Free Against Her Rules by Victoria Barbour

and she’d had enough of these men setting her life into
a spin. Give him food, show the poster, and be gone. Fifteen minutes tops.
    ––––––––
      C am
could usually get lost in his art, but not this time. Each time he set pencil
to paper he found himself drawing Elsie. And thinking about her got him
thinking about Ted bloody Corbin and his suspicion that Corbin was the reason
why Elsie had sworn off anything other than professional conduct with her guests.
He tried not to think about why that was the case. He really wished he had no
idea who that man from her past might be, but he was pretty good at picking up
on subtleties.
      And
there was no way he was leaving here as long as Corbin was around. He might not
stand a chance with Elsie, but he certainly wasn’t going to leave the way clear
for Ted. Not that he was a bad guy. They’d been alright friends when they were
in school together. It was that stupid persona he’d created that really irked
Cam.
      Asher.
      Ted
Corbin might have been the son of an electrician who’d left his wife destitute.
Ted Corbin might have been shipped off to finish school in Scotland with his
grandmother after his mother committed suicide. But Asher Corbin had none of
that past.
      Asher
Corbin grew up on the continent, gaining experience in life and love from the
women who tutored him. It was ridiculous. Still, Cam, and the others who knew
Ted, couldn’t bring themselves to correct the story. Ted really did have a
lousy life growing up. Cam supposed the fantasy was better than the reality.
Asher just wasn’t the right man for Elsie.
      Elsie
deserved someone who would lay down life and limb for her. Someone who
understood her every mood, and appreciated her even when she was her maddest.
And she was the kind of woman that could, if he was willing, make a man better.
Already he’d changed, just thinking about her. The very idea that today he’d
spent as much time thinking about what a relationship with her might be like as
he spent thinking about what making love with her would be like was an
indicator that he had changed a little already. He was curious to see what new
discoveries he’d make about himself in the next day or so.
      He
had realized as he watched her at breakfast that there was no point running
from her. She’d already managed to work her way into his head. Didn’t he owe it
to himself to see if there was room in his heart as well? He just had to find a
way to bring back the easy camaraderie they’d been fostering until yesterday’s
disastrous lunch.
      Looking
up he spotted her coming down the path with lunch. At least she was willing to
come this far. It was a start.
      She
was silent when she entered, laying out lunch in a precise manner. Once she’d
placed the containers of balsamic vinegar and oil on the table, she reached
into her pocket and handed him the poster.
      “I
kept it simple. I thought next week would work best. Monday evening is always
good. There’s no bingo within an hour’s drive, so most people will be home.”
She smiled. “Anyway, you can review it, and if there’s anything you’d like
changed let me know.”
      “It’s
perfect,” he said, only bothering to look at it at all because he knew she’d
taken the time to make it herself. He’d become used to dismissing other
people’s work, he discovered. Another fault of his brought to light just from
his proximity to Elsie.
      “Great.
I’ll get them put up around town.” She headed toward the door.
      “Have
you had lunch?”
      “Yea,”
she said, not stopping.
      “Then
I suppose you don’t want to keep me company while I eat?”
      “If
you want company I can always send your friend down.”
      “I’d
rather eat alone.”
      “That’s
not very nice of you,” she said. “The poor man is heartbroken. Imagine being
left at the altar.”
      “He
doesn’t seem that torn up about it, if you ask me.”
      “Well,
you clearly don’t know