Free Cinderella and the Playboy / The Texan's Happily-Ever-After by Lois Faye Dyer Page A

exited, the café’s open door releasing a waft of aroma that was mouthwatering.
    â€œYes, let’s.” Jennifer drew in a deep breath. “It smells fabulous. I can’t believe anyone has the willpower to walk by and not stop to eat.”
    Chance bent to brush his lips against her ear. “The food’s great but it doesn’t taste as good as you.”
    Jennifer shivered with awareness and felt her skin warm.
    His arm tightened in a brief hug before he released her and pulled out a chair at an empty table at one end of the row.
    He knotted Butch’s leash around the arm of a chair. “Stay,” he told him as he dropped into the seat.
    Butch obligingly lay down between Chance and Jennifer, technically outside the dining area. Ears perked, eyes alight with interest, he watched the diners at the neighboring tables.
    The cute young waitress who took their order clearly adored Chance.
    â€œYou have another admirer,” Jennifer teased as the teenager disappeared into the restaurant.
    â€œCarrie?” he asked. When Jennifer nodded, he grinned at her. “Nah, I’m helping her brother study for his SATs, that’s all. He’s a bright kid but the family doesn’t have the money to send him to a top-notch med school. If he scores high on the SAT, he’ll have a better shot at scholarships.”
    â€œWhat a lovely thing for you to do,” she told him. “You’re a surprise, Dr. Demetrios.”
    â€œWhy?” he asked, resting his forearms on the tabletop and leaning forward, his gaze searching hers.
    â€œBecause you have a reputation as a playboy, which infers you’re shallow. But the more I get to know you, the more complicated you seem.”
    He smiled, a slow upward curve of his lips. “I’m not complicated,” he murmured, his voice husky with need. “At the moment, I’ve got only a single interest.”
    â€œAnd what would that be?” she asked,mesmerized by the heat in his eyes and the sensual curve of his mouth.
    â€œYou.” He closed the few inches between them and covered her mouth with his.
    The kiss was sweet, slow and filled with heat. Jennifer felt her toes curl as desire moved like languid fire through he veins.
    â€œUm, excuse me.” The hesitant female voice had Chance lifting his head.
    â€œAh, coffee.” He sat back to give the waitress room to empty her tray, setting steaming coffee cups in front of them and a carafe in the center of the table. “Thanks.”
    The fresh-faced teenager smiled shyly in response and whisked away.
    Jennifer was disoriented and slightly dizzy from the kiss, while Chance appeared to have gone from arousal to casual friendliness in a matter of seconds.
    Determined to match his seemingly unflappable coolness, she sipped her coffee, eyeing him over the rim while she scrambled for casual conversation.
    â€œDid you grow up here in Boston?” she asked, settling for a standard, getting-to-know-you topic.
    â€œNo.” He shook his head. “I spent my childhood in upstate New York. I moved here when I took the job at the Armstrong Institute. What about you—did you grow up in Boston?”
    â€œNo, I lived in a small town in Illinois until I moved here last year.”
    â€œWhat made you choose Boston?”
    â€œI had a friend from high school who moved here. She encouraged me to join her. She loved the city, especially all the American historical sites. We used to visit a national historical treasure nearly every weekend.”
    â€œUsed to? Why did you stop?”
    Jennifer shrugged. “Renee met the man of her dreams and it was love at first sight. They married after dating for three weeks and have been traveling the world ever since. He’s an archeologist and they’re currently living in Central America while he helps excavate a Mayan temple.”
    â€œNo kidding?” Chance looked intrigued. “Now there’s a job