hayley didn’t wait for it.
    She whipped her head around and hightailed it out of there.
    She had only been in the room for ten minutes. Sal wasn’t scheduled to swing by and
     pick her up for another twenty. So she trudged on foot through the mud and snow back
     to the office.
    She had really done it this time. Her genius plan to win the show, collect the cash
     prize, and pay off all her hefty expenses was suddenly in jeopardy. Now that she had
     completely alienated the host of Wild and Crazy Couponing, who would inevitably discover that she was also one of the two contestants competing
     on the show, she was totally screwed.
    Because Drew Nickerson was definitely the type of man who would not soon forget she
     had done him wrong. And it was more than likely he would find a way to sabotage her
     chances of even being on the show, let alone winning.

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