Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

because she’d been on a deadline. Rhys had called to see if she was okay. She could count on Rhys and everyone at the café for anything, but that was no reason for him to think he could go into a frenzy of excitement just because a man appeared to be paying attention to her. For all he knew, Jack could be an axe murderer or a stalker…
     

Chapter Four
     
    Shove the food in your mouth, thank her, and leave.
    Had he asked if he could share her table out of sheer necessity or because he’d listened to some distant prompt telling him to grab the opportunity and spend more time with Lexie Gardner?
    Jack volleyed the thought around in his head but he knew no amount of reasoning could make sense of the impulse that had nudged him to approach Lexie and then ask if he could join her.
    He’d be polite, eat his burger, and then leave.
    He went into automatic pilot, taking the first bite, chewing it—
    “You’re eating that without a drink?” she asked.
    “I was too hungry to think.”
    A waiter appeared and set a beer in front of her. “Better bring another one over, Rhys. My… table partner forgot to order one. Oh, and some fries too.” She put her magazine aside and poured some beer into a glass. “The fries here are too good to pass up and it wouldn’t look good for me to be seen drinking alone.”
    Jack took his time chewing his food and deciding if her eyes were hazel or green. “Do you often worry about what people think?”
    “It’s a habit I’m trying to break. Maybe I should start now and cancel the order for that beer.”
    “I’d rather you didn’t.” He chuckled and took another bite of his burger.
    She raised her glass in a mock salute, her eyes skipping from one shoulder to the other. “Hard going at the salt mines today?”
    “Hard enough. Painting can be thirsty work.”
    “I’m surprised you’re doing it all alone.” She took a sip of her beer and smiled. “I walked past a couple of times today and noticed the building site parking lot was empty.”
    “I couldn’t expect people to give up their weekend.”
    The admission made her frown. Jack ran through what he’d just said. Nothing too revealing.
    “So you don’t like to impose on people.”
    His brain woke up and he supposed he had the bite of burger he’d swallowed to thank for the surge of alertness. He could have called in a few favors, but he hadn’t. And while he didn’t really like to impose on people, he’d forced her to deal with her new view—like it or lump it.
    He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a complex character.”
    “That sounds like one of those lines you hear on TV and can’t wait to try out in real life. I do that all the time.”
    Jack took another bite of his burger. He had the feeling he’d need all the sustenance he could get to keep up with Lexie Gardner. When his beer arrived, he tipped some into a glass and took a pensive drink, his eyes fixed on hers.
    The fries she’d ordered followed, along with her meal.
    It took a moment for his brain to kick in again, but instead of asking if her date had bailed out, he took another drink and decided her eyes were more green than hazel.
    “Sorry, I would’ve waited for your food to arrive but I figured the quicker I wolf this down the sooner I’ll be out of your way.”
    “You might as well know—” She took a quick sip of her drink. “I’m here alone.” And, shrugging, she turned her focus to her meal.
    “Sorry to hear that.” He could’ve tried to sound more convincing but the remark coincided with him tasting the fries and that set his taste buds off into a happy dance. “You were right about the fries, and… it’s his loss.”
    She looked up and studied him. “Are you trying to make me feel good?”
    “You sound surprised.”
    She looked at him without blinking and then she laughed, the sound light and carefree. “In my eyes, you’re still the big bad wolf. I no longer have the sun shining into my bedroom in the morning.”
    “Some