Plain Jane's Texan. Jan Hudson
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you, I felt as if I’d been kicked by a bull. I knew that you were the most perfect woman God had ever created. It’s only right that you should be named Eve.” His tongue traced the curve of her ear. “Offer me an apple, sugar, and I’m yours body and soul.”
Eve’s knees gave. She sagged against him.
“Let’s find someplace private,” Matt whispered. “I think I may die if I don’t kiss you.”
She thought that she might die, too. He was a smooth one, all right. Oh, she knew his type. She knew that he was feeding her a line a mile long, but her brain didn’t seem to have one iota of control over her body. Despite her every effort, her head nodded.
With his arm around her waist, he guided her from the dance floor and maneuvered her through the crowd. Her pulse was racing, her heart pounding, and she felt in imminent danger of hyperventilating. She should dig in her heels and put a stop to this nonsense right now. But her feet didn’t pay any attention, either. They padded right along beside Matt like a lamb to slaughter.
He located a secluded alcove and pulled her into it. Instantly his mouth covered hers. She almost fainted. Her hormones began to run amok like crazed, marauding elephants smashing into each other and flattening everything in their path. She plastered herself against him and kissed him back.
After about five minutes of fervent French kissing, Matt pulled away. His breathing was ragged. “Good God in Heaven, darlin’. I think I’m having a heart attack. Will you marry me?”
Some measure of sanity returned to Eve’s brain. “Marry you? Certainly not. Are you mad?”
“I may be. Something strange is going on, that’s for sure. There’s magic between us. Don’t you feel it? If you won’t marry me, will you at least come home to Texas with me? If we live together for a while, maybe you could get used to the idea.”
The marauding elephants stopped dead in their tracks. “You are mad. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Why not?”
“I should think it would be obvious. You’re practically a stranger. I don’t know anything about you.”
“We can soon remedy that. What do you want to know?”
He started to kiss her again, but she averted her mouth. “Don’t do that,” she protested.
“I thought you liked it.”
“You were mistaken.”
“Was I?”
She’d often heard the term “rakish grin,” but she’d never completely understood the power of one until that moment When he looked at her and grinned in that captivating way, she melted. This tall Texan was totally beyond her experience; he was way, way, way out of her league, but she kissed him again anyhow.
A strident noise blared between them, and she startled. He cursed. “Damned phone. Sorry, honey. It must be an emergency.” Scowling, he pulled a slim cellular unit from inside his coat. “This had better be good,” he said to the caller. After a minute of listening, he added a few other colorful phrases. “I’m on my way.” He stuck the phone back into his pocket and took her into his arms once more. “I have to leave. Come home with me,” he murmured as he nipped her ear and nuzzled her neck.
“Impossible. I can’t just run off on a whim. I have a career. I have obligations.”
“Quit your job. You won’t need to work. I’ll take care of you. Come with me, Eve.”
“Take care of—” A bucket of cold reality splashed her, and she stiffened in his arms. What kind of person did he think she was? “No way.”
Matt cupped her nape and searched her face. “Why not? Kim said that you weren’t married or engaged. Is there someone else?”
Deciding to take the easy way out, Eve crossed her fingers behind her back in a childish gesture. “Yes. Yes there is. Charlie.”
“Ditch him. You couldn’t care much about the guy and kiss me the way you did.”
“You’re wrong. I adore Charlie. We’ve lived together for the last two years. I couldn’t leave him.” At least that part was true.
Standing with his gaze downcast, Matt was quiet for a long time. Then he looked up. “I see.” If Eve hadn’t known better, she would have thought there were tears in his eyes. A trick of the lighting, she was sure. “For a while there, I really thought this was it.” He gently kissed her forehead. “Charlie is a lucky man. So long, angel. Would you tell everyone goodbye for me? I’ve got an emergency, and it’s something serious. I’ve gotta go.”
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded, then he was gone. It was a good thing she hadn’t fallen for his slick line. And it was simply a line, she reminded herself. Matt Crow moved in another world, one far removed from her simple life. Irish, the gorgeous, super-cool ex-New York model, could handle this kind of stuff, but Eve? No way. A guy like Matt would have only broken her heart.
Two
Holding the mail between her teeth and juggling a ripping sack of groceries, twenty pounds of cat litter, her shoulder bag and a bulging briefcase, Eve kicked the front door closed just as the phone began to ring.
The sack ripped another few inches. She dropped the litter and her briefcase and tried to grab the sack to save the eggs.
Too late. The blasted thing split completely, and she only managed to mash a loaf of bread and a half gallon of Rocky Road against her body. The egg carton landed with an ominous splat beside the mushrooms; oranges and onions and cans went rolling every which way.
The phone continued to ring.
Eve made an exasperated noise, marched to the phone and snatched it up. “Heh-woe.”
“Eve?” a man’s voice said. “Eve Ellison?”
She spat out the letters she still clutched between her teeth. “Sorry. Yes, this is Eve Ellison, and I don’t want any insurance protection for my credit cards, cemetery plots or—”
“Eve, this is Matt Crow.”
She dropped the mangled bread and ice cream carton on the table and sank into a chair. “Matt Crow?”
He chuckled. “Yes, we met at the wedding last weekend. Surely you haven’t forgotten me so soon.”
Forgotten him? Fat chance. Hadn’t the memories of him nearly driven her up the wall for the past few days? “No, I remember you,” she said, fighting a tremor in her voice and trying to be casual. “You’ll have to forgive me, it’s been one of those days—no, make that one of those weeks, and it’s only Wednesday.”
“I’ve had a few of those lately myself. Problems?”
“Lots.”
“Want to tell me about them?”
Something about the gentle tone of his voice made her want to pour out everything to him. Instead, she said, “I’m sure that you don’t want to hear my sad story.”
“You’re wrong, Eve. What’s happened?”
“You name it.” She tried to laugh, but the sound seem strangled. “I had a blowout and took out two garbage cans and a fire hydrant before I could stop the car. I received a notice yesterday from the Dog Warden of the City of Cleveland Kennel that I’m in violation of a city ordinance, and I have to get rid of some of my animals or risk having them seized. I figure that’s partly because of Elmer and Minerva getting out last week, and Elmer eating Mrs. Gaither’s sweetpeas or it might have been Mrs. Ramsey who complained about—”
“Whoa!” Matt said, chuckling. “Who are Elmer and Minerva?”
“Sorry, I’m ranting. Elmer is a goat and Minerva is a pig.”
“A goat and