Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Of course, my sister had to break the moment. “I apologize for my brother. We’ve had a long weekend, and he’s not overly congenial on a good day. He’s just an oversized lump.” Her banter came off as playful, but she meant every word. Now she was grinning with us. “I’m Lori. This is my brother Mace.”
“I’m Slade. It’s good to meet you both.”
“You own the big house overlookin’ the ridge, right?” she asked as I finally let go of the one box to pick up the other. “You used my cleanin’ services to get the house ready. It’s a beautiful home,” she said. They fell in place, one after another, while leaving the building. The cleaning company was her and my mom’s newest venture. Something only a few homes used so far. As stunning as the area was, they weren’t big on Airbnb properties.
At the exact moment Slade went to push the door open, the big one stuck his head through. “Wyatt wants to get a case of Heineken too.”
“Do you have a case of Heineken?” Slade asked, glancing over his shoulder, bypassing my sister to stare at me.
“We can sell a half case. The other’s reserved,” I murmured.
That case was mine, saved for tonight when the weekend was over, and it was time to celebrate another prosperous holiday weekend.
“Reserved for you,” Lori shot back. “If you want it, take it. He drinks too much anyway.”
Slade’s gaze glued itself on me again. He didn’t step backward, or out of the way to let the big one inside which caused a traffic jam in the doorway.
That weird connection that held us, happened again.
“Keep the Heineken, we have more than we’ll ever drink here,” Slade said.
“You can take the case,” I said, standing my ground, sandwiching my sister between us.
“Tell Wyatt the Heineken isn’t for sale,” Slade said, his tone sharp, decisive, and final.
Only then did I notice the loud one trying to wedge his way inside. The same one that called me out when no one ever had before.
“Oh man, that’s too bad. Good thing I brought my own,” Wyatt said teasingly.
“You don’t need to come in here,” Slade shot out, moving his body and the box to block him from entering.
“Yeah, I do.” He wiggled through the gaps to stop dead in his tracks, looking at my sister. “I’m Wyatt. That’s Scout. Who’s this little lady?” He didn’t wait for an answer, much like he hadn’t waited for my response outside. “Why’s everyone so pretty around here?”
My sister used her other hand to palm-slide down the front of her T-shirt and apron accentuating her form. She was pregnant with her third child.
I felt marginally better that it wasn’t only me drawing attention this morning. This Wyatt guy had a big mouth, charming as hell, and clearly liked the shock and awe approach to conversation. All the signs of a prolific player.
“What’s that?” Wyatt asked, nodding his chin past me, into the building. I knew exactly what Wyatt asked about. A man magnet.
“A butcher counter. It’s small, but big enough for our town’s needs,” Lori answered.
“This place has everything,” Wyatt said, edging past me on a beeline to the counter. The door to the outside was pushed wider open. The bright sunlight always took a second to adjust to, causing me to shift the box in my arms and drop my sunglasses back over my eyes.
“Lori, help him,” I said, tilting my head to Wyatt. She was already on it. “We need to load their stuff. I have a whole day to get back to.” The command in my voice had the crowded space before me split like the Red Sea.
Slade stepped out the door but waited for me to walk together to the Jeep. “Ignore Wyatt. He’s like this all the time. He hasn’t met a stranger his entire life. The sun’s already showing us who’s the boss.” Slade tilted his face out of the sun’s direct rays, squinting those alluring eyes.
“Yeah,” I agreed, but didn’t elaborate that we were on track to be twenty degrees hotter by the end of the day. I increased my gait, taking longer strides past Slade, trying to reach the Jeep as soon as possible to end my involvement in this purchase. Lori could handle the rest.
Somehow, I knew those amber eyes were locked on my backside. As if a laser beam burned a trail from bottom to top then landing on my ass. Weird. How did I feel something I couldn’t see?
I might be way out of his league, but we had attraction, maybe chemistry, which meant something altogether different. My skin prickled and tingled when I placed the box next to the other in the Jeep. Slade stood close, perhaps boxing me in. Since this encounter began, my senses vibrated through me. I had to retreat to figure out what was truly happening to me.