Free Taken by Tuesday (Weekday Brides Series) by Catherine Bybee

fried by the time the buzzer on the stove told her dinner was ready. Then, as if Rick were standing in the hall waiting for the call, he showed up with clean hands and the easy smile that always graced his face, and sat beside her for dinner.
    Dina actually carried much of the conversation. The teenager yakked about school, her lack of desire to study math, her crappy teachers.
    Judy tried to concentrate on what Dina said and ignore the presence of all things Rick. Didn’t matter that Rick’s green eyes drank her in like water on the floor of the desert every time he looked her way. Didn’t matter that every time his eyes collided with hers, her heart flipped in her chest. Didn’t matter that the chemical sparks flying off them could ignite soggy maple leaves during a rainstorm. Didn’t matter.
    Rick was a distraction. And Judy wanted a career, a life where she met different people, experienced lots of life. Rick was dangerous, which she admitted, if only to herself, was a complete turn-on. His devastating smile and his fascination with her could break her. She had learned early on she couldn’t be a player in a dress. Flirting was one thing, but the whole intimacy without emotion thing was difficult. She blamed the small town she’d grown up in for her inability to play and move on. It would be easy to give in to the temptation known as Rick if she could do so without latching on and not letting go.
    “You know, babe, this is really good.” Rick shoveled in a second helping of meatloaf.
    “Dina helped.”
    Dina sat taller, liking the praise.
    “And enough with the babe .”
    He pointed his fork in her direction. “One way to get rid of that.”
    Judy shook her head and rolled her eyes.
    “Well,” Dina pushed away from the table and grabbed her plate, “I have a stupid book report to finish tonight. You’re going to be here in the morning, right?”
    “I’m not out of here until Karen and Zach are back. They looked like they’d sleep in,” Judy reminded her.
    “Great, because solving for X isn’t working.”
    Judy told her she’d help with the algebra; give her a different perspective than Karen was offering.
    Dina headed toward the kitchen with her plate, and soon the sound of water running in the sink filled the silence in the dining room.
    “I can do that,” Judy told her.
    “Rules of the house are everyone helps.”
    Judy almost told her to skip the rules for the night, then Rick placed his hand on her arm. “Routine and order are signs of stability. Something she needs,” he whispered.
    Judy glanced into the kitchen, noticed a grin on Dina’s face. When she turned back to Rick, he was staring at her. “Then you can clear the rest of the table.”
    “I’m a guest.”
    “I don’t think so, babe ,” she threw his endearment back at him. “Inviting yourself isn’t the same as being invited.”
    They put a plate aside for Devon and cleaned up the kitchen within twenty minutes. Dina excused herself, leaving the two of them alone.
    Rick was handing her the last of the dishes to dry while she put them away.
    “How about some coffee?” he asked once he dried his hands.
    “Inviting yourself again?”
    He leaned a hip against the counter. “I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but I need to stick around until after dark to check the outside cameras.”
    “It’s hard to take you seriously with that smile on your face.”
    He winked. “I’ve heard that before.”
    His dimples were perfectly lethal, not that she’d tell him that.
    “Fine.” She went through the effort of brewing a pot of coffee, secretly happy he wasn’t running off. You’re flirting with fire, Judy.
    She was removing coffee cups from the cupboard when he asked, “So, are you avoiding dating altogether while you’re here, or just dating me?”
    She hesitated, then said the first thing that came to her head. “You’re dangerous.”
    “Only to an enemy.”
    “The first time we met you were swinging a gun