To Catch A Thief (Saved By Desire 2) by Rebecca King

felt her stomach drop to her toes. It was easy to identify the tall, incredibly handsome gentleman who had just turned into the opposite end of the road. At the moment, though, she didn’t want to see him, primarily because of her aunt’s theft of Algernon’s boxes.
    Great, that’s all I need, she thought, wondering if he had been on his way to Delilah’s house.
    She fervently hoped not given that half of the stolen items were currently sitting in the middle of the kitchen table. Realising it would look suspicious if she suddenly turned around and hurried in the opposite direction, she had no choice but to continue onward and hope he wouldn’t notice her.
    Her hopes were quickly dashed.
    “Good morning, Miss Carney,” Jeb murmured when their paths met. “How are you today?”
    Sophia studied the frown on his face and wondered if everyone was in a bad temper today. At the dinner, he had spent most of the evening staring at her, to the point that she wanted to check her face to make sure she hadn’t got food all over it. This morning, she knew she hadn’t, but then was left to wonder why he was so put out with her.
    Was he as reluctant to talk to her as she was to him ? Strangely, she found that thought a little upsetting.
    Whatever it is about me that puts him out so, well, he can just lump it, she thought waspishly, not wanting to contemplate why she should be so upset he wouldn’t want to talk to her.
    “Good morning,” she replied crisply. She tried to continue right past him, but quickly found him blocking her path and was forced to slam to a halt before she barrelled into him.
    “I was hoping to catch you,” Jeb continued smoothly.
    Even annoyed about something, Sophia Carney was downright beautiful. This was the first time he had seen her in the cold light of day, and she was just as visually stunning as she was by candlelight. Jeb suddenly wanted nothing more than to get her to smile at him again, just like she did the other night.
    “Oh?” She tried to appear disinterested and looked, albeit a little longingly, at the end of the road.
    “I hope to see you at the Harvell’s tea on Friday,” Jeb murmured. “I hope you intend to go?”
    He wondered what it was about him that unnerved her so much. Alright, so he had stared at her a little bit, but only because he had been trying to work out who looked the most furtive.
    Of course you were, he sighed wryly.
    Even he shied away from that untruth. He had gazed far more at her than anyone else, but that was mostly because she was prettier than the rest. If she had taken exception to it then that was her problem.
    When she looked up at him, their eyes met for a fraction of a second before her gaze slid to the floor. He felt like he had been kicked in the solar plexus. He watched a tell-tale blush steal over her cheeks, and knew his earlier suspicions had been right. She was just as aware of him as he was of her, but was uncomfortable with it. Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t prepared to ignore it, or allow her to either.
    “Oh? Why?” She tried to sound offhand and casual but knew she had failed miserably when he shifted infinitesimally closer and tipped his head until she had to look up at him.
    “Well, I hear from my father that the Harvells don’t have that many connections in the area. They do appear to be quite sweet ladies. Harmless, if you know what I mean?”
    “I do,” she replied. “The Harvells do have a tendency to gossip, but there is far worse that people can do.”
    “Oh yes; like stealing.” Jeb watched her as he spoke and saw shadows flicker in the depths of her eyes. He wished he knew what those shadows hid. It didn’t stand to reason that she was the thief. However, he was starting to suspect that she might know something. 
    Intrigued, he watched her look longingly at the end of the road again, and smothered a smile as he contemplated irking her.
    “There are always rumours in a village like this,” Sophia replied for want