Free High Stakes Seduction by Lori Wilde

what?”
    “I’m dreadfully honest and drink orange juice straight from the carton.”
    “Those are terrible flaws,” he murmured. “But you’d think some guy would have braved them for the total package.”
    “I could ask you the same thing. Are there any serious relationships in Adam Mancuso’s past?”
    “There was one,” he admitted.
    “What happened?”
    “We were too much alike. Kirsten realized it before I did and called the wedding off. She said she needed a man who completed her, not complemented her.”
    “Sounds like she’d already met someone else to me.”
    “You’re intuitive, as well, Eva St. George.”
    “Not as much as I should be,” she said.
    “What does that mean?”
    “I’ve had several misguided relationships. If I was more intuitive, I never would have gotten involved with some of those guys in the first place.”
    “Oh?” He leaned closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Most guys don’t want to hear about a woman’s exes.”
    “I don’t.” He fisted his hand. “But if it helps you to talk about it…”
    “Not really. What’s past is past…” She lapsed off.
    “What was his name?”
    “Keith Barksdale.”
    Ah, they were getting somewhere at last. Adam waited, not wanting to seem too curious.
    She swallowed, moistening her lips with her tongue. “It was…he was…”
    “Yeah?” Adam said, fisting his hand. “What’d he do?”
    “He was charming. Very good-looking.” She glanced down, then raised her eyes and met Adam’s gaze. “But not as good-looking as you.”
    “No?”
    “You want to get some ice cream?” she asked, stopping in front of an ice cream shop.
    “I don’t normally eat ice cream.”
    “You don’t like it?”
    “I love it, that’s the problem.” He patted his belly.
    “One cone,” she said. “What could it hurt?”
    It wasn’t the one cone that bothered him. It was the thought of her wicked little tongue licking at the smooth, creamy confection. He was about to beg off, but she was already opening the door of the shop, pushing inside. “C’mon.”
    Without really knowing why, he went.
    “A scoop of pistachio on a waffle cone,” she told the girl behind the counter. “And…” Eva turned back to Adam, but didn’t wait for him to order. “Vanilla in a cup.”
    Was he that damned predictable that she could so easily guess his ice cream preference?
    “Put mine in a waffle cone, as well,” he said just to be contradictory.
    “Ooh.” Eva’s eyes twinkled. “Mr. Plain Vanilla likes a bit of crunch with his cream.”
    “How did you know vanilla was my favorite?”
    She held up both palms. “I’m intuitive.”
    “Impressively so. More lessons from Sedona?”
    “Not really. Vanilla is the number one flavor. I took a wild guess. The odds were in my favor.”
    Sassy. He liked that.
    They got their ice cream and meandered past a family of six sitting at the front of the store, bickering good-naturedly.
    “You ever think of having kids?” she asked when they were back on the street.
    “What?” That question seemed to come out of left field.
    She inclined her head toward the family inside the ice cream shop. “You’d be great at it.”
    The comment pleased him. He did want a family. Eventually. Someday. Maybe. “What makes you say that?”
    “You strike me as the responsible type.”
    “Is that a compliment or a criticism?”
    “Depends on if you want to be responsible or not.”
    “Do you want kids?”
    “Someday, I suppose. My best friend, Zoey, just found out she’s pregnant. Luckily, her boyfriend is a great guy and he proposed. They’re getting married in a couple of months.”
    “I suppose that’s one way to do it.”
    “How would you do it?”
    “I’m a pretty traditional guy. I’m a fan of the marriage first, baby second option.”
    “That option doesn’t guarantee happily ever after.”
    “Maybe not, but it’s the way I feel.”
    “Me, too. At least for me. Other