Change of Heart by T. J. Kline Read Free Book Online Page A

mouth falling open in surprise at his audacity. “You’re not as hard to figure out as you’d like to think you are.”
    She picked at the corner crust of the bread. “I thought I was the therapist.”
    He shrugged as he slapped the meat onto his sandwich. “You may think you’re a tough nut to crack, but you’re more like an M&M.”
    Leah nearly choked on the bite of food in her mouth. “What?” she asked through a cough. “I’m a what?”
    “M&Ms, the candy. You know, sweet center with a hard outer shell.”
    “I know what they are.” She hoped he heard every bit of the bitterness she was feeling toward him right now and made sure it was clear in her tone.
    Gage turned to look at her, calling her bluff. He slid his plate over the top of the bar and came around to sit next to her, making her wonder if he had a death wish or was just that oblivious to her irritation. “The funny thing about M&Ms is that the outer shell isn’t really all that hard or durable. It’s an illusion.”
    That was the last thing she wanted anyone to think. “Then I guess that’s where your metaphor falls apart.”
    “I doubt it.” He bit into the sandwich, ignoring her ire, which only served to annoy her more. She was fairly certain that was his intent.
    “You shouldn’t.” She tossed the sandwich back onto her plate and stood up. Whatever appetite she might have had was long gone. “Tougher men than you have tried to break through. Trust me, this ‘shell’ is impenetrable.”
    Gage sighed and set his food back onto his plate. “I’m not trying to piss you off, Leah.”
    “Yeah? Well, consider yourself successful without even trying. From what everyone said last night, that’s sort of how you manage to do everything.” His jaw clenched, and she knew she’d struck a nerve. “Trust me, there wasn’t one person there last night who didn’t want to tell me all about how wonderful you were. I get it. You’re an all-around nice guy with the Midas touch. Well, guess what? You don’t know a thing about me or my ‘shell,’ and if you had me even close to figured out, you’d know that a flirtatious playboy is the last person I’d open up to.”
    She stalked through the kitchen to the back door and jerked it open. “So, thank you for the groceries, but be assured, I’ll add them to what I pay you back for my car. If you don’t mind?”
    Gage cocked his head to one side and stared at her for a moment before grabbing the plate and heading for the door, pausing as he reached her. Mere inches separated them, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body as he looked down at her. She’d expected his anger, but the disappointment filling his dark eyes surprised her.
    “It must be pretty lonely being you, Leah. I’m just trying to be nice to you, but you sure make it difficult.”
    She’d wanted to sound strong, adamant in her refusal, but instead, her voice came out sounding breathy and desperate. “I didn’t ask you to.”
    Something deep in his eyes flickered to life, like a candle lighting in the darkness, but she couldn’t quite put a name to it. A slow smile broke over his lips. “I’ll see you later.”
    Leah narrowed her eyes as he brushed past her and headed back toward his cabin. She didn’t trust him or his expressive eyes.
    Hope.
    That’s what she’d seen in them a moment ago. She’d felt it herself last night, remembered it from her youth. The only thing hope had ever managed to accomplish was to disappoint her. Gage and his hope needed to both stay far away from her.
    T HAT WOMAN WAS the most confusing, infuriating, hot mess Gage had ever had the misfortune to meet. He’d dealt with plenty of difficult people in his career, but she definitely took the prize as the most difficult. She couldn’t seem to let anything go. Even last night at the barbecue she was on edge. Each time he saw her, she seemed more like she was giving a performance, playing a part for the world to believe, but then he