Out Of Her League Read Online Free PDF

anymore?”
    He shifted in his seat. Nothing like some light conversation to set the mood. “He kind of fell head first off the pedestal I'd put him on when he dumped my mom and me. Upped and left, just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
    She lowered her lashes. “Oh. I'm sorry.”
    “That's okay.” He patted her shoulder, savoring the firm muscles beneath the warm, smooth skin. The combination of strength and vulnerability fascinated him. “When I came home from school one day, he was gone and my mom was hysterical.” He traced the condensation beading on his water glass. She made him feel like he could tell her anything. “The strangest goddamn part of it is that they're still in love with each other. He still wears this chain she gave him— a Saint Christopher medallion engraved with some message of protection. He's never taken it off in all the years they've been apart. My mom would have him back so fast his head would spin, but my daddy's too stubborn. He's got his reasons I guess, but I sure as hell don't pretend to understand it all. Anyway, we don't see much of each other.” He glanced at her, hoping his expression wouldn't reveal all the buried bitterness. “What about your parents?”
    She wiped her mouth with her napkin before answering. “My step-dad, Michael, married my mom when I was six, and then they divorced when I was nine. He's the love of my life, hands down.” Her mouth curved upward, making his muscles tighten.
    “And your mom?”
    She hesitated, and when her gaze clouded over he felt bad for asking. “My mother isn't the easiest person to love,” she confided, and he leaned toward her, giving her his complete attention. “She's very... involved in her work. We've never been close, even before Michael. She's one of those women who should never have had children.”
    Without thinking, he took her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. She smiled a little, left her hand in his. He liked the feel of those slim, cool fingers against his palm.
    “When I left for university in Arizona we agreed to see each other only at Christmas, and only if it was convenient. I think she was relieved.” Despite the sadness in her voice she shrugged as if it didn't matter. “I have my life, and she has hers.”
    Her loss , he thought. He was still holding her hand; he should probably let it go, in case she took it as a come on and got the jitters. He was coming on to her, wasn't he? He never questioned his instincts when it came to a woman— if there was one thing he knew, it was women— but sitting across from Christa tonight he felt like a teenager on his first date, fumbling along on a quest to get to first base. Unbelievable.
    Probably because this woman was so unlike any of the others and had never given any indication of welcoming anything but friendship from him. She was so easy to be with, but whenever he'd tried pushing things further her body language gave off clear ‘stay away’ signals. They were both single, and he was pretty sure he wasn't mistaking their mutual attraction.
    Had something— or someone— made her so skittish? She hadn't removed her hand though, and he again toyed with the prospect of kissing the cook, gauging her reaction. When he stroked his thumb across her knuckles she slid her hand away and started arranging the dessert dishes. Back off, dumb-ass, before she slams up that invisible wall . He'd seen her use it more than once when an interested guy came too close. “So I've been wondering— how did you get so involved in softball?”
    She served the pudding cake, her shoulders more relaxed. “Teryl and I started playing when we were six but she quit a few years ago because it took too much time from her career. It's too bad, because we were great together.”
    His mouth watered at the heady aroma of chocolate, and at the scoop of ice cream she added. “Somehow I have trouble imagining you on the ball diamond.”
    She arched a brow at him. “That's because