Free The Patriot Girl by Toni Lynn Cloutier Page A

out.”
    He hated when his sister was right. He did have to be the one to tell MaKayla, but how and when were the questions.
    It was hard to believe that just a week ago he hadn’t wanted the aggravation of being mixed up with the opposite sex. Now he found himself in deeper than he could ever have imagined.
    If he told her the truth, he risked losing any chance he had with her; but if he didn’t tell her the truth, he’d blow any chance of her ever trusting him.
    Shit. He’d sat through poker games and eighteen holes-of-hell on the golf course during his legal career for more worthless gain than this.
    If a romantic relationship were not in his future with this woman, he’d at least gain a mutual business relationship and finally be able to apologize to the Adams family for their loss.
    He could do this. He had to do this. He’d just be thankful if she accepted his apology for his being mixed up in the whole mess.
    “Okay. So how do I tell her? What do I say?”
    “Tell her the truth.” Dana finished her coffee. “But don’t come right out and tell her you were the one involved in her husband’s accident. Just tell her your full name. She’ll figure out the rest.”
    “Good idea.” He drank his coffee. Dana never disappointed him when he needed a plan. “She does have to hear this from me. Tonight. I’ll tell her tonight.”
    ****
    “Good luck tonight with Dustin.” Jodi crossed her fingers. “Show him a little cleavage and he’ll sign your contract, no questions asked.”
    MaKayla didn’t want to use animal magnetism to get her business off the ground. Flaunting a little because Dustin enjoyed the view was a different story. His admiration powered her libido, reminding her that she was more than a boring mother with no life. The way he looked at her with those bedroom eyes made her want to tear off all her clothes and give him what he wanted. Dreaming about him sent a warm rush of passion through her veins.
    “I won’t be showing him anything. I need a business. Nothing more, remember?”
    She kissed Jodi and Duke goodbye and then waited outside until their plane and her pity-shopping plans lifted off into the clear blue sky.
    What was she going to do when Alex left in the morning? No one pity-shopped alone. Going to the mall meant having someone to talk and laugh with, being able to forget about her worries, and enjoying a hot dog she didn’t have to cook.
    She headed toward her car in the parking lot. The day’s heat now made her wish she’d worn something other than sweatpants and a t-shirt, but her plans for the rest of the day involved cleaning. There had been no reason to get dressed up to take her friends to the airport.
    She was looking forward to her meeting tonight with Dustin. Hopefully, she’d read him wrong in the parking lot Wednesday evening. Maybe his faded smile and wide eyes had nothing to do with him having a change of heart about their business deal.
    She gripped the steering wheel. Oh, gosh. Could his regret have been for their shared kisses?
    ****
    While MaKayla waited for Alex to join her at the kitchen table, she sat and fumbled with her fork. After Paul’s passing, the enjoying of the meal and talking about their day during dinner hadn’t changed. It was a ritual she normally looked forward to. Why was she so nervous about telling Alex she had a meeting with Dustin tonight?
    Maybe it was the guilt about her attraction toward Dustin that caused her heart to pound and her knees to shake. Telling her son she was doing this for the business, when her heart whispered her intentions were more, made her feel as though at some level she were lying.
    Dustin’s kisses still lingered on her lips as well as on her mind. She wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to seeing him tonight for business or pleasure.
    If it was the latter, she couldn’t share those feelings with the number-one man in her life these last seventeen years. She couldn’t have Alex disliking Dustin for