Page 4 of Make Me Fool You

“Because I know that you’re lying. You can fool yourself but you can’t fool me. As soon as I kissed you, I could feel it. The hunger. Desire.”

“You’re a pretty man, James.” Her eyes drift down my body and my dick jerks in my jeans, jumping like bass after bait. She has that effect on me. “Any woman would be lucky to have you. I’m just not interested. Find another woman who’s willing to jump into your bed.”

“Who said I wanted you to jump into my bed?”

Her dark eyes dance and she laughs, throwing her head back, her long, dark hair sliding down her back in glorious waves. I clench my fists to keep from reaching out to wrap my fingers into her long tresses.

She clears her throat, sobering. “If you’re trying to tell me you don’t want me…don’t bother. I felt it. Against my body, James. You can’t hide that.”

I shoot her an impatient look. “I believe I’ve tried telling you that I want you. I’m not hiding it. I’m trying to hit you over the head with it for god’s sake!”

“Let’s get started! So did everybody read the book?” Sophie, the owner of the bookstore stands up, her vivid sapphire eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Of course we did. Carinna never disappoints. I swear this one is my favorite story so far. Red and Carrie are the sexiest couple she’s ever written. Who thinks that Red sounds like Chris?” she laughs.

Ruth giggles. “A sexy musician who comes looking for his first love? Hmmm. Seems a little suspicious.”

“Okay, let’s ask our newest member what he thinks of Carinna’s new romance!”

I sit up and shake my head wildly but Ruth waves me over.

“Okay. Fine.” I stand up and stare around at a sea of women’s smiling faces. Every last one of them looks like they’re about to laugh their asses off at me. But I don’t give a shit. I’ll embarrass the hell out of myself if it means that I’m near Brianna for long enough to make an impression and win her heart.

“Well. I thought that the main characters were pretty well-written but the story was pretty thin,” I say.

Every woman in that place gasps and clutches their copies of the book to their chests like I’ve just said the dirtiest swear word in the book.

I turn and find Brianna laughing, her head thrown back and her entire body shaking.

The room erupts into a fury of loud voices telling me how wrong I am.

And all I can see is Brianna’s laughing eyes and smile in the corner booth. She doesn’t even try to leave again. Just sits there while those women take me apart and smirks at me.

I didn’t care, though. She didn’t run and I got to spend a few precious minutes with her.

Win-win in my book.

CHAPTER3

Brianna

Isigh and stand, walking out the door when my phone rings. I can see James standing over by his truck waiting for me. It’s quite obvious to everyone there that his cool gaze is focused directly on me but I ignore it for now because I know exactly who’s calling.

“Yes, Mother. What can I do for you tonight?”

“You know, it would be nice if you sounded more like my daughter when I called. I’ve gotten more warmth from telemarketers,” she huffs.

“I’m sorry. What do you need?” I try to inject some warmth into my voice while I unlock my car door, keeping an eye on James at the same time.

“Have you gotten a date for your sister’s wedding? It’s not very long now and if I need to find a date for you, you need to let me know.”

“I told you I’m going without a date.”

“No you are not. This is too important for you to blow off. It would look terrible if you couldn’t manage to find a date for your sister’s wedding. A beautiful, eligible doctor? Everyone will be speculating on what the issue is with you because obviously there has to be something wrong with you that’s pretty bad for a man not to date an eligible doctor. Seriously? No. I won’t allow it.”

“I think you’ve forgotten that I’m an adult. You can’t bully me into doing whatever crazy thing you want!” I growl into the phone, grumbling when I manage to drop my car keys under the car.

“Seriously, Mother. I’ve got to go.”

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