Soul Broker by Tina Pollick Page B

leaving it a surprise.

    Drew sat in a booth next to the window and tugged at the collar burning his skin. He wasn’t going back, not yet anyway. He thought about the woman he’d just met and laughed. I’d hardly call that meeting someone. I nearly flattened her . Something about her tugged at his gut. She was pretty, but not classically beautiful. Brown hair and brown eyes, nothing extraordinary, but her smile was amazing. He wasn’t sure if she would show, she seemed kind of skittish.
    His hand tapped impatiently on the table top, his expression darkening. She was taking a lot longer then he thought it would take her to get home and get back. He was wasting precious time on this plane. If she didn’t want to come, all she had to do was say no. Why had he asked her for coffee anyway? He bumped into her, helped her up and that should have been the end, so why did he invite her here? His immediate attraction confused him, and no one was more surprised by the interest in a woman then him. From past experience, love was nothing but the beginning to a lifetime of heartbreak. Yet here he sat. He continued grumbling to himself as she walked in. She searched the coffee shop until her eyes met his, and walked toward him.
    “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.” His annoyance threatened to shine through his words. He told himself the only reason he was annoyed to begin with was because he had limited time here, and it had nothing to do with feelings he desperately didn’t want to feel again.
    She pulled off her scarf and jacket, and hung it on the hook attached to the booth before sitting down. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t going to.”
    “What made you change your mind?” Are you a glutton for punishment too?
    She folded her hands on the table and glanced down.
    “I don’t know.” She tucked a few loose strands of hair behind ear. When she met his eyes, she smiled.
    “I’m Drew.” He extended his hand across the table.
    “Mackenzie.” She unfolded her hands, reached for his, and grasped it.
    He felt a jolt of electricity at the moment of contact. Drew never felt anything like this before. His stomach dropped, perspiration beaded on his forehead. He pulled his hand away. “Nice to meet you. Again, I’m sorry for knocking you over.” What the hell was that? If he knew what was good for himself he’d run out of there. He gazed into her big brown eyes and he couldn’t leave. What the fuck is wrong with me?
    “To be fair, it was my fault too. I could barely see where I was going.” She shook her head and smiled. “You’re not the first person I bumped into today.”
    They both laughed.
    Her laugh sent shivers down his spine, and it took everything he had to stay seated. A battle of wills ensued inside him. On one hand a woman was the reason he was a slave, on the other he was ultimately responsible for his predicament. He could keep blaming his first love, but that was the lie he told himself to keep sane. It seemed he would have to face his past ghosts sooner then he liked.
    The waitress came over and took their order, then left.
    “I haven’t seen you around here before,” Mackenzie said.
    “I’m here on business.” He shifted in his seat, trying to resist the urge to yank at the collar.
    “What do you do?” she asked.
    “I’m a broker,” he answered, and asked the next question before she could ask the dreaded, ‘What kind of broker are you?’ “What about you? Are you from around here? What do you do?”
    She tapped her fingers on the table, waiting as the waitress placed coffee before them. “I’m an art student. I graduate next month. Hmm, let’s see. No, I’m not from this area, but I have lived here for the past four years while I attended college.”
    He took a drink and her eyes widened.
    “Isn’t yours hot?” she asked, steam drifting from her mug.
    Not as hot as hell.
    “Mine must not be as hot as yours.” He peered over his cup with a slight lilt to his