Martial arts had given him friends and confidence—two things he’d never had in abundance. When he’d moved to Scotland for graduate school, he’d taken up boxing, finding the workout and regimen more suited to his energy levels. It was an outlet for his generally sedentary work and a way he kept a handle on his asthma.
“Why don’t you come down one day after your last class and I’ll put you through your paces.”
“I’m not teaching this summer, actually.”
“You’re not working?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m finishing up a paper on Charlemagne for publication in a trade magazine and catching up on my reading—both academic and for pleasure—and planning for my fall classes.”
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she sat up straight on the stool, swinging her legs back around to face the bar. She toyed with her still half-full beer glass, but didn’t take a sip. An awkwardness had descended, but he wasn’t sure why.
His nervousness grew in the silence. He’d worked hard over the years to control his ingrained shyness when it came to the opposite sex, but Tallulah was different. He wanted her to like him, dammit. He didn’t want to take her home—not yet anyway—he just wanted a chance to get to know her now that they were grown. The closed-off look on her face made him wonder if he’d already blown it.
“Do you still go down to the river?” He choked off another coughing fit.
She side-eyed him, but didn’t turn to face him again. The connection that had been knitting itself together had frayed. “Not so much anymore. Sawyer bought a house that backs up to the river farther into the parish, but”—she shrugged—“it lost its magic somewhere along the way.”
He coughed again and his hand slipped into his pocket. He wasn’t going to make it much longer. “Listen. I have to head out.” He stifled more chuffing coughs as he slid off the stool. “I’m going to take you up on your offer though. When’s a good time to drop by the gym?”
“Right after lunch is our slow time. Hey, are you all right?”
Squeezing his lips together to stem another round of lung-scraping coughs, he backed away, nodding. He hit the front door and launched himself outside, taking big gulping breaths of humid air. Not caring who saw him now, he fumbled with his inhaler and took a hit.
The medicine coupled with the clean air offered immediate relief. He slid into his imported Land Rover Defender and banged his forehead against the wheel a couple of times. No doubt, Tallulah Fournette thought he was the biggest weirdo on either side of Cottonbloom.
ALSO BY LAURA TRENTHAM
Slow and Steady Rush
Caught Up in the Touch
Melting Into You
Praise for Laura Trentham’s Falcon Football Series
“[A] marvelously funny, engaging, and memorable romance in a place where everyone knows your name.”
—Romantic Times Top Pick on Slow and Steady Rush
“A sweet, satisfying story.”
—Publishers Weekly on Slow and Steady Rush
“Laura Trentham writes an intricately woven story that throbs with rich emotion. I laughed, I cried, I loved Slow and Steady Rush!”
“This third installment in the ‘Falcon Football’ series wastes no time getting down to business. Steamy scenes and Southern charm help foster a tender story with high-stakes risks and delightful drama. Recommended for fans of down-to-earth romances in which mistrust and miscommunication must be overcome.”
—Library Journal on Melting Into You
About the Author
An award-winning author, Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee. Although she loved English and reading in high school, she was convinced an English degree equated to starvation. She chose the next most logical major—Chemical Engineering—and worked in a hard hat and steel-toed boots for several years.
She writes sexy, small-town contemporaries and smoking-hot Regency historicals. The first two books of her Falcon Football series were named Top Picks by RT Book Reviews magazine. When not lost in a cozy Southern town or Regency England, she’s shuttling kids to soccer, helping with homework, and avoiding the Mt. Everest–sized pile of laundry that is almost as large as the to-be-read pile of books on her nightstand.
Visit her at www.LauraTrentham.com or connect on Twitter at @LauraTrentham (https://twitter.com/LauraTrentham) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LauraTrenthamAuthor). You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-eight
Epilogue
Excerpt from Then He Kissed Me
Also by Laura Trentham
Praise for Laura Trentham
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
KISS ME THAT WAY
Copyright © 2016 by Laura Trentham.
Excerpt from Then He Kissed Me copyright © 2016 by Laura Trentham.
All rights reserved.
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St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2016
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