Excerpt of Just Say Yes by Alyssa Goodnight

Finished with her coffee, she jiggled the cup and glanced at the trash can a few feet to her left. Looking back at him, she smiled, lifted a single eyebrow, and hooked it. It almost went in, instead rolling around on the rim. She shrugged then, saying, “I gave it a shot.”

Is it your policy to give things a shot?” he asked, suddenly feeling as if the air around them was charged.

“Some things,” she allowed.

“What sort of things?”

“Things that seem like they might be worth the effort.”

“What about men?”

“What about them?” she asked, stilling, her eyes wary.

“Do you tend to give them a shot?”

“Not usually,” she said, shaking her head and pressing her lips together.

“But it’s possible.”

“Anything’s possible.” She wasn’t giving anything away, but Max dug in.

“Does your daughter’s approval weigh in at all?” He was grinning now—he couldn’t help himself.

“Maybe a little, but she’s thirteen. Our standards are different.”

“What, you don’t like ruggedly handsome men who carry Butterfingers and have a vampire connection?”

Her eyes widened with interest. “Ooh, yeah. Do you know any guys like that?”

“Very funny.”

She smiled at him, leaning back in her chair, and he smiled back. They talked for another hour, only touching on her kitchen, and by the end, one of them—he wasn’t sure which —suggested that he should just come and look at it and they’d figure everything out then. They settled on Saturday, and he watched her walk away, imagining a short cape and tall boots.

He’d been attracted to plenty of women, but Jade fascinated him. The way she was confident in herself but shy with strangers, the way that shyness eventually warmed to sassiness, even, surprisingly, the fact that she was a single mom to a thirteen-year-old daughter. A hot, kick-ass mom. Honestly, he didn’t care if he was ready for that reality or not. He suddenly had a fierce desire to get this job—he was, in fact, desperate for her to give him a shot—and that didn’t bode well at all.

His willpower was but a vague memory now, easily vanquished by talk of cosplay and possibilities. As of right now, all bets were off.