That’s when my brain snaps back into place.
What am I doing? Am I really allowing myself to be felt up by somerandoI met yesterday after a four-year dry spell? Have I lost my mind?
I jump back, breaking the kiss.
Pane’s pupils are blown, and his eyes are overflowing with lust. Same as mine are, I’m sure.
He blinks, shakes his head as if surfacing from a trance. “W-what the—” he stammers, stepping back. “That was completely unprofess—”
“Thank you,” I spew out. “For liking the biscuits. No one’s ever liked my cooking so much, and I got carried away. Just felt the urge to kiss you. It’s a thing we do here in Mystic Meadows.” I continue to blab, coming up with a terrible lie. “We kiss people as thanks. Sometimes. Not all the time—and certainly not married people, unless it’s on the cheek, and definitely not during flu season because that would be spreading germs.”
“That wasyouthanking me for liking a biscuit?” He scrubs a hand down the stubble peppering his chin and takes a step into my space, towering over me like a beast. “What ifIwant to thank you for feeding me the most delicious meal I’ve ever tasted?”
The glint in his eyes is dangerous, and my brain screams at me to run and hide in a cave—a dark cave, with very little flickering light so that all I can see are shadows when Pane sneaks up on me, grabs me by the waist, and—
Stop fantasizing about the evil, grunty man.
I fold my arms. “Don’t get used to it.”
He chuckles bitterly. “Shouldn’t that be the other way around?Youshouldn’t get used to kissingme. I get it. I’m the whole package—rich, successful, handsome. A lot of women have thrown themselves at me. You wouldn’t be the first. In fact, you’re not.”
Why, this smug jerk. He thinks he’s got some sort of power over me? That I just can’t help myself? Oh, he is so, so wrong.
He shoots me a sympathetic look. “Let’s not do this, okay? We both know you’re in trouble financially, and I’m very good at spotting women who want to take advantage of me.”
I scoff. “Are you calling me a gold digger?”
“We prefer the termfortune hunter.”
Is he for real? Pane Maddox thinks I’m trying to use him for his money? I throw my head back and laugh. “Trust me, the last person I’m interested in is you. I’m sure where you come from, the only thing people value is your money and the social status that being linked to you will get them. But that’s not how we do things here in Mystic Meadows. We judge people by their character. Money isn’t the most important thing to us—orme, for that matter. So let’s get that straight. I might be broke, but I’m not interested in you or your cash. You are the very last person on earth I would ever be with—rich or not. So you can put a pin in that inflated head of yours.”
With that, I toss a glance toward the window. The line of cars is nowhere in sight. Neither is Cristina, for that matter.
Good. Because I don’t want to be cramped in this house with Pane Maddox for one minute more.
I grab my purse and sling it over my shoulder. “Let’s head into town and see if yoursocial statuscan help my farm.”
“By the way ...” he adds as I’m halfway out the door.
“Yeah?” I halt, and the screen door whacks against my arm. “What?”
It takes him so long to talk that I glance over my shoulder to see him standing with his arms crossed, a smug smirk slapped across his face.
“Rule number four,” he announces. “No kissing.”
