Read Online Keep It Together by Lissa Matthews - Free Book Online Page B

kid in a candy, or rather, cookie store with her eager smile and bright eyes. Would the rest of the patrons care if he pulled her across the table and had his way with her? God, she turned him on with nothing more than a smile. He was whipped, and she didn’t even know it. “We are. In fact, there’s a small storefront for lease on Congress Street that I’m going to look at tomorrow.”
    “I thought you flying down here was because of me.” The playful hurt look on her face, the faux pout was adorable, and he had to squash the urge to lean over and kiss her.
    “I was, but the conference call I had earlier had to do with the board’s agreement for me to look into a few properties while I was here. I made some calls to a local Realtor, and she’s meeting me tomorrow morning.”
    “Well now. Aren’t you just the man with all the answers and all the plans?”
    “As a matter of fact, yes.”
    “She’s gonna be a lucky lady.”
    It was said so softly and into the mouth of her glass that Colt almost missed the comment. He was beginning to pick up on that little trait of hers. She’d say something soft, under her breath, and mask it with a gesture or action to take away from what she’d said. It was odd, and he wasn’t sure why she did it. However, he was going to make sure he heard her right, each and every time. “What was that?”
    “The woman. The one you end up with. She’s going to be lucky to have you.”
    “I like to think we both will be.”
    “Got any prospects?”
    “Mmm. I have one, and she knows who she is. She seems to pretending otherwise about it though.”
    She toyed with the rim of her beer glass, running her finger around the edge. “You should put a stop to that.”
    “I’m quite certain I should, yes. Do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish that? I’d love to hear whatever insight on the subject you may have.”
    “Does she know how you feel?”
    “I haven’t been shy about it, but perhaps there’s room for more pointed clarification.”
    “For a woman, there’s always room for more pointed clarification.”
    “In my defense, I wanted to get a feel for how she felt about me first and if she was ready to move on from a broken relationship. Our connection might seem to some a little odd.”
    “The only way you’re going to find out is to tell her. Much as it’s rumored, we women can’t read minds.” On that note, Chrissie finished off her beer in time for the waitress to set the baskets of food and the two fresh beers on the table.
    She dug into her shrimp with gusto. Colt liked that. He followed her lead and started in on his as well. “Damn,” he groaned after practically inhaling the third one. “These are fantastic. I’ve never had shrimp this good.”
    “The best in the city as far as fried goes.”
    “I’ll take your word for it. So”—he swallowed down his bites of fried shrimp, which were incredible as well, and lifted his beer—“you think I should tell her? Everything?” He drank half of it down. The shrimp batter had a little kick at the end, one he wasn’t prepared for.
    “Yes, I do.”
    Colt pretended to mull it over in the silence that ensued while they ate and finished off their second beers. Only there actually wasn’t any pretending going on in his thoughts. Was she just playing dumb, as though she didn’t know who he was talking about, who she was talking about? He couldn’t imagine she wouldn’t know. She was odd, this woman who’d been on his mind for the better part of a year. He’d even go so far as to say self-deprecating, but he didn’t think even that term fit her. She was bold one second, laughing and teasing with him, and in the next, she was shy and even a little uncertain.
    “Gun-shy” might work if it weren’t for the fact that guns seemed to be the last thing in the world she was shy about.
    “Stop goofing, woman.” He winked. “You know it’s you.” The innocent look she gave across the table made him