Page 2 of Craved By the Lumberjack

She shrugged and pulled out her phone, holding it up as if to demonstrate something. A map of the area was displayed on the screen. It looked like the GPS I used when I left Seduction Summit to do supply runs for my boss.

“No orders right now. Things don’t really pick up until lunchtime.”

I should invite her in. It was chilly out here, and she was wearing next to nothing. But she might feel weird about going into a stranger’s house.

The only way to get her warm was to end this conversation, and I didn’t want to do that. I’d stand here and talk to her for hours if she’d let me.

Maybe she saw something on my face because she stepped back. I hadn’t even said anything, but my demeanor must have told her I was looking for a way out of this conversation.

“Well, I’d better get back down the mountain,” she said. “A hairstylist in Adairsville always orders coffee around this time. Has me bring her one cup. She tips well. If you…”

She took a couple of steps back and glanced at her car, then back at me again. She was chewing her lip like she wanted to askme a question—or offer something. Did she think I’d turn her down?

“Anything,” I said.

Anything? What did that even mean? Was I assuming that she was about to ask me to do a favor? Fuck, I needed to get my act together.

“I was just going to say, if you want, I can bring you dinner tonight,” she said. “No charge. I’ll be going to get it anyway. I want to try out that new Mexican restaurant in town. But I could get something else.”

This was starting to sound a little like a date. “Sounds good,” I rushed to say before she changed her mind.

“Why don’t we do it at my place?” she asked. “Do you mind TV trays?”

What the fuck? TV trays? Like, the kind that married couples used when they’d been together a long time? That let them watch TV instead of speaking to each other?

I hid my confusion and shrugged. “Not at all. What time?”

“Six.”

Just before she turned to walk away, she gave me a wink. Was she flirting with me? She’d just invited me over for dinner on TV trays, but I had no idea if it was a date or not. I didn’t even know what a date involving TV trays would look like.

I knew one thing, though. This would definitely be interesting.

2

DELTA

My hunkalicious next-door neighbor was coming over, and I’d actually set out TV trays.

My college roommate would have just said this was part of my quirky personality. It went with my love for vintage clothing and my collection of gnomes. But if this Kingston guy was going to write me off as “weird,” may as well get it out of the way early on.

I barely had time to change out of my work clothes before Kingston was knocking on the door. Not his fault. I’d deliberately chosen this time, figuring it would work out perfectly. I’d planned to come home, shower, change, and then go down and get the food, but there had been a rush of early dinner orders, and I needed the money. That meant I was rushing to pick up dinner and get up the mountain before he showed up at my door.

I stopped in front of the mirror and checked my hair one last time. I was not having the best hair day, but I’d tamed it as best I could. I had the type of hair that looked really good when the humidity was high, but there was a fine line between wavy and frizzy.

My heart was beating fast as I pulled open the door, and one look at him sped it up even more. I’d been delivering bear claws to his front door for a full two weeks, and now I was his neighbor. It wasn’t all that big a coincidence, actually. When I was given a variety of cabins to choose from, I picked the one on Memory Lane, not realizing it was directly next door to him, but I figured that out before I moved in.

After my first night here, I’d smiled when I got an order from my neighbor. And now, I was inviting him into the cabin where I’d be staying for the foreseeable future.

“You weren’t kidding,” he said.

As he stepped inside, he got a look at the two TV trays I’d set up in front of the couch. This place had come fully furnished, down to the TV trays, which I’d discovered last night when I wanted to watch my favorite game show while I ate.

“This is how we did meals when I visited my grandma growing up,” I said.

My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking. I found myself breathing in bursts. There was something about this guy. His presence filled the whole room, and not just because he was massive—tall and built. Something about him just twisted my insides…in a good way.

“I’ll go get the tacos,” I said, rushing toward the kitchen. Only then was I able to breathe a little clearer. “I have beer. I wasn’t sure what kind you liked.”

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