Connecting Strangers (Discovering Emily) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it, or is that another fabrication, too?”
    “What difference does it make?”
    “Usually when someone hides something as simple as their name, they’re either into trouble or hiding from it. I’m trying to find out which one applies to you.” He shifts his hip against the front door of the Volvo and removes his jacket. “Here.”
    I debate taking it, but another shiver works its way down my body so I accept it. The collar smells warm and woodsy, like I imagine a real man would smell. When I look back up at Adam, he’s staring at me, his perfect, hazel eyes fixated on my face.
    “Why are you looking at me like that?” I shouldn’t want to know, but my insides are in turmoil watching him watching me. And that look isn’t all about professionalism.
    “I’m pretty good at reading people, Emily.” He pushes off the car and takes a step toward me. I had stopped close to him so there’s no more room between our bodies. “And I don’t see you as a criminal.”
    “Guess that means you think I’m running from trouble.” Denying it serves no purpose. We both know I’d be lying.
    He surprises me by taking hold of the edges of his jacket and pulling me closer. My breasts bump against his chest and instantly respond to the proximity. “Are you?” His voice goes deeper.
    My tongue is stuck, and I try to convince myself it’s only because he’s asking questions I don’t want to answer. But my body is telling me something different. It’s noticing the muscles straining against Adam’s tan shirt, the smoothness of his clean-shaven face, and the fullness of his lips.
    He stands a good eight inches taller than I do, maybe more. If I lean in, I could nestle my head against the curve of his neck. A curse resounds in my head, a warning telling me I can’t want these things. Juniper Springs is a stop over until I can put some more miles between me and Mark.
    But every ounce of femininity within me is drawing me toward Adam. My gaze lifts, connects with his, and I’m losing the battle to fight against this insane attraction I feel.
    “Emily?” Hands now skimming my spine, Adam draws me in, wrapping me in the web of his warmth. “Since you obviously don’t want to talk about your name, how about letting me buy you a drink tonight?”
    Like a date? Is he talking about a date? Mark will kill us both.“That’s not a good idea.” His question erases any doubts I have about his loyalties. No way he’s on Ike Metzger’s payroll and asking me out. No one who’s met the sultan of Broomtown is going to go up against him. Not even someone with a badge and a gun.
    Adam isn’t moving, and I’m getting flustered. “You think you might let me go anytime soon?” Though my voice is light, I’m a ball of nerves.
    “It’s not in my future plans, no.” His teasing brings a smile to my face, and under any other circumstance, I might like Adam Madison. A little too much.
    “That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile.” His thumb brushes the corner of my mouth, and my shivers have nothing to do with the cold air. “I wonder if you know how pretty you are, Emily Whatever-Your-Real-Last-Name-Is.”
    I tuck a lock of still damp hair behind my ear and lift one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. Vanity was frowned upon while I was growing up, and even though I was named Homecoming Queen, I wasn’t allowed to keep the trophy out in the public eye. That kind of teaching instilled a determination to focus on other things besides my face. I would have, too, had I not allowed Mark’s injury to keep me in Broomtown.
    “Hey,” Adam tips my face up with two fingers. “Did I say something wrong?”
    Everything he’s saying is wrong, but I can’t tell him why. “I’ve just never met a man who’s as bold as you are.”
    “I don’t believe in tiptoeing around. It wastes time.”
    “What if I am a criminal, and your instincts are off?” I surprise myself with the question. All caution has fled, and I’m finding that the