And Then He Kissed Me Read Online Free Page B

listen. I don’t know who you think you are, but you’d better back off. Or there is going to be some serious trouble.”
    Kieran’s eyes flashed. “Are you threatening me?”
    He leaned in farther, and Audrey’s blood pounded. His strong jaw, his high cheekbones, his warm skin—it was all mere inches away. Some deep, reckless part inside wanted to throw herself against him, inhaling his scent and putting her lips on his like she had five years ago. Instead, she channeled her energy and looked him square in the eye.
    “Why don’t you find out? Asshole .”

C HAPTER TWO
    K ieran Callaghan tried to focus on the fact that he’d just been called an asshole in his own showroom—twice—rather than admit to the overwhelming emotions that came with seeing Audrey Tanner again after all these years. He steeled himself against the searing heat flaming every one of his nerve endings. He forced himself to relax, to play it cool. He hadn’t anticipated running into her here, of all places, but that didn’t mean they had to be near each other for very much longer.
    The back of his throat tightened, the way it always did when he was gambling and on the verge of either a crushing loss or an enormous win. He gave her the same easy smile he used to give the other card sharks around the green felt table, and ignored his churning insides.
    I have to get her out of here, he thought, fighting the pull toward her. Good Christian mother of Mary, the woman looked like she’d just popped off the pages of a magazine—and not the kind they kept in doctors’ waiting rooms. Back in the day, he’d been unbearably turned on when she wore running shorts and a tank top. Now that she was clad in leather and tight jeans, he worried his hands might reach for her before his brain could tell them not to.
    “I’m not sure you understand,” he said, summoning every ounce of professionalism he had, “but this isn’t a negotiation.”
    “Then it’s a war,” Audrey shot back. “Because you cannot fire me.” Her brown eyes, normally warm and welcoming, were flinty with irritation and anger. She placed a hand on the lean space where her hip met her waist. He tried not to stare, tried not to imagine his own fingers on that curve, moving slowly upward to—
    “I am talking to you.” Her voice was tight with emotion. The sound of it echoed in the high-ceilinged showroom—a gunshot in what was supposed to be an oasis—and a few customers turned to stare.
    Kieran arched a brow, letting that be his only reaction. He didn’t want customers suspecting that anything was amiss. But underneath his leather jacket, his whole body was a jumble of nerves. He was going to have to get her off that motorcycle and into a space where they could talk.
    That is, if he could get control over himself long enough to get more than a handful of words out. Because seeing Audrey again was like being hurdled from a warm, dry room into a freezing hailstorm. It was shocking, jarring, and more painful than he’d like to admit. Emotions from the past pummeled him—guilt, affection, remorse.
    Five years ago, he’d ridden a Harley into White Pine during its annual Asparagus Festival, fallen head-over-heels for Audrey, and then left after two weeks.
    Since then, he’d worked hard to forget her, building a life for himself and letting five years of new experiences fill the space in his mind that she’d once occupied. He assumed he’d succeeded.
    The tightening in his chest at the sight of her was telling him otherwise. Audrey might look completely different, but her effect on him was exactly the same as he remembered.
    The only difference was that now he wasn’t a wild and reckless rider tearing up the open road and doubling down every chance he could. That was a lifetime ago, which meant that no matter what feelings were bubbling to the surface, he couldn’t let Audrey’s nearness affect him. He was a professional, dammit. And this was his showroom. No one called the