MoreThanWords by Karla Doyle Read Free Book Online

kidding—because
how could it have been real? Now she knew. He’d already figured out where she
worked. Then there’d been the comment about how today might not be so boring.
He’d given her some clues of his own, hadn’t he? If he meant to hurt her, he’d
have snuck up on her, not walked through the front door—twice.
    “How did you find me?”
    “Simple Google search. You told me an approximate location
and quoted me the tagline of the place you work, which turned out to be unique
to this store.”
    “Oh god…what was I thinking?” She’d been so stupid and
careless. Anybody could’ve found her with the info she’d given up. Travis
wasn’t a psycho—probably—but if she’d chatted with somebody else, somebody
less…upfront… She covered her throat with her free hand. Tried deep breathing
to beat back the panic, but couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.
    “Whoa, you okay?” He caught her mid-swoon, the act bringing
them into a clinch. Subtly applied cologne infiltrated her nose, adding to her
dizziness. Heat tickled her thighs, her belly, the untouched country in
between.
    “Not really,” she whispered, utterly lost in his eyes.
Understatement of the year on more levels than she could count at the moment.
    “I probably moved too fast. I do that when I want
something.”
    “And you wanted me ? Sight unseen, based on a couple
of chats during a Scrabble game? I don’t get it, I mean, look at you…” Her eyes
flitted over every inch she could see, given their close proximity. “And you’re
a musician, practically a rock star.”
    His jaw ticked. Arms stiffened where they held her. For a
second Calli thought he might drop her on her ass and walk out the door. And
she didn’t like the idea.
    “Are you…” How to word it. How to ask if the ridiculously
good-looking man holding her in his arms was some nut-job stalker. “Insane?”
    “Not currently. I’ve been on the wagon for almost two
months.” Dear god, he had dimples to go with the charming crinkles when he
smiled.
    She was such a goner.
    “Very reassuring.” She couldn’t help it, she trusted that
smile. Probably because she was insane. She took a step back before
completely losing her mind and melting into him. Didn’t let go of his hand,
though. That amount of crazy she’d keep. “Seriously. Why’d you come looking for
me?”
    “Didn’t have a choice after those chats, sweetheart. I had
to know if the funny, sexy girl I met online was real.”
    Words to give her a wake-up call. She was that girl
from the chats—on the inside. Day-to-day, though, not even close. He’d realize
that the minute he asked her to leave this building with him. No point in
letting this fantasy go one step further.
    She removed her hand from Travis’ grip and pushed the
Scrabble board toward him. “Sorry to disappoint you, but she’s not.”
    * * * * *
    Leftover stir-fry wasn’t hitting the spot tonight. Nothing
was.
    Calli scraped the food into the trash can, rinsed her dishes
and flopped on the couch. The laptop taunted her from the coffee table. So did
the Scrabble board Travis had refused to take when she asked him to leave the
store. Because he only wanted to play with her, he’d said, before walking out
the door.
    Travis had looks. He had talent and intelligence. This was a
man who could have his pick of women and probably did, on a regular basis. Why
he was intent on her made no sense at all.
    Maybe he had a weird fetish for nerdy, plain girls. Even so,
she still couldn’t have him. Unless he had a very specific fetish for nerdy,
plain girls who don’t go out after dark. Ugh. Even if she wasn’t a neurotic
mess, he was still miles out of her league. How could she relax and be…fun…if
he was in front of her, looking right at her? Yet somehow she’d managed today.
She’d flirted. She’d joked. She’d even laughed. Travis, barely more than a
stranger, flipped that switch for her. Freed her to be more than boringly
basic.
    And