Her Leading Man. Maggie Dallen

don’t remember,” she said. It was not a question, and he was grateful for the lack of judgment in her eyes. He felt rotten enough without a guilt trip.

      “No, I’m afraid I don’t.” He watched her nibble on her lip as she studied him. “Judging by your reaction to me and the fact that I have very little memory of that night, I’m inclined to believe you when you said I was an asshole.”

      Her brows drew together. “I didn’t call you an asshole.”

      “You were going to,” he said.

      “I wasn’t. I was going to call you a jerk.”

      “Asshole is better. More vivid. The efficacy of cursing is all about the mental image it summons.”

      He thought he saw the corner of her mouth twitch upward, and a jolt of pleasure shot through him at the realization that he’d nearly made her smile. He found himself dying to see that smile. So he fell to his knees.

      * * * *

      “What are you doing?” Caitlyn’s voice sounded shrill, even to her own ears.

      Still on his knees, Ben clasped his hands together and looked up at her with comically wide eyes. “Please let me in.”

      Caitlyn didn’t know whether to laugh or shout for help. Her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Dubois, came out of her apartment and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of this handsome man on his knees on her doorstep. And now that stupidly sexy face was turned up to her, his dark eyes looking pathetically like a puppy dog.

      She clapped a hand over her mouth to smother the giggle. “What are you doing?” she asked again, this time while tugging on his arm to get him to stand up before Mrs. Dubois came over to investigate.

      He didn’t budge. “My dearest…” He paused and Caitlyn raised a brow in disbelief.

      “Caitlyn.” Seriously? The man had mental issues.

      “Caitlyn. Of course.” He cleared his throat to start again. “My dearest Caitlyn, I unfortunately have very little memory of our lovely night together, but I suspect from your demeanor that I truly was a complete and utter jackass. Am I right?”

      She nodded, unable to stop the grin that was spreading over her face at his insanity. He may be a jackass but he was entertaining, at least.

      He concluded with a bowed head. “For my behavior that night, I apologize with all my heart.”

      Before she could reply, his head snapped back up. “If you could find it in your heart to let this jackass into your apartment so he doesn’t freeze his balls off, he would be forever in your debt.”

      She opened her mouth to say no, but stopped as the reality of her situation set in. What alternative did she have? She couldn’t afford rent on her own for this month and it could take weeks to find a new subletter, especially one who was available to move in right away.

      This guy was an asshole—that much they’d firmly established—but being obnoxious was not the same as being a sociopath or a murderer. And his references had checked out. More importantly, so had his credit check.

      She glanced over his head to see Mrs. Dubois watching unabashedly. “Good evening, Mrs. Dubois,” she called out. The old woman scowled at her and she turned her attention back to the man who was prostrate at her feet.

      She conceded with a sigh. “Come on in. But don’t make me regret it.”

      * * * *

      She watched him unpack his toiletries in her bathroom and tried to reconcile the jerk from her horrid date with this Ben whose references raved about him. Maybe he’d paid them off. But then, she’d had the same issue trying to figure out how horrid-date-guy was the same man who had sent her all of those thoughtful, funny e-mails. The man was an enigma. Or he was just very good at paying people off. One of the two.

      He turned then to see her watching him and she felt heat flood her cheeks. Great, now she looked like a creepy stalker. “Uh, I just wanted to make sure you’re settling in all right.”

      One side of his mouth twisted up into a grin that made her heart beat double time. He was sexy, there was no doubt about that. Handsome too, and he knew it. He had unruly, short, dark brown hair, rugged features, and a large build—not stocky but solid and well built. Like a lumberjack. A five o’ clock shadow only managed to make him more attractive, which was rather annoying. She didn’t want to be attracted to this man—not only because he was a conceited jerk but because she was going to be sharing a small apartment with him for a month, at the very least.

      Physical attraction made her uneasy, it always had. With her last two boyfriends, the physical attraction had grown slowly, a result of their mutual affection. But this kind of sexual energy… It made her nervous. She hated the fluttery feeling it brought on, and she dreaded the thought of being uncomfortable in her own home. Her sanctuary.

      She would just have to get over it.

      She pointed him to the spare bedroom, and when he went back there to unpack she followed before coming to a stop in the doorway. “If you need anything, just let me know.” The moment the words came out of her mouth, she wished she could pull them back. Hovering in the doorway of his bedroom was weird enough, but somehow the simple offer sounded like she was offering something dirty, or at least that’s what his sexy grin insinuated.

      Heat flooded her cheeks. She was just being polite, dammit. She gave this speech to all the new roommates, and there was nothing salacious about it. With that thought, she straightened her shoulders and ignored his childish smirk.

      “Towels are in the hall closet, and if you need anything for your bed…”

      One of his brows shot up at that.

      Oh, why was she still talking? Backing away from the bedroom, she gave a little wave. “Okay, then. Good night.”

      She was just about to turn when he stopped her by reaching out a hand and grasping her arm. Flames ignited at the simple touch, and Caitlyn held her breath as she stood frozen in place. It was harmless touch, but the electricity that shot through her was palpable…paralyzing.

      Ben dropped his hand and Caitlyn was once again able to inhale.

      “Sorry,” he muttered, looking down at her arm. In a gesture that was adorably cute and boyish, he ducked his head and ran his hand through his hair, mussing it further. “I just wanted to say sorry. Again. For…you know.”

      That night.

      “I really appreciate you letting me stay here and giving me another shot.” He looked up and their eyes met.

      Her heart fluttered in her chest at the sweet sincerity she saw there. His gaze was warm and direct. It felt…intimate. Damn. This man was sexy as hell when he was a jerk, but as a good guy? She was certain the temperature in the room rose by another ten degrees. She had to resist the urge to fan herself.

      Not trusting herself to speak lest she accidentally put her foot in her mouth, she gave him a smile before turning away and heading back to her room. Once there she let out the breath she’d been holding.

      She absolutely needed to find a way to get over this stupid attraction. There was no way she could spend the next month walking on tiptoes around this man just because he had a ridiculous, inexplicable effect on her. This was her home, her asylum, her sanctuary.

      Deep breaths. Still leaning against her door, waiting for her heart rate to return to normal, Caitlyn reminded herself yet again that she would get over this initial, crazy reaction. He’d stunned her, that was all. Of course seeing your date-from-hell was going to cause a bit of a disturbance. But now she could move on. Treat him like she would any other temporary roommate. Temporary, that was the key word here. He wouldn’t be here long—a month, that was what they agreed on. Besides, they were both busy professionals, and they would probably rarely see one another while he was there. That much she knew from experience.

      She’d