Read Online Her Desert Treasure (Entangled Ignite) by Larie Brannick - Free Book Online Page A

lightly.
    “Oh.” She frowned, then suddenly brightened. “Well, I’ll send her over sometime next week then.” She glanced at Meg then back to him. “When you’re not so…busy. Now, I’d better get Earl’s ice cream and get home. I just wanted to say hello, Doctor Jake. Don’t be a stranger.”
    Jake shook his head. That certainly took the stiffness out of his pants. To top it off, Meg was wearing a shit-eating grin.
    “I have a feeling you’ve given Mrs. Floyd something to talk about at the VFW.”
    He sighed. “I know it was shitty of me, but she was being rude. And she needs to get it through her head that I’m not interested—never mind.”
    “Let me guess. You’re also the town’s most eligible bachelor, and Mrs. Floyd has an eligible daughter?”
    Not wanting his voice to carry, he leaned in closer and spoke softly. “She’s not eligible. I don’t want to be the one to burst her mother’s bubble, but Melissa is taken.”
    “So…her mom doesn’t like him?”
    He shifted his weight and his lips grazed the shell of her ear. “He is a she, and Melissa’s parents don’t know.”
    “Why, Jake, you little gossip.” Her eyes darkened with mischief.
    “Anyone ever tell you you’re a smartass?” he asked, grinning.
    “Me? Never.”
    In Meg’s limited experience, dating wasn’t this easy. Of course, this wasn’t really a date , but spending an evening sharing a meal with a man like Jake should have been awkward. Usually, she got tongue tied and more often than not, spilled something or tripped over her own feet. This was different. Being with him was effortless. His sense of humor was only icing on the cake of his intelligence, kindness, and damn, the man was gorgeous. Deep dimples enhanced his smile, and she smiled back. Conversation was spontaneous and genuine. Even silence as they watched people walk by was easy. The only uncomfortable fidgeting she did was caused by the unfamiliar feeling of lust he inspired. The way his silky voice slid over her made it hard to concentrate on what he was saying.
    “What took you away from Colorado?”
    Stupidity . “I moved to San Diego after college with a…friend.”
    That friend had been her college sweetheart, Troy. He’d convinced her that there would be more opportunity for them in California, so she’d gone along. If only she’d listened to her friends when they’d tried to tell her he wasn’t what he’d seemed. How she wished she’d believed her grandparents when they’d warned her about his controlling behavior. She’d been so foolish to believe his line of bullshit. By the time he’d shown his true colors, Meg was alienated from her friends and family and completely at his mercy. He controlled every aspect of her life. Money, the clothes she wore, how she styled her hair. Everything. Right down to what time she left for work and what time he expected her to walk through the door at the end of the day. God forbid the bus ever ran late.
    As an act of survival, she’d started tucking away a few dollars here and there, just in case. When she’d finally stood up for herself, Troy hadn’t taken it well. Her defiance sent him over the edge, and things went to hell fast. He’d started breaking her things as punishment. The last straw had come when he’d thrown a piece of her grandmother’s leaded crystal and Meg had stepped in front of him to stop his tirade. He’d shoved her down onto a large shard from the broken bowl.
    The puncture wound in her abdomen had been deep. The surgery to remove the fragments and subsequent infection had left her bedridden for weeks. While she’d been out on sick leave, the small school where she taught had made do by combining classes and using part-time substitutes. Education funding decreased every year, and without tenure, her teaching position wasn’t guaranteed. As much as it hurt to lose her job, she understood the situation. Luckily, Gwen had hired her to help with her new accounting office,