To Have And To Hold: Made for Marriage / To Wed a Rancher / The Mummy Proposal

“I did what?”

She didn’t miss the quiet, controlled tone in his voice. Maddeningly in control, she thought. Almost too controlled, as if he was purposefully holding himself together in some calm, collected way to prove he would not, and could not, be provoked.

“You said you’d see that I lost my license,” she explained herself.

He looked at her. “And because of that you think I’ve been saying your school needs to be closed down?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And who did you hear this from?”

Callie felt foolish then. Was she being paranoid listening to small-town gossip? Have I jumped to conclusions? When she didn’t reply he spoke again.

“Local tongues, no doubt. I haven’t said a word to anyone, despite my better judgment.” He cocked a brow. “Perhaps you’ve pissed off someone else.”

Retaliation burned on the end of her tongue. The infamous Callie Jones temper rose up like bile, strangling her throat. “You’re such a jerk!”

He smiled. Smiled. As if he found her incredibly amusing. Callie longed to wipe the grin from his handsome face, to slap her hand across his smooth skin. To touch. To feel. And then, without explanation, something altered inside her. Something altered between them. In an unfathomable moment, everything changed.

He sees me…

She wasn’t sure why she thought it. Why she felt it through to the blood pumping in her veins. But she experienced a strange tightening in her chest, constricting her breath, her movements. Callie didn’t want anyone to see her. Not this man. Especially not this man. This stranger.

But he did. She was sure of it. He sees that I’m a fraud. I can talk a tough line. But I live alone. I work alone. I am alone.

And Noah Preston somehow knew it.

Bells rang in her head. Warning her, telling her to leave and break the incredible eye contact that shimmered like light between them.

“You need to keep a better handle on your daughter.”

“I do?” he said, still smiling.

“She broke the rules,” Callie said pointedly. “And as her parent, that’s your fault, not mine.”

“She broke the rules because you lacked good judgment,” he replied.

Callie scowled, grabbed her keys and headed for the door. “Tell your sister thank you for the coffee.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did I hit a nerve?”

She rounded her shoulders back and turned around. “I’m well aware of my faults. I may not be all wisdom regarding the behavior of teenage girls, but I certainly know plenty about men who are arrogant bullies. You can point as much blame in my direction as you like—but that doesn’t change the facts.”

“I did hit a nerve.”

“I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction.”

As she left the house and collected Tessa, Callie wasn’t sure she took a breath until she drove off down The Parade.

Noah waited until the front door clicked shut and then inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with air. A jerk? Is that what he’d sounded like? He didn’t like that one bit. A protective father, yes. But a jerk? He felt like chasing after her to set her straight.

Evie returned to the kitchen in record time, minus the kids. “They’re watching a DVD,” she said and refilled the kettle. Evie thought caffeine was a sure cure for anything. “So, that went well, did it?”

“Like a root canal.”

“Ouch.” She made a face. “She called you a jerk. And a bully.”

“Eavesdropping, huh?”

She shrugged. “Only a bit. So, who won that battle in this war?” she asked, smiling.

He recognized his sister’s look. “It’s not exactly a war.”

Evie raised a brow. “But you were mad at her, right?”

“Sure.” He let out an impatient breath.

“Well.” Evie stopped her task of making coffee. “You don’t usually get mad at people.”

Noah frowned. “Of course I do.”

“No, you don’t,” Evie said. “Not even your pesky three sisters.”

He shrugged. “Does this conversation have a point?”

“I was just wondering what she did to make you so … uptight?”

“I’m sure she told you what happened,” Noah said, trying to look disinterested and failing.

Evie’s eyes sparkled. “Well … yes, she did. But I want to hear it from you.”

“Why?”

“So I can see if you get the same look on your face that she did.”

“What look?” he asked stupidly.

Evie stopped what she was doing. A tiny smile curved her lips. “That look.”

He shook his head. “You’re imagining things.”

Evie chuckled. “I don’t think so. Anyway, I thought she was … nice.”

Yeah, like a stick of dynamite. “You like everyone.”

Evie laughed out loud. “Ha—you’re not fooling me. You like her.”

“I don’t know her.”