Her Irresistible Troublemaker (A Town Named Eden Book 3) by Sonia Parin Page B

kitchen stool for her to sit on and set about finding the ingredients for the hot chocolate.
    “If you impress me, I’ll say yes to the date.”
    Jack felt a spark of relief. Digging around his kitchen cupboard, he wondered if the spark had been something else. Excitement? Anticipation? “The wedding reception will be a semi formal affair—”
    She drummed her hands on the kitchen bench. “Getting ahead of yourself?”
    “I’m confident. I’ve got this in the bag.”
    “I should warn you, I’m a hot chocolate connoisseur.”
    “And I worked my way through school as a barista.”
    “Is that your secret weapon?”
    He nodded. He had his back to her, but would swear she was gobbling him up. Giving himself a mental prod, Jack focused on making the best cup of hot chocolate he knew how.
    “So what’s my score?” she asked.
    “It depends.”
    “On whether or not I agree to your invitation?”
    He shook his head. “Don’t worry, I won’t let that influence me.” He poured milk into a saucepan and broke off a generous amount of dark Belgian chocolate. “Okay, here goes. On a scale of one to ten,” he turned and leaned against the counter, “Don’t let this go to your head, but I’m giving you a score of nine.”
    Her lower lip jutted out. “Did I lose a point for hesitating at your doorstep?”
    “No, that was entertaining.” Every woman he’d ever known would have ceased the moment, using the opportunity to showcase their best qualities. Lexie’s hesitation had reminded him she wasn’t interested in playing the mating game. “I’ll amend the score after you’ve tasted my hot chocolate.”
    “So it could go either way.”
    He nodded and turned his focus to stirring the chocolate into the milk. “Your turn.”
    “Well, I’ve never had a better host. You let me pick the movie and the pizza and now you’re treating me to what promises to be the best hot beverage I’ve ever had. So I’ll match your score. And before you complain about not getting a perfect ten, you should know I strongly believe there should always be room for improvement.”
    “Fair enough.”
     
    * * *
     
    Lexie rested her elbows on the island kitchen bench and cupped her chin in her hands. Her earlier hesitation had been long forgotten and now all she could think about was how relaxed she felt around Jack.
    Then again, she’d felt relaxed around him from the moment she’d opened her front door to him a few days before. Somehow, she’d fallen in step with him and that made her wonder why someone like him was still single.
    While she was itching to ask him, she decided he was between girlfriends as opposed to not being the type to settle into a relationship. That alternative, Lexie decided, might put her off him. She didn’t want to think of him as being cynical or selfish, or worse, broken-hearted. Although that would make sense. After all, she’d been shattered by her previous experience and had deliberately cut herself off from the dating scene.
    Why not come straight out and ask him? Because… she risked coming across as fishing for an opening and she’d already made it clear she wasn’t out to land herself a boyfriend… that’s why…
    “Are you okay there?” he asked.
    “What? Yes… why do you ask?”
    “You looked like you were having a private conversation.”
    “Was I talking out loud? I do that sometimes.”
    “No. But there was a bit of head tilting and frowning. I have a sister who does that all the time, then she says something that sounds like the tail end of a conversation she’s been having in her head.”
    Lexie felt her cheeks flush. “I’ll admit there might have been a bit of mental dialogue going on. But nothing you should concern yourself with.”
    “Okay.” He set a mug in front of her. “Here we go. My reputation is at your mercy. Sorry, I don’t have any marshmallows but I put some chocolate shavings in.” He stepped back and leaned against the opposite kitchen counter, his