Page 51 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

He turned his head, chin down, as though wanting to hide the few leaves that showed above the neck of the black sweater that hugged his muscles, putting them on display even while covering them with fine wool. “Nothing much.”

“Chad…”

“I just like the way it looks.”

His lips were on hers again and her mind blanked, her body taking over the conversation. His arms felt so right wrapped around her, his strong hands gliding over her rib cage. She sighed against his mouth.

When they came up for air she realized she’d been sucked into another wonderful kiss.

“Tell me something about you,” she whispered, stroking a finger down his cheekbone and through the hollow above his wonderful jaw. “Something personal.”

“Tina…” His lips were lowering to hers again.

“No.” She wasn’t falling for a distracting kiss a second time. She turned her head away, one hand on his chest. “Why, Chad?”

He licked his lips, appearing wary when she dared peek up at him. “Why what?”

“Why won’t you let me in?”

His body loosened and his limbs relaxed as he released her. Then he stepped back into her space, angling for another kiss. “I think I just did.”

“No.” Her breath hitched in her throat, torn between want and need. “You have this wall.” She slapped a hand flat against his pecs, just above his heart. “You kiss me instead of showing me you can cook. You deny that you follow the rules and eat based on the plan, and you deny me to the point of mockery. And to make it even worse, you think you can blind me from all that by giving me a kiss.”

“I—”

“You won’t talk about your family. You hustled me through your house like I’m too dumb to notice whenever I got close to discovering something that might actually tell me who you are.” She pushed on his chest again, trying to shake him into reacting. Something. Anything.

“I’m sorry.” He remained unyielding, unapologetic despite his words.

“What are you afraid of?”

He blinked, his mouth opening, his gaze falling away.

“Me?”

She waited for the words that might explain.

“No, Tina… I…”

“And why can’t you call me by my actual name? Is that too scary for you? Too intimate or personal?”

He didn’t have an answer, simply stood with his hands at his sides, looking lost.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this. Not with you.”

He caught her hand as she turned to leave. “Don’t go.”

“We were both playing tonight, and it was fun, but we’ve been ignoring the truth. I’ve been ignoring it.”

“My image is just that, Tina. It’s not real. That’s not who I am. That’s the guy who sells stuff. Cars, aftershave. Not me.”

“I know that. That’s not what I’m talking about.” She was in the space between. Between the image and reality. And he had the real man locked up so tight she couldn’t even find the bread crumbs that might lead her to him.

She really thought she might like that man. Love him, even.

“You’re not ready.” She gently pressed a hand against his chest, a wave of sorrow washing over her at the thought that she’d have no excuse after tonight to feel the strong ripple of muscles under his fabulous sweaters. “I’ll never know you. You’ll never let me close enough for something real. The kind of real I need.”

Chapter 9

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