Free The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series) by Heather Thurmeier Page B

to show you anyway. My best stuff is always in paint, not charcoal.”
    “You don’t give yourself enough credit. I wouldn’t be able to accomplish something like this if I had ten years to work on it and you probably whipped it up in ten minutes.”
    “More like thirty, but who’s counting?” Her smile played lazily on her lips as she glanced up at him. In the darkness settling around them, her good looks took on a whole new quality. She wasn’t only beautiful on the outside, though there was no denying she could be a model, but there was so much more to her. Her eyes twinkled even more as the darkness dilated her pupils and the firelight reflected in them. Her skin looked golden and sun-kissed from their adventure on the lake. And with all the activity of the day, her hair had taken on an unruliness that sent it into a river of curls framing her face and falling to her shoulders in a way that made him long to tangle his fingers in its depths.
    She’d opened up herself to him by showing him her sketchbook, a part of herself that was so personal and private that she didn’t share it with anyone. Knowing that she’d decided to share it with him touched him in ways he hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. When was the last time a woman had let him in, unguarded and vulnerable, to her deepest most sacred places?
    Never.
    Tessa had.
    Somehow this girl who only yesterday had wanted to throttle him after their accident, and who’d done basically nothing but fight with him since, had suddenly given him a piece of herself. As tempting as it was to flip the page to see more, he carefully closed the book. If she wanted him to see other pictures, she’d show him herself.
    Tessa was different.
    Tessa challenged him every step of the way. She didn’t make anything easy and in fact, most of the time he suspected she was being difficult on purpose. Pushing him away, although why she would do that, he had no idea.
    Even though he knew he stood to get nothing but friendship out of this week with her, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to learn more about her. He wanted to dig deeper, find out what made her tick. Part of him knew it was because then he could use it against her to push her buttons so she’d fight with him some more. He liked that fierce, determined, unyielding side of her. And when she fought with him, she got a fire in her eyes that showed him how much passion she had simmering inside. He longed to bring that out of her in any way he could, even if it meant engaging her in another argument. But arguing was the furthest thing from his mind now. Instead, he wished she didn’t have a boyfriend so he could pull her onto his lap and kiss her luscious-looking lips and not stop until they turned dark pink and plump and called out his name for more.
    But she had a boyfriend.
    So rather than act on his emotions, going with his gut, he did the only thing a stand-up kind of guy could do. He handed her sketchbook back and reached for his beer instead. It was an inadequate substitute for what he truly wanted.
    “I bet sometime I’ll see one of your paintings hanging in a gallery somewhere.”
    “Thanks,” she said, her voice coming out as barely more than a whisper as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.
    “Dinner’s ready,” Martha called as she walked up to the fire pit. In her arms she carried a platter of assorted hotdogs and sausages while Mary, Travis, and Sally held dishes of what looked like potato salad, pasta salad, and coleslaw.
    His mouth watered at the sight. “I wish you’d let me help with this.” He wasn’t a great cook but he’d like to do something to earn his keep.
    “Don’t worry. In this family we all take our turn cooking. You’ll get your chance before the week is out. But if you have a preference for what meal, feel free to speak up. Otherwise, I’ll give you one I’m tired of doing.”
    “Sounds fair to me. I should probably warn you I’m not a great