Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) by Anne Marie Novark Read Free Book Online

your
advances?" That wasn't pleasure and relief she felt, was it?
    Natalie shrugged. "He made it clear he wasn't
interested. Luckily, there are more fish in the ocean and I had
another nibble. Frank finally took the bait."
    "Frank's not a fish, Natalie."
    "Sure, he is. And a cute fish at that."
Natalie waggled her eyebrows.
    "You're hopeless, you know it?"
    "You've finally figured that out?"
    "Just don't hurt Frank," Claire said. "He's a
sweet guy."
    "I don't intend to hurt him."
    "That's what you always say. I hate to break
this to you, but men weren't put earth just for you to sample, then
toss away."
    "Hey, I like to play the field. Have a little
fun."
    "One of these days, it's going to backfire on
you, Nat." Just like it had backfired on Claire. She'd never played
the field, but love and marriage had backfired on her. Big
time.
    "I'm too smart for that," Natalie said.
    "Right." Claire opened her email.
    "So, what happened in here this morning? Mr.
Macho followed you out of the kitchen fast enough. He looked like
he wanted to gobble you up. Did he kiss you?"
    "This is business, Nat. Not personal.
Besides, I'm not ready for a relationship."
    "Who's talking relationship? Loosen up,
Claire. There's a hunky guy out there attracted to you." She
glanced at her watch. "I've got to run. I'm expecting a shipment of
supplies in fifteen minutes." She was gone on the words.
    Not for the first time, Claire wished she was
more like Natalie. A free spirit instead of a stick-in-the-mud.
That's what Claire was. At least, in her personal life. In
business, it was different. Establishing e*Claire's had been a
risky venture. Cybercafés were not as popular in the United States
as they were in Europe and Asia. But Claire had liked the idea of
combining a coffee house and computers near the university. And it
had paid off. In more ways than one.
    For the past five years, Claire had worked to
achieve balance in her life. And independence. After the divorce,
she had been at loose ends, her self-confidence shattered.
Natalie's invitation to Texas had given Claire a new start. With
her best friend's encouragement, she had opened the first
e*Claire's.
    It had taken a while, but she had finally
found some semblance of peace and security. Her life seemed to be
back on track and running smoothly. So why did she have the
horrible feeling that soon it was all going to come tumbling
down?
    ****
    Standing on a ladder, Dillon installed the
last security camera in the hall leading to the back offices of the
coffee shop. He tried not to think about the woman sitting behind
the closed door right in front of him. Claire had avoided him all
day. After the last customer left, she had shown him where the
ladder was, then retreated to her office, leaving him to do his
work.
    He was finished now. It was getting late.
Time to go. Dillon rotated his shoulders, trying to ease the
tension. He'd been tense ever since he'd seen Claire this morning.
His whole body was tense. And there was nothing he could do about
it. Well, there was. But he wouldn't go there. It wasn't going to
happen.
    He started down the ladder, at the same
moment Claire opened the door to her office. The door banged the
legs of the ladder, giving him a jolt.
    "Watch it!" He grabbed the top rung and
regained his footing.
    "Sorry." She eased out of her office and
stood against the wall.
    Dillon descended the last two steps of the
ladder aware of those chocolate colored eyes on him. A heaviness
settled in his groin as he stepped off the ladder and stood in
front of Claire. The tension was there again. If he wasn't careful,
he was going to kiss her.
    "All done?" she asked.
    Dillon didn't move out of her space. Claire
stood her ground, leaning on the wall, hands behind her back. Would
she welcome his kisses? He didn't think so. He stepped back and
turned away. She sure as hell wouldn't welcome him pinning her
against the wall, pressing himself into her softness. Wouldn't
happen. Couldn't happen.
    Yeah,