Page 106 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

Cat smarted under his anger and felt her own temper steam.

“Don’t you yell at me.” She shoved Lucy into his arms and began to storm away. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be out here.”

“Me?” Jared raged over the puppy’s head. “What do I have to do with your poor judgement?”

“Poor judgement?” Cat spun back to face him and planted her hands on her hips. “If you hadn’t behaved like such an immature adolescent, I wouldn’t be out here looking for you.”

“Immature adolescent?” His eyebrows lifted.

“Well, what do you call a man who runs off and sulks just because he confided a part of his precious personal life to someone?”

“Is that what you think?” he asked, his low voice becoming soft.

“Yes,” she said, kicking the dirt at her feet as if it were him. Silence hummed between them as they watched one another, each refusing to take back their angry words.

Cat glanced up and caught Jared watching her with an intensity that made her mouth dry. A man really shouldn’t look at a woman as if he were starving and she were a steak. Cat felt her skin grow hot and she pulled her gaze away from him.

“Look, it’s late.” Jared balanced the dog with one arm while he ran a hand over his face. “Why don’t we go back to the motel and get some rest. We can discuss this in the morning.”

“Fine,” Cat agreed, pressing a hand to her galloping heart. Without glancing at him, she turned and resumed walking.

“Cat,” Jared called, a hint of amusement in his voice. “The motel is this way.”

She turned in time to see the suspicious shaking of his shoulders as he adjusted the puppy in his arms and led the way back to her their room. He was laughing at her!

“I knew that!” she snapped.

“Uh-huh,” he said with a snort.

Cat sighed.

“Wake up, sunshine,” Jared ordered as he crossed to his own side of the room, fresh from a hot shower.

“What time is it?” Cat groaned from beneath her covers.

“Time to hit the road,” he answered. “If we are to maintain your schedule.”

His shirt was only half on when Cat poked her head around the makeshift curtain.

“You’re not going to yell at me again, are you?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a smile. His dimples winked at her, and Cat felt her breath catch in her throat. She could smell his clean, male scent and the sight of his half-bare, broad chest made her toes curl into the floor. “But we are going to have a nice long chat.”

“Good.” She grinned at him. “You’re overdue to spill your guts.”

She ducked back behind the bedspread before he could respond.

What to wear? Standing in the bathroom, Cat examined the contents of her suitcase with a scrutinizing gaze. What did a woman wear when she wanted to have an affair?

Cat had decided that she did want to have an affair with Jared. The sight of his half-bare chest this morning had tipped the scale. She wanted him, and she was going to get him, with no strings attached.

She studied her naked form in the mirror. She was no voluptuous paramour, but she wasn’t displeased with the shape she’d been given. Now all she needed was an outfit that would bring Jared to his knees. There wasn’t a whole heck of a lot of time left for her to get him into bed, and that was precisely where she’d decided she wanted him.

She wasn’t ready for a relationship, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a meaningful fling with Jared. She listened to theCall Her Daddypodcast.Single, independent women had hookups all the time. And wasn’t that what she was now? A single, independent woman?

With that goal in mind, Cat chose a blue, cropped tank top and matching bicycle shorts. It was her workout attire, but it was sleek and tight and, with any luck, it would leave little to Jared’s imagination.

Three hours later, she realized she might as well have not bothered. He treated her with all the cordiality of a distant cousin. His gaze never lingered on her for more than a heartbeat and never in an intimate manner. As for the long talk they were supposed to have, that never materialized either. When Cat tried to engage Jared in conversation, he was suddenly more interested in listening to the radio.