All-American Princess - Maggie Dallen Page 0,17

the weird notion that we were communicating. He knew exactly what I was about to do… and he approved.

Not that I needed the approval of Mr. Judgy over here, but I’d take an ally wherever I could find one right about now.

It was the shoes that deserved most of the credit really. They helped me remember exactly who I was. I bent one knee slightly and stuck my hip out to the side. These heels did killer things for my ass, but a girl had to work with what she was given.

And that was a hoodie.

Not the sexiest of accessories, the hoodie, but no one should ever underestimate my ability to dress.

Or undress.

I held Jack’s gaze as I shifted the sweatshirt down, down, down so my shoulders were exposed along with just enough cleavage to make a grown man weep.

Sure enough, Jack’s eyes darkened. His gaze dropped down, taking in the view. When he looked back up, I was biting my lower lip, full on sex goddess pose.

But he wasn’t the one I was working it for, and he knew it. He shook his head at me, grudging amusement warring with disapproval. “You trying to make sure every girl here has it in for you?”

My sexy expression faltered a bit as genuine laughter made me smile. “Just want to make sure I give as good as I get.”

“So, pissing them off even more is your strategy then,” he said, his voice a sexy low growl that made me shiver. But I’d be damned if I tugged up that sweatshirt now that I had every guy drooling.

I shrugged one exposed shoulder. “I’m not here to make friends.”

“Then why are you here?” His eyes narrowed. “For Brandon?”

I kept my expression bland, even though my stomach gave a little jolt at his spot-on guess.

He moved in closer, and I realized he was once again shielding my body from view. “My, my, aren’t we chivalrous?” I teased as he moved so close his chest brushed against mine. I could have moved away, but his heat wasn’t exactly unwelcome. In fact, I had a serious urge to cuddle up against him.

I didn’t. I wouldn’t.

But I wanted to.

This close, I could see the stubble on his chin and smell his delicious manly scent. There was something so rugged about him—he was built but not ripped. He had muscles, but the kind that came from actual work, not the gym. And the dark look in his eyes, it was filled with passion and danger.

No, not danger. Just… dangerous to me. Why? Because he saw me. Every time his eyes met mine, I got the distinctly jarring notion that he saw straight through me.

His voice was so low I could feel the rumble. “What are you doing here, Lila?”

I blinked up at him, feigning the kind of innocence I’d never once known. Even as a kid I hadn’t been an innocent.

Brandon’s appearance at my side saved me from having to answer.

“Hey,” he said, his voice winded from having run off to his truck and back. His eyes were apologetic but at least not pitying. “This was all I could find, sorry.”

He handed over some guy sweats that would make me look like a couch potato. I forced a smile. “Thanks, Brandon.”

Amber rushed over, hot on his heels. Her pretty, heart-shaped face was puckered up in concern.

God, I hated this girl.

Why? No reason. She just represented everything I hated about the females of our species. She was all weak and vulnerable and nauseatingly obedient. She was the classic good girl. America’s sweetheart. The girl next door. The goody-two-shoes, the—

Hold on a second, I just threw up a little in my mouth.

But then, she did something that made me want to hurl even more.

She hugged me.

“I am so sorry,” Amber said, her voice little more than a whisper. She pulled back, and her dark brown ponytail swung around her shoulders. When she tilted her head to the side, she reminded me exactly of the chocolate lab we’d had as a kid.

The dog my dad put down after it took a dump in his loafers.

I hated that dog.

Well, I’d loved it back then. I wasn’t totally heartless. But I’d grown to hate it over time. Who could love anything that made you feel so bad whenever you thought about it?

She eyed me now, and then she glanced down at my soaked clothes with a little moan. When she looked up, her eyes were wide and filled with tears. “I would never