Hot under the collar ~ Excerpt from 'Marriage Under Fire'
“Maddy, wait up.” Hunter took two big steps toward her. His hands were full with the bags, so he couldn’t touch her with his bogus PDA.
He had his usual scowl back in place. She should remember her first impression of him—a tighty-whities dude—before he started all the nice, husbandly gestures. She twisted the ring on her finger, wanting to take it off and throw it at him, but something held her back.
“Maddy, we need to talk about that woman, but not here.”
With her brisk pace and her combusting emotions, perspiration beaded up on her face, and her long-sleeve blouse stuck to her skin. All she wanted was a shower and to get away from Hunter. Surprisingly, the giant man showed no signs of the heat or the stress of a public meeting with his sweetie.
Relieved to be at the house and out of the sun, she hurried down the brick walkway to the front porch. How quickly perspectives could change. This morning she had found the little farmhouse enchanting, and now? A brief stopover in her history of endless wandering.
Hunter dropped the bags on one of the Adirondack chairs and unlocked the front door. He held the door so Maddy could enter first. Maddy felt his stare on her back as she walked into the living room. The overstuffed chintz couch and wicker furniture now seemed sickeningly saccharine. “I’m going to jump in the shower. I need to get into something cooler.” And I need time away from you and your bullshit ways.
“Go ahead and shower. But you can’t run away. We have to talk about what happened.”
Did he see her as someone who ran away from her problems? Maybe when she was sixteen and had no other choice, but not anymore. She turned quickly and stepped back into the living room. “Okay, let’s talk.”
“You sure you don’t want that shower? You look pretty hot.”
She was hot—hot under the collar and ready to take down a certain womanizing jerk.
