Wild & Hexy Read Online Free PDF Page A

off that cookie.
    ‘‘More coffee?’’
    Glancing up, she found Jeremy standing beside her with a coffee carafe in one hand. ‘‘Is that the magic pot?’’
    ‘‘Nope. No tricks this time. Just a refill.’’
    She consulted her watch. ‘‘Thanks for the offer, but I’d better get going. I promised Melody I’d help her make favors tonight.’’
    ‘‘Right. Wedding stuff. I need to call Evansville about the tux order.’’
    Annie made a face. ‘‘Please don’t remind me about wedding clothes. It’s a painful subject.’’
    ‘‘It is?’’ He looked surprised. ‘‘I thought women liked dressing up.’’
    ‘‘We do if the outfits are flattering. But Melody picked out this hideous peach color for my matron-of -honor dress.’’ She shuddered. ‘‘I look truly disgusting in it.’’
    ‘‘I seriously doubt that.’’ He gazed at her, his gray eyes warm and friendly behind the lenses of his wire-rimmed glasses.
    ‘‘Trust me, it’s true.’’ As she met his gaze, she noticed something she hadn’t seen in a guy’s expression for some time—sexual interest. It felt damned good.
    So it was only Jeremy, the class geek, who was giving her The Look. Sometimes a girl had to take what was available. Besides, Jeremy was far from ugly, as she’d recently discovered after taking his picture. He had a strong jaw and good cheekbones, and he’d filled out quite a bit since they’d been in school together.
    He also had really nice eyes, something she’d never noticed before. His plastic-framed glasses had been replaced by trendy metal-rimmed ones, and his thick brown hair looked more stylish than she remembered.
    To be honest, she hadn’t paid much attention to Jeremy, period. He’d been so shy in school, always in the background of any activity. Although she’d made good grades, too, she’d never let homework interfere with her social life.
    How times changed. The whole mess with Zach had screwed up her confidence to the point that she no longer had a social life. Maybe that explained why she was soaking up the warmth coming from Jeremy.
    ‘‘So you sent the story in?’’ he asked.
    ‘‘Yep. Thanks for being such a good sport about the picture.’’
    He shrugged. ‘‘I just—’’
    ‘‘I know. The whole thing was sort of abrupt. But the picture turned out great.’’ She picked up her camera. ‘‘Want to see it?’’
    ‘‘Uh, that’s okay.’’ He backed up a step.
    Not wanting to force the picture on him, she put down the camera. What a contrast to Zach, who would have wanted to see the image immediately and would have insisted on retakes until he was satisfied that he looked sufficiently hot in the photo. ‘‘Anyway, I hope they run the picture with the story,’’ she said. ‘‘Does anyone in town subscribe to the Trib ?’’
    ‘‘I do here at the café.’’
    ‘‘I would think you’d get it online, instead.’’
    ‘‘Well, I can,’’ Jeremy said, ‘‘but people around here seem to like reading the print edition. They might claim to get all the news they need from the Big Knob Gazette, but everyone who comes in here sneaks a glance at the Trib .’’
    ‘‘Great.’’ She pushed back her chair and stood.
    ‘‘Then they can check out the story.’’ She pulled her coat off the back of the chair.
    ‘‘Guess so. Here, let me help you with that.’’ Setting down the carafe beside the computer, he held the coat while she shoved her arms into the sleeves.
    ‘‘Thank you.’’ The brush of his hands across her shoulders felt nice. Casual touch didn’t happen so much these days now that sexual harassment had become an issue. Which was a good thing, of course. People shouldn’t be subjected to unwanted caresses. She just hadn’t realized that living alone in the city would throw her into a virtual touch-free zone, and she missed human contact.
    Oh, who was she kidding? She missed male contact. She missed sex. Right after Zach left, she’d thought