Mia froze, silently praying that the falling stool hadn’t been as loud as she thought, but then she heard it—the scrape of chair legs against a hardwood floor, coming from the second floor of Tea for Two.
She cussed beneath her breath, leaping the fallen stool and sprinting for the gate. She reached the picket fence and vaulted over, but when she landed on the other side, and started for the curb, she was jerked back into the boards. The fence rattled, and Mia cussed again as she reached behind her, fumbling to liberate her tee shirt from the top of the fence post, cursing her decision to embrace the retro trend and wear an oversized cropped shirt over her purple spandex tank top.
She had just wiggled free, when Tea for Two’s front porch light flicked on behind her, casting jagged, fence-post shadows across the sidewalk.
It was a deadly omen if Mia had ever seen one.
Without risking a glance over her shoulder, she sprinted off the curb and across the street, gunning it for the protection of the Blue Saloon’s hedge with everything in her. Her fists pumped like pistons and her thighs burned with the force of her exertion, but she knew she wasn’t going to make it before the door opened behind her, not unless she did something drastic.
Later, Mia would blame it all on the whiskey, but in the heat of the moment, diving into the bushes and rolling onto the parking lot pavement on the other side seemed like a perfectly acceptable plan. Sure, she might end up with a few scrapes, but she would escape without being made as the Panty Bandit, and that would make it all worth it. The fact that anyone with half a brain would know that the prank-inclined owner of the lingerie shop was responsible for pantying downtown didn’t matter. If no one caught her in the act, she would still have plausible deniability.
And so she jumped, diving arms first through a narrow opening in the hedge, bracing herself for impact with the pavement on the other side. But instead of flying through the air, and starting her roll as she lost momentum, Mia collided with a wall of firm, human flesh.
Available July 14th, 2014
Learn more at Jessie’s website
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright © 2014 Violet Duke
OTHER TITLES BY THE AUTHOR
DEDICATION
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
UPCOMING BOOKS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Excerpt from Jessie Evans