Page 22 of Rescued Hearts

They even had a good turnout. She was really surprised. For such a small town, there was a lot of interest in her workshop.

Her sister recommended a biweekly workshop to generate more money, but Honor had only responded with “we’ll see,” since she didn’t know how well the event would be received. Now she thought biweekly just might work.

When Gray passed behind her, she caught a whiff of his masculine scent. The smell of fresh, growing things and leatherclungto the man.

He moved to a spot at the end of the table and pulled out the chair. Honor watched him for a moment, her tongue thick and dry at just how shockingly gorgeous the man was.

With a quick smile for one of the kids reaching for the bowl of colorful plastic beads, she hurried to Gray’s side.

“You actually plan to stick around?”

He lowered himself to the seat. “Told ya I was ready for a hobby.” He settled both forearms, roped with muscle, on the table.

A little shiver rolled down her spine. “Well…okay then.” Why was she breathless? “Let’s get started.”

Minutes later, she had all the guests set up with the craft of their choice, ranging from beginning projects to some for the more advanced skillset. She helped each person kick off, demonstrating the skill of doing beadwork before letting them take over on their own.

Moving to Gray once more, she saw he’d selected an earring craft.

She leaned in to get a better look at what he was doing. The delicate silver wire used for stringing the beads looked like he’d snap it in his big, callused hands.

“This is more advanced. How much experience do you have doing this?” She fixed her stare on those long, beautiful fingers. They lookedveryexperienced.

His gaze held hers captive. “I learn quick.”

Oh god. I bet you do.

As she looked on, Gray pulled a bowl of tiger-eye beads toward him and began sifting through them. He plucked out several and set them on the placemat she’d passed out to everybody.

When he picked up a dark green bead, he held it up to the light. “What about this?”

She had to admit she liked the pairing. But after he chose a lighter green one, she jumped in with a different suggestion—an iridescent one that would bring all the colors together.

He examined her choice next to the brown and green, then shook his head. “What about blue instead of brown? The person I’m giving these to likes blue.”

Honor’s stomach squeezed. Of course, she was being silly, thinking that Gray was showing interest in her. He was only being a quintessential small-town guy, carrying packages and making sure she safely arrived at the bookstore.

She eyed the blue bead speckled with spots of green and nodded. “Your girlfriend will love it.”

He didn’t look up from the bowl when he said, “I don’t have a girlfriend. These are for my sister. She’s having a bad day.”

“Oh.”

“She found out her ex is getting married.”

Could this man be any hotter? A guy making a pair of earrings to cheer up his sister was thesweetestthing Honor ever heard. And she couldn’t deny the trickle of relief she felt at hearing that he didn’t have a girlfriend.

The class was going smoothly. More than smoothly, actually. Several people held up their creations and soon many were wearing their art.

Honor revolved through the group, but she really found herself drawn to Gray for longer spells. As she approached, a bead got away from him and rolled across the table. She caught it before it fell on the floor and dropped it into his palm.

With that direct gaze locked on her, he deftly slipped the bead onto the wire he held with a lot more precision than she expected from such a large man.

Suddenly, he stopped. “Could you help?”

She leaned close, taking the items from his hand, brushing his warm skin with her fingers. Her stomach started fluttering again with tension mounting inside her.

Her body liked being so close to Gray.

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