Page 6 of Moonlit Colorado

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I glanced up at him, then had to keep on going. A little further.

I’d just joked about me being short. But this man wastall.

Dark lashes rimmed his steely gray eyes. His wavy brown hair was short on the sides, tousled on top. The sleeves of his sweater were pushed up, revealing tanned, veiny forearms.

Yikes.

The guy threw the wet napkins and his now empty coffee cup in the trash, and then knelt on the floor beside me. “Let me help you with these.” He picked up a fallen book. “Advanced Techniques for QuickBooks. Looks like a gripping read.”

“Scintillating. But not as good as this one. It’s a beach read, alright.” I reached for my copy ofBookkeeping Pitfalls and How to Avoid Themand held it up.

“Sounds like a bestseller.” His long fingers grazed mine as he handed the books to me. The man exuded the kind of confidence that came from a well-developed ego, the kind that the giant brown stain on his front couldn’t put a dent in.

He had to be a tourist. Probably a rich one to boot.

His type usually marched around town like they owned the place. Yet instead of being furious that I’d run into him, he seemed amused.

Meanwhile, a few new coffee splatters just blended in to the old, oversized sweatshirt I was wearing over my favorite pair of faded jeans. No harm, no foul.

He finished helping me stack my books in the box, then picked it up, balancing the whole thing on one arm like it was easy. “How about I buy myself another coffee, and I can get you one too,” he said. “Just to show there’s no hard feelings.”

His head tilted as he waited for my answer, his smile going lopsided. Despite his air of wealth, there was something disarming about him. Rugged, too. Like if I held his hand in mine, I’d find it rough instead of soft.

Heat prickled as a blush rose in my cheeks, and flutters cascaded through my belly.

Oh, no. Nope.Stop that.

Thankfully, Piper came to my rescue. “I saw the accident!” She handed the new guy a fresh cup of whatever he’d ordered. “On the house. I’d replace your shirt too, but…”

“No, it’s fine.” The man laughed again, smooth and deep. “This sweater isn’t my favorite anyway.” He glanced at me, which I saw from the corner of my eye. But I carried my box of books over to the counter, putting my back to him and hoping he would go away.

I usually prided myself on being direct. But that man had me all kinds of flustered. I held my breath until I heard the door jingle again.

Piper came around to the other side of the counter behind the register. “You okay?”

“Is he gone?” I whispered.

“Mr. Hunky McHandsome? Yeah, he’s gone. Why? He didn’t seem mad about the spill.”

I exhaled. I’d been rude to the guy, just turning my back on him that way, but he’d seemed confident enough to shrug it off. He probably charmed every woman he met. He’d forget about me the moment I was out of sight.

“He offered to buy me a coffee.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not on the surface. But his smile was too nice, and he was way too polite. Serious red flags.”

“Very suspicious. I’ll put him on my blacklist. No more coffee for that guy. Unless you spill it on him.”

We both laughed.

Yes, I was exaggerating. But Piper understood. There was a certain type of man who seemed perfect when you first met him, only to crush your heart, put it through a meat grinder, and throw it out with yesterday’s compost.

Once, I might’ve fallen for that kind of thing. But now I knew better.

Piper waved her hand. “Anyway, forget about Hunky McHandsome. I have much more exciting news.”

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