To Win Her Trust by Mackenzie Crowne Page A

redheaded friend. “Nice to meet you. You’re Kris, right?” Surprise widened her eyes and he smiled. “Max gave me your name.”
    CC’s brows popped together while Kris accepted his hand with a grin. “And you’re Tuck. I’m CC’s cousin and roommate. She told me you’ve consented to help her test her theory.”
    CC shot her cousin a fulminating glare.
    “Theory?” Max eyed him with a lifted brow.
    Tuck’s soft groan was echoed by CC’s much louder one.
    With a negligent toss of a shoulder, he dismissed Max’s challenging grin. “Long story.” He turned back to CC. Because he wanted to, and because it would fluster her, he brushed a fingertip over her cheek. “I thought you were working in your studio this morning.”
    A dimple scored Kris’s cheek as she smiled. “I dragged her along. She spends too much time locked up with her sculptures and needs to get out more.”
    CC sent her a seething stare. Her cousin bared her teeth in a smile.
    “I agree, and plan to change that.” Tuck winked at Kris before pinning CC with his most charming smile. “Beginning now. Have lunch with me.”
    “Oh, I…” Refusal flashed in her eyes. She glanced at Kris, but if she was looking for support, she found none.
    Kris dug in her bag and pulled out her phone. “Perfect. I have an appointment uptown.”
    The sexy wrinkle returned. “What appointment?”
    The redhead held up a finger, brandishing the flaw in her otherwise perfect manicure in CC’s face. “Paws and claws, babe, and there’s a sweet pair of three-inch heels in a shop on Park just waiting for me to give them a good home.”
    CC pushed her hand aside to glare at the dark, skin-tight leggings and soft white, off-the-shoulder T-shirt covering Kris’s long, slim body. “You just worked out. Since when do you go shopping in a sweaty leotard?”
    Kris tossed her head. “This is New York. No one will even notice.”
    Max hummed low in his throat. His appreciative gaze slid down the curves displayed by the leotard in question. “I would.”
    Tuck nodded his agreement. “Me, too.”
    CC rolled her eyes.
    Delighted laughter floated through the air as Kris patted Max’s cheek. “Why do you think I wore it, handsome?” She laughed and dropped her hand, swinging her gaze to Tuck. “I’ve decided I like you.”
    Tuck offered her a generous smile, but as she turned to face him fully, all hint of humor disappeared from her face. Militant intensity gleamed in her eyes.
    She stabbed the chipped nail into the center of his chest. “But if you hurt her, you die.” With that, she sashayed toward the front of the gym, waiving her hand as she disappeared out the doorway.
     

Chapter 9
     
    Tuck curled his fingers around Walter’s collar and opened the door. Ronald, the stiff, stood on the stoop, dressed in the same type of conservative attire he’d worn the other day. Against the backdrop of the gentle summer day, the black suit hung on his shoulders like a sinister cape.
    Surprise lit the agent’s dark eyes. “Oh. I was expecting CC or Kris.”
    A low rumble sounded in the dog’s throat, and Ronald puckered up like a teenage boy facing an angry father on prom night.
    Tuck fought back a smile and tightened his hold. “Makes sense, since they live here.”
    “Is CC home?”
    He pointed a finger at the ceiling. “She’s upstairs.”
    “I’m Ronald Bartolini, her agent.”
    He shook the offered hand. “Kevin Tucker.”
    “I know.” The slick car salesman smile didn’t come close to reaching the man’s eyes. “Congratulations on your Super Bowl win. That was one hell of a game.”
    “Thanks. Was CC expecting you?”
    “No. I needed to talk to her about something and hoped to catch her working.”
    Tuck grunted, and instead of slamming the door in the asshole’s face the way he wanted, he opened it wider. He didn’t do relationships and wasn’t in this for the long term. Jealousy was a foreign emotion. Nonetheless, he recognized the slow burn in