The Difference a Day Makes (Perfect, Indiana: Book Two) by Barbara Longley

option. She was his polar opposite, the positive to his negative charge. How could he fight a force of nature like that?
    He dressed and moved to the living room to sit down on the couch. Flipping his sketchbook open, he studied the portrait he’d done the night she’d plastered her sweet curves all over him. Should he give her the portrait? The likeness was spot-on. Beautiful mixed with a tablespoon of snooty. Yep. She should have it.
    Ryan rolled the sketch into a cylinder, grabbed his Stetson, and headed out the door. He climbed the veranda steps and knocked. Paige swung open the door, took one look at him, and gasped.
    He deflated. “What? Is it the scars?”
    “Huh?” Her eyes roamed over his face, stopping on his mouth and then roaming again, only to come back to his mouth. “You have scars?”
    Heat swept through him. Her pupils were dilated, and it wasn’t the burns she was looking at. “Yeah, here.” He put hishand up to his bare neck. It felt odd to be without his camouflage. Naked. Oh, man. That set off a slew of other thoughts of nakedness.
    Her gaze touched on the spot he indicated, then slid over his face again. “To tell the truth, I didn’t even notice.”
    He cleared his throat. “I brought you something.” He handed her the sketch, and his eyes fixed on her face as she unrolled it. Another gasp escaped her. She studied the image and tipped her face up to his. He couldn’t help basking in the warmth he glimpsed there. “It’s from the night you burst into my apartment.”
    “This is how you see me?” Her voice came out a little husky.
    “It’s how I saw you that particular night. Do you like it?” He took his hat off so he’d have something to do with his hands.
    “I love it. You made me look beautiful, Ryan. A tad…haughty, but in a good way.”
    She did that throaty chuckle thing, and the sound skimmed over him like her skin on his. His mouth went dry. More than anything, he wanted that skin-on-skin feeling for real.
    “Stay here for a second.” She grinned. “We have another resident artist whose work you have to see.”
    She disappeared into the house, and he tried to tame his raging libido. He stepped over the threshold to wait. Sweet Pea ambled over to him for a scratch. “Hey, boy. Where is everybody?”
    Paige came toward him, holding out a large piece of white construction paper. “They’re all upstairs having a family reunion. I swear, the way the kids are carrying on, you’d think Ceejay and Noah had been gone for a month.”
    He took the picture and studied the stick figure. “Your work?” he teased.
    “Ha, very funny. It’s Lucinda’s. She wants to bring you to school for show-and-tell, by the way.”
    He laughed. “She’s going to be upset when she sees I’ve shaved.”
    “True, but I’m not.” She reached out and ran her palm over his cheek. “I’ve been dying to see what you looked like under all that shag carpeting.”
    Her touch sent his heart rate off the charts again. Damn. Could he survive a whole day with her? “Hope you’re not disappointed.”
    “Not by a long shot.” Her voice came out smooth and thick, like red clover honey. She took the Johnny Appleseed artwork from him. “Let me put this back on the fridge, and we’ll go.”
    Had he heard right? She liked the way he looked? He stood a little straighter and put his hat back on as she approached. She wore jeans, a snug pink T-shirt, and a denim jacket. Sexy. No matter what she wore, she made it all look sexy. She swept past him, and he caught a whiff of her scent, taking it deep into his lungs. Her keys in hand, she aimed for her car. He overtook her in a few strides. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he steered them toward his truck.
    Paige dug in her heels. “I thought we’d take my car today.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Yours looks like a roadside breakdown waiting to happen.” She frowned. “That’s why.”
    “My truck runs fine. I take good care of the engine. You don’t