Page 59 of You've Got Male

Everything had changed and Evie was terrified she’d fail the college placement test.

“Two plus two equals you’re screwed.” She groaned and stood, stretching her arms over her head. Using her pencil, she twisted her hair up off her neck and secured it in a bun and walked across the kitchen. She poured herself a cold glass of lemonade and took a long sip, pausing to look out the window at the yard next door.

Holy hotness,her heart stopped. Right there in her chest.

It was possible she was losing her mind.

The afternoon sun was high, creating clear blue skies, green grass, and temperatures hot enough to melt the rest of the clothes right off a man’s body. Something she hoped would happen because there was Jonah, all heat-slicked biceps and glistening abs on display that even a cold glass of lemonade couldn’t quench.

With one last thump to the chest, her heart went on standby,and Evie knew that she wasn’t over that kiss.

No matter how many times she told herself to get back to studying, she couldn’t help but stare. One look out the window and her mouth went dry—the exact opposite of what was going on in her panties.

What. A. Sight.

Across the fence and directly in front of her was the location of Jonah’s new flower garden. And standing in the middle, in a pair of low-slung shorts and no shirt, his skin slick with the day’s rising temperatures, was the troublemaking man next door and that I-run-marathons-for-fun body of his. The one that had every single mom in the neighborhood straining for a better view.

Women like me, she thought and watched as, in one fluid motion, Jonah bent over—all the way over—so he could pull a tree from its plastic pot. She wasn’t sure what this obsession was about. Didn’t care. All she knew was that the best ass in the state was practically begging her to look her fill.

And look she did—until the ice in her glass had all but melted. He kept digging so she kept staring, amazed at just how well he filled out a pair of shorts.

You are in so much trouble. How was she going to keep up the ruse and not jump his bones? Oh, that’s right, because hooking up with your fake boyfriend, who happened to be your neighbor, was a dangerous move. Even thinking about him like this was dangerous. They’d struck this ridiculous deal for a reason—that reason being she didn’t have the time, nor desire, to date.

“This is all for show,” she reminded herself, rising even higher up on her toes when he lifted the large tree and settled it in the pre-dug hole, causing his calves to flex. The sheer amount of exposed muscle was enough to make her hyperventilate. “And so was that kiss.”

But in the moment she had thought it was real, and she hadkissed him back. What did that say about her frame of mind? That she was a crazy woman. Who had better things to do—such as study for her placement exam so she could sign up for classes.

No exam. No college.

Not to mention, she had to pick Camila up from cheer practice in an hour. And her parents would be here when she got home. Which meant she needed to take advantage of the rare private time she had left. Only Jonah took that moment to glance behind him—and directly into her kitchen window.

Even though the sun was shadowing most of his face, she could still feel those intense blue eyes as they zeroed in on her. Ass of the gods still to her, he straightened and,Lord help her,gave a shake of his bootie.

Evie could have panicked and ducked down, but what was the point? It would only add to his smugness. So she dialed her expression to bored and pretended as if she were refilling her glass with water. He wasn’t buying it. In fact, he abandoned his flower bed and walked closer to the fence line, his gaze never wavering from hers.

Her palms began to sweat, and her heart kicked back into gear, going from zero to stroke-out in two seconds flat. He leaned over his workbench and when he came back up he was holding a notebook. Scribbled in all caps was a message.

Are you checking me out, Sunshine?

She made a big deal of laughing, then walked to the table to grab her own notebook. Shaking her head, she responded—with a big, fat lie.

Just admiring your flower bed.

He lifted a brow and, flipping the page, wrote her another message and held it over his head like it was a boombox and they were reenactingSay Anything.

So was I. And I have to say, Sunshine, your flowers are looking extra perky this morning.

Evie looked down at her shirt, which was more fitted than she usually wore, and praised the bra fairies for inventing the pushup. She quickly answered back.

I really was just looking at your new landscaping.

He threw his head back and laughed and she found herself laughing back. Not ironically, but an honest to God from-the-gut laugh. And it felt good—freeing. A lightness settled around her and she realized that she enjoyed his company. Even when there was a fence and window between them, he could still make her laugh. And that had to mean something.

He held up his notepad.

There we go again with your interest in my landscaping. My tree is impressively big. Don’t you think?

She gave an unimpressed shrug, but inside she wanted this game to continue. She responded…

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