Page 30 of The Cupcake Cottage

He sighed involuntarily. “All right.”

“And I should know some things.”

“Like what?”

“Like…what do you look for in a woman?”

“Why do you need to know that?”

“So I can be her. Make it believable.”

“Never change for a man, Daisy-Mae.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that.”

He stared at her, furious that she might think she had to change for him in order to be someone he wanted to be with. Obviously he wasn’t very good at making himself clear.

He slammed his coffee down on her desk as he stood. He took her hand, pulled her to standing. She looked alarmed when he yanked the cup from her hand and set it beside his own. She was babbling something about judges and playing to their biases and that the public was similar.

He pulled her against him.

“Never ever change for me. Ever.”

Her eyes were wide, and she went quiet. Then he gave her a kiss that would remove all doubt that she was the only woman he wanted—exactly the way she was.

** *

By the time Maverick stopped kissing her she was dazed, her legs unsteady and her mind a shattered mess.

She felt disheveled and disoriented.

He released her, his eyes steady, locked on hers. Daisy-Mae was the first to look away as she sat back down again to give her legs a chance to recover.

What on earth was that?

That kiss. It was… She’d never been kissed like that. Ever.

She blinked up at him. He cleared his throat and retrieved their coffees. He held onto her cup until she met his gaze again. Then he gave her a slow smile so full of promises and heat it was all she could do not to grin like a fool.

She’d just had her brains kissed out. At work.

“So,” she said, “don’t change. Gotcha.” Her voice was breathy, and she didn’t know whether to go find a cold shower somewhere or straddle Maverick in his chair.

“So what I want? I want to be friends first. That’s important to me.” He was watching her, his cup cradled in his large hands.

“Okay.” She thought about it. “We’re friends, right?”

“We are.”

“Okay. First check mark.”

“I like smart women who are fun and easy to be around.”

“Oh, I am checking off all of your boxes!” Her tone was light, but inside she felt like her very foundation had been rocked. She felt spooked. Maverick might like her as much as she did him. She might actually have a chance. And if she actually had a chance….

“Getting along with my family and friends is vital.”

“Check. And I don’t kick animals. I’m a nice person.”

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