If She Dares (Contemporary Romance) by Tanya Michaels

little temporary insanity.
    Why else would he have been considering the destruction of property? He’d had to move away from the fitting room doors because the longer he stood there, the more he’d thought about how insubstantial the silver hook holding them together was...and just how quickly he could be with Riley. He was pretty sure kissing a topless Riley would be worth any vandalism charges.
    But would it be worth losing her friendship afterward? Or potentially hurting her when he inevitably walked away?
    He launched the ball at the basket with more ire than finesse, and it bounced off the rim. The truth was, he had an indisputable track record of satisfying women in the short run but disappointing them in the long run. Tony, one of his best friends, wouldn’t even let Jack in the same general vicinity as his fragile divorced sister without issuing preemptive warnings.
    Riley didn’t have anyone to warn him away on her behalf. She was sexy as hell, but she was sweet, too, with moments of vulnerability that ripped at him. She’d mentioned her family in nearly every conversation they’d ever had. She owned a dog. She seemed made for eventual marriage and home life, like Dave and Tony and their wives.
    Awfully presumptuous of you. Why don’t you ask the lady what
she
wants?
    After all, if he’d learned anything yesterday, it was that she was full of surprises.
    * * *
    R ILEY FROZE IN the act of brushing on a second coat of mascara, meeting her gaze in the bathroom mirror. “Don’t give me that look. This is not vanity primping in case you run into Jack. This is because you’re going to a tenant meeting where you’ll be saying a few words about your candidacy.” She wanted people to think of her as reliable and authoritative; it was difficult to project that image in comfy sweatpants and slippers. Hence, the black jeans, cobalt turtleneck and makeup application.
    If Jack happened to be at the meeting and saw her looking good, well, bonus.
    Their paths hadn’t crossed a single time since they’d walked to their separate cars on Saturday. Now it was Tuesday evening. After last week, when she’d bumped into him in the parking lot, in the mail room and in the hallway outside their apartments, this felt almost like avoidance.
You’re being paranoid
.
    But women’s intuition told her it was more than paranoia. The dynamic between her and Jack had shifted on Saturday. For her, it was progress. It had clarified that, as much as she enjoyed the banter between them and occasionally suggestive glances, she wanted more. Maybe Jack didn’t. His absence might be a diplomatic way of telling her that without having to say it outright.
    She’d only known him a couple of weeks. How could that thought bother her so much?
    Thankfully, a knock sounded at her door, distracting her from her brooding. Since delivery people had to be buzzed in through the lobby, it probably wasn’t the upgraded computer component she’d ordered.
More likely, Anna Tyler, come to shiv the usurper
. It was good Riley was trained in self-defense.
    But a glance through the security peephole erased any fears that the sitting president was lying in wait to eliminate the competition. Her stomach somersaulted at the sight of Jack standing on the other side of the door. So either she had been completely paranoid, or he’d decided to take a more direct approach in rejecting her.
    She swung the door wide. “Hey.”
    He smiled at the sight of her. “I was hoping I wasn’t too late to catch you. I thought maybe we could walk down together? I spurred you into running for the board, least I can do is offer my moral support.”
    “I’m relieved to see you.” Mostly, she was relieved by his familiar grin, the dimples that made her feel silly for worrying that things between the two of them might be strained. “I was half-afraid it might be Mrs. Tyler in a bid to take me out before next month’s election.” Not that Riley automatically assumed she would