Free Suddenly Sexy by Kendra Little Page B

said, returning to the living room.
    Sam leaned against the bench of her adjoining kitchen, ankles crossed, mug in hand, oozing sex appeal. He drained the contents of the mug and placed it in the sink. "You look fantastic," he said approaching.
    She rolled her eyes. Pheramour. "Let's go." She pushed him out the door.
    "Wait." He reached out and undid the clip holding her hair. It tumbled around her shoulders. "Better."
    "Really?" She touched a curl bouncing near her cheek. "I always thought it made me look like a shaggy dog."
    "You're cute but you're not that cute."
    She frowned and he caught her shoulders, pulling her gently to him. Her breasts pillowed against the hard muscles of his chest and her nipples tightened at the contact. His lips lightly brushed hers. "I was kidding."
    That was a kiss. That was definitely a kiss. Oh God, Sam Hennessy just kissed her again and she had no idea what to do or say next. So she said nothing and followed him out to the car like a zombie.
    "Where are we going?" she said, sliding into the Porsche’s passenger seat.
    He climbed into the driver’s side but instead of starting up the car, his gaze settled on her thigh. She pulled down her skirt as far as it would go, which wasn’t far. Maybe she should have worn something longer, like a sack.
    "The market," he said.
    Ten minutes later they found a parking spot in busy St Kilda and joined the throng of people wandering around the market on the Esplanade. On a warm summer day like today, people flocked to the cosmopolitan area looking for a bargain but usually ended up buying junk they didn't need.
    Maddie and Sam shopped, ate ice cream cones and shopped some more. The only thing Maddie bought was a wooden tray with cows painted on it. She needed a tray—the cows she could do without, but the only other choice was chickens. Sam bought five second-hand books, a broken clock, a cup without its matching saucer for his mother and a chew toy for his dog.
    Maddie rolled her eyes at every purchase—he assured her he'd get around to reading War and Peace one day—but held back any comments until he bought the cup.
    "What will your mother do with a cup and no saucer?"
    He held the cup at eye level, turned it, flipped it over and studied it. "It looks like one she already owns. If she breaks the original she can replace it with this." He grinned at her. "See, I'm thinking ahead, like you."
    "Me?"
    "Yeah. You know how you like to plan ahead."
    She frowned. "You noticed?"
    "Well, yeah. How could I not? You directed me here so we'd miss the traffic and you planned our route around the market so we'd hit the ice cream stand at five minutes past one when you figured you'd be hungry."
    "I said around one, not five past. Besides, that's all logical and efficient."
    "I know. Good thinking." He stood so close she could smell the citrus scent of his soap.
    "Being efficient and logical is just sensible. You got a problem with that?" She couldn’t keep the challenge out of her voice even though she regretted her words as soon as she said them. Of course he’d have a problem with it. Most people would. Most people thought she was odd to plan and plot her way through life. Maybe it was odd, but it was her way. If Sam liked her less because of it then he could go to hell where all her previous boyfriends resided.
    There. That sounded ballsy. Score one to Maddie.
    Pity she felt like she’d lost the game.
    "I wouldn't have noticed your planning fetish unless Pete and Linda mentioned it," he said.
    "Oh really," she said tightly. "Remind me to thank them."
    He smiled down at her and tugged on a curl. "Don't be mad at them. It's a good trait. I like a woman who knows what she wants."
    So why did Maddie get the feeling he was patronizing her? Was it the teasing tone of his voice? Or the way he tugged on her curls? He and Pete used to do that all the time when she was a kid. It annoyed the hell out of her at thirteen. At thirty it drove her nuts. If Pete did it, she'd