Page 4 of My Guarded Valentine

She flashed me a tight smile and nodded quickly. “It’s a bit late to be eating right now. But for real, no one has told me that I’d waste away. Best joke of the day.”

“I’m not joking. Let me take care of you. And if you go to bed with a gas station hot dog in your belly, you’ll likely turn radioactive.”

More of her laughter filled the air, and I smiled. I glanced at her and felt a warm feeling in my chest. It had been so long since I had been by myself with a woman. I had walled myself off from love for so long, and now I was regretting it. Or her presence was showing me how much of a fool I was.

Chapter 3

Mitzi

Igroaned as I sat down at the table. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do. You’re a guest. Can’t have you starving.”

“I’m not though,” I whined. I grabbed a fat roll and jiggled it, but he didn’t see that.

“So you came through town to…?” he asked as he futzed around the kitchen. This was the perfect time to watch him. Buck was tall with dark hair that was wavy. It reached the tips of his ears and was a mess. His eyes were a pretty blue, but something about them seemed familiar to me and I couldn’t figure out why. He had a scruffy beard with a few dots of gray. He had to be about ten years older than me. As he moved around the kitchen, I watched his muscles tense underneath his tight jeans and shirt. Did he work out? Or were those honest muscles? I wasn’t sure how handy he was.

“I need to go to Summerfield.”

“Ah, the big city.”

“It’s only big because of O'Brien Industries. After that, it started to get on the up and up. It’s changed the region,” I replied. “I mean, may have changed the state, ya know.”

Buck threw his knife into the sink with a loud clatter. “Sounds like you’ve been reading the company website,” he grunted.

“Well, if I’m going to the city, I need to know about everything. O'Brienisthe city.”

Buck’s frown deepened as he slapped sandwiches into a sizzling pan. “Ain’t nothing good there.”

“Ooh, small town guy scared of the big city?”

He sucked in a breath before flipping the sandwiches. “No. Just bad memories there.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The silence seemed to stretch between us before he spoke up again. “I like my life here better, anyway.”

“What do you do for work?” I asked.

“I work at home. You?”

“Journalist.”

“Ah. That explains the research,” he replied as he plated the sandwiches. A moment later, he sat in front of me and pushed one plate in front of me. “It’s not gourmet, but it’s a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s not radioactive gas station food.”

I giggled. “Well, duh, it’s a grilled cheese sandwich. We have these in the city, too. And the food wasn’t poison!”

Buck’s eyes caught mine and smiled. “Are you from the big city?”

“I work in a big city and commute from my little town I grew up in. It’s okay. I get to do what I love, but obviously, it’s all in danger now,” I said as I took a big bite of my sandwich. The intense flavors filled my mouth, a symphony of tastes that made me moan quietly in pleasure. I covered my mouth as I pointed to it on my plate. “Okay. This is pretty good. Maybe I did need this. Are you sure that wasn’t gourmet?”

His nostrils flared as he nodded and crossed his arms. “I figured. I have a secret to making the best grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“You haven’t started eating,” I muttered as I waved towards his plate.

Buck nodded. “Yeah.” He picked his sandwich up and started eating as he watched me. I smiled before taking a few more bites.

“Thank you very much for helping me. I know I was a little rude to you when you first stopped.”

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