Free Romancing Miss Right by Lizzie Shane Page B

curls flowing over her shoulders.
He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t seem to get enough of her
hair.
    What were they talking about? Right, his
mother. “Yeah, I mean, I think she thinks what a lot of people
thought of you.”
    “And what do a lot of people think of me?”
Marcy straightened in her chair, eyes flashing, and Craig felt a
moment’s guilt that he was deflecting the heavy emotional crap onto
her. But she was the one who’d wanted to open up…
    “That you’re, you know, emotionless.”
    Marcy’s green eyes flared wide.
“ Emotionless ?”
    “Unfeeling.”
    “I know what the word means, Craig.”
    He shrugged, playing at innocent even though
Marcy would never buy it. “I’m not saying you are, just that some
people think that, my mother included, and she wanted me to date
someone who was going to bring out my touchy feely side rather than
be another emotionless void.”
    “Did you just call me a void?” She didn’t
look emotionless now. Her lips were slightly parted, eyes turbulent
and filled with shock and tinges of hurt.
    “I don’t think you are,” he protested,
“but…”
    “ But ?”
    “I can see how people who don’t know you
could get that impression. You’re very composed. People who come on
this show tend to buckle under the pressure. There are a lot of
tears, a lot of emotional outbursts, and you never really did that.
You didn’t cry when you were rejected. You didn’t scream at him
that he’d be sorry—”
    “Jack was in love with Louisa before he even
met me—”
    “Yeah, but you never opened up your heart to
him. Which was probably why he kept you around so long, because he
knew he wouldn’t break your heart when he dumped you, but I think
some people—my mother included—thought you were a little cold.”
While Craig couldn’t help thinking she was one of those fires that
took longer to coax out, but burned twice as hot.
    “Just because I didn’t embarrass myself on
national television—”
    “Everyone’s an idiot sometimes. It’s called
being human. I think the viewers probably just want to see that you
are.”
    She released a frustrated huff, holding
herself stiff in her chair. “I’m human.”
    “Are you? What about today? I was scared
shitless, but you were cool, calm and collected. Jumping off a
bridge like it was nothing.”
    “You weren’t acting scared either.”
    “I couldn’t show you how terrified I was when
you weren’t the least affected.”
    “I was affected,” she insisted. “I had
butterflies.”
    “Butterflies. Plummeting to certain death and
you had butterflies.”
    “It wasn’t certain death. We’re both fine, in
case you missed it.” Irritation flashed in her eyes, darkening the
green to emerald.
    Time to change course. If he pushed her too
far she might send him home.
    He held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t
shoot the messenger. I’d never call you cold. I think you’re hot as
hell and twice as naughty.”
    She glared at him. “You’re one to talk. You
aren’t exactly an open book with your emotions.”
    “True. Luckily, when you’re a dude, the
mysterious hides-his-true-self thing works in your favor. Women
always want to know what’s going on beneath the surface with me.
They can’t stand the idea that I’m exactly as shallow as I appear
to be.”
    A frown line popped up between her brows as
she studied him. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re trying to make me
dislike you. Why did you come on the show, Craig?”
    “Honestly?”
    She waved a hand in a go-right-ahead gesture.
“Absolutely. Don’t start lying now.”
    “I want a career in television.” Nearby one
of the producers made a choked, horrified noise. “I want to be a
personality. Bigger than radio. This is my shot.”
    “So it had nothing to do with me or finding
love?”
    He snorted. “Have you seen these
shows? That isn’t what they’re about.”
    “It’s not very flattering to hear that you
came here just to use me to catapult