Free The Reasons to Stay (Harlequin Superromance) by Laura Drake Page B

your key. It opens the alley door and our apartment. Don’t lose it.”
    “Okay.” He slipped it into his pocket.
    “Second. No law-breaking. We’ve got enough troubles as it is.” She walked to the kitchen. “And last—there’s a sweet little old lady across the hall. She’s the pharmacist’s mother. You’re not to bother her, or be loud.”
    “ He has a mother?”
    “Don’t be a brat. You should be happy he didn’t call the cops.”
    “Oh, yeah, I’m just pumped.”
    “Besides, it was Sin who narked on you.”
    His eyes got round. “The goddess at the food counter?” He sighed out the words.
    “Yep.”
    “I don’t believe it. She’s too cool.”
    “Well, believe it.” Priss pulled open the fridge door, happy to have that over with. She thought it had gone pretty well, considering. “So what do you want for dinner? I didn’t know what you liked so I got corn dogs, sliders, and frozen pizza.”
    “Pizza.” When he smiled, the change was so startling that she realized it was the first time she’d seen him do it. He transformed from a ten-year-old gangster to a fresh-faced kid in a cereal commercial.
    He really is cute. She had to return his smile, longing for the days when pizza could fix everything. Pulling out the frozen pizza, she set it on the counter, then searched the cupboard beneath it for a baking sheet.
    One problem handled, her mind turned to the next.
    I’m going to have to find a way to smooth it over with the landlord.
    She’d have been glad to leave her street skills behind when she left Vegas. But at the look of distaste on Adam’s face when he found out she hadn’t told him the whole truth, she’d felt a rare prick of conscience. She refused to be sorry for what she had done. She’d committed to taking care of Nacho and she would use any tool she had in order to do it.
    But it was going to cost her.
    * * *
    A DAM SAT IN the crowded auditorium at UC Santa Barbara with June Sellers, the teacher Carley had set him up with, trying not to yawn. June leaned forward in the too-comfy theater seat beside him wearing a silk dress, flowery perfume and a sweet smile.
    On the stage, the string quartet played on. And on. He’d heard Bach before, but always in the background, and usually in elevators. The regimented music reminded him of geometry homework in high school—a necessary evil, except in this situation, without the necessary. He locked his jaw as another yawn threatened. Falling asleep on the first date would not bode well for a second date. And he did want a second date. He did.
    A couple didn’t have to like all the same things to have a successful relationship. After all, she was pretty, classy, feminine, quiet—and he was...bored. He shifted in his seat; even his butt was falling asleep. If someone had asked him to describe his perfect woman three months ago he would have described June, almost down to her flowy dress. But for some reason, his dream, in the flesh, wasn’t all he’d imagined.
    And that didn’t make any sense. Maybe the physical attraction would build like a slow fire as they got to know each other better. Slow fires were good. They were controllable—safe.
    The applause of the audience broke his reverie. The quartet members took a bow, and the audience was set free. Thank God.
    June gathered her light sweater and small purse. “Wasn’t that sublime?”
    He touched her elbow to guide her to the aisle. “I have to admit, I’m not a huge Bach fan.”
    “Really? What classical composer do you prefer?”
    “Jim Morrison. Or maybe Eric Clapton.” He held the door for her. “They’re as classic as they come.”
    He smiled at her scrunched brows as she breezed past him. He waved to Jenny Hastings and her husband, Dave, who was rubbing his eyes as if he’d just woken from a nice nap.
    Wanting to impress June, Adam had made reservations for a window table at Demure Damsel, Widow’s Grove’s only four-star restaurant, housed in one of the new