Free Dating the Guy Next Door by Amanda Ashby

to risk being betrayed again and yet she had launched herself at Matt like a missile. Which was why, when he’d knocked on her door yesterday, Kate had done what any self-respecting denial fan would do. She’d hidden herself away until he’d left. He’d returned again later inthe day, but thankfully she’d been upstairs and had again just stayed out of sight until he went away. Besides, he was obviously only there out of guilt and good manners, which was why she’d decided to put off their meeting for as long as possible. A month. A year. A decade. Any of those would work.
    â€œDon’t judge me,” she said as Socrates jumped onto her workbench, despite the fact it was meant to be a cat-free zone. Then she let out a sigh. There was no way around it. She definitely needed coffee.
    She grabbed her purse before peering out the window. There was no sign of his red convertible that was normally parked out in front of the place and she let out a grateful sigh as she stepped outside and fumbled with her keys. As long as he didn’t come back within ten minutes, she’d be safe and, more important, loaded with caffeine. And perhaps some sugar, because it really was going to be a long day.
    â€œKate,” a voice said, and she looked up to see Matt standing at her doorstep.
    Her traitorous pulse fluttered in approval.
    He was wearing a crisp white shirt that seemed designed purely to show off his sharp jawline and masculine neck, while in his hands he had what looked like a plate of brownies.
    Damn him.
    â€œH-hey,” she said as she tried to keep her distance from him. “I didn’t realize you were at home. Your car’s not here.”
    â€œI’ve just started renting a garage two doors down,” he explained as he held out the brownies. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. This is the third time I’ve come by bearing gifts and if I’d had to eat this batch as well I think I’d need to get my waistband extended. Did you get my notes?”
    â€œOh,” Kate said as her eyes were drawn to his lean body. If he really had eaten too many brownies, there was definitely no sign of it. “Yeah, I did get your notes, but I’ve kind of been busy.” Busy avoiding this very situation. She licked her lips and wished that she wasn’t so attracted to a man who baked sugary delights.
    â€œPlease, don’t apologize. I just wanted to come by and say thank you for Monday.”
    â€œOh.” She tightened her grip on the brownie tray as much to stop herself from doing anything crazy like touch his arm. “Like I said, you’re welcome. And now, if that’s everything, I was just on my way out. “
    â€œYou’re going out?”
    â€œUm, yeah.” She nodded, not quite sure why he was looking at her the way he was. “Is something the matter?”
    â€œIt’s just you’ve got your painting smock on.”
    â€œOh.” Heat flared to her cheeks as she stepped back into the gallery and put the tray of brownies down before awkwardly reaching around to the back of the smock so she could unzip it. She normally didn’t bother wearing one, but it had been so long since she’d done a laundry run that she couldn’t risk getting any more of her clothes covered in paint.
    Unfortunately, the more she wriggled, the more the zipper remained elusively out of reach. She swore as her body twisted around on itself causing her to go lunging sideways.
    â€œDo you need a hand?” Matt asked, a small but bemused smile hovering around his mouth.
    No. Definitely not.
    She needed to keep her distance from him, and it was bad enough he’d turned up bearing brownies, but letting him get so close to her neck was only inviting disaster. However, unless she got out of the smock soon, she was going to be seriously behind on her schedule. When had life become so complicated?
    â€œIf you don’t mind,” she