Page 114 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

Hot color flushed Cat’s cheeks, but she persisted. “No, I’m not,” she insisted. “I am, however, very attracted to you, and I think it would be beneficial for both of us.”

“Sweetheart, I can think of a lot of words to describe it, but ‘beneficial’ isn’t one of them,” he retorted.

“Are you saying no?” she pushed, wanting the conversation to die a quick merciful death.

“I’m not sure,” Jared drawled. “When you say you want to hook up, do you mean one time only, or were you thinking it could be a random hit-or-miss kind of thing? Maybe we could stop at a few rest stops along the way, or better yet, check into a sleazy by-the-hour motel.”

“Never mind,” she snapped, feeling foolish at his mockery. “You’re obviously not as sophisticated as I thought you were.”

“There’s nothing sophisticated about sex.” Jared shook his head at her. “It’s purely an animal kind of thing.”

“I’m sure it is for you.” Cat sniffed and glared at the Missouri scenery outside her window.

Anger welled up in Jared, surprising him with its swiftness and intensity. He couldn’t believe this sweet woman was offering him a cheap meaningless fling. With any other woman, he might have jumped at the chance. But the thought of Cat being like that with any man made his insides twist. And all because one big dumb jerk had thrown her away. Couldn’t she see how special she was? How much she had to offer?

Cat deserved a whole man. A man that could give her all of himself not just bits and pieces. She deserved to be some guy’s treasured wife. That guy wasn’t Jared. And he’d be damned if he’d pull her self-esteem any lower by accepting her offer.

Reaching over the console, he captured her hand in his and placed a searing kiss against her palm. Her skin was warm against his lips, and his fingers tightened around hers in response.

“You deserve much more than a hook up,” he said. “Don’t ever settle for less than you’re worth.”

His voice was a gruff growl that whispered over her skin, and Cat shivered. Who was she kidding? An affair with Jared would be like selling her soul to the devil. She’d be lucky to survive, never mind walk away. She ignored the regret that pinched her heart and nodded her agreement. “I hope we can still be friends.”

“Of course.” Jared smiled at her, unaware that his eyes contained a look of naked longing.

Cat felt her spirits lift at his expression. The man could resist the pull between them all he wanted, but it was there. And maybe, just maybe, she could seduce him into making love to her. Cat tucked away her smile and began to plot.

They stopped for lunch, gasoline and other necessities in a small town a few miles off Highway 44. The day was blisteringly hot, and Cat was pleased she’d thought to wear a pale-yellow tank top and matching shorts. Not only was it cool, but it had rendered Jared speechless when he’d seen her.

They agreed Cat would drive the afternoon shift. She listened to his thorough list of cautions and warnings, with an expression she hoped resembled grave appreciation. Really, the man was such a worrier. As if she would let them fall behind schedule! She watched as he belted himself into the passenger seat, lowered his baseball hat over his brow and fell asleep.

She felt a twinge of remorse nip her conscience. Jared wouldn’t be so tired today if she hadn’t woken him in the middle of the night. As quietly as possible, she switched on the engine and belted herself into the driver’s seat. Now if she could just remember the way back to the highway.

Cat searched vainly for road signs that would point her in the right direction. She took a left out of the grocer’s lot, feeling certain that the on-ramp was just up ahead. Three turns and thirty minutes later, she wasn’t so sure.

She sat at a crossroads, facing a dirt road that seemed to lead nowhere. This can’t be right, she thought. Wouldn’t she remember a dirt road if they’d been on one before? Cat pulled her phone from the and tried to retrace her route. The map told her nothing. Putting the van in reverse, she backed up onto a pull-off area where she could turn the vehicle around, hopefully, without waking Jared.

As she maneuvered through the narrow rural roads, she tried to convince herself that she wasn’t as hopelessly lost as it appeared. She retraced her route as accurately as possible, but instead of finding the grocery store as she’d hoped, she came face-to-face with an enormous cow.

Cat stood on the brakes while her right arm shot out to keep Jared from being propelled into the dashboard. The van halted just inches from the large mammal that continued to chew its cud as if nothing unusual had happened.

“What the...?” Jared muttered when Cat’s elbow poked into his ribs, rousing him from his slumber.

“Sorry.” She grimaced, hoping he wouldn’t notice the rather large, black-and-white roadblock barring their escape.

“Where are we?” He sat up and pushed his baseball hat back on his head.

“Still Missouri...I think.” She shrugged.

“What?” He shook his head as if something was tampering with his hearing.

“I’m not certain where we are.” Cat gazed at him as nonchalantly as the cow.

“We’re lost? How could we be lost?” he asked in amazement. “All you had to do was take a right out of the grocer’s parking lot, and we would have practically fallen onto the highway.”

“I took a left. And we’re not lost. We’re directionally impaired.” Cat tooted the horn to shoo the cow out of the road. It continued to chew its cud and watch her squirm.

“Call it what you will. We’re lost. Why would you take a left?” he asked.

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