Page 20 of Sweet Heart for the Bear

“Your site?” he says slowly, like he’s testing to see if I understand basic language. “Your sister said you needed help? I work in tech?”

Oh. Oh. Right.

The website. The thing I’ve been stressing about for days.

The thing I literally locked myself in here to fix.

The thing I should be focusing on instead of the fact that this man is currently taking up all the air in this room just by existing.

I clear my throat, frantically grasping for some level of dignity.

“Right. Yes. The website.”

I turn toward my laptop, suddenly hyper-aware of everything.

The mess on my desk.

The wayward curl falling into my face.

The sauce stain on my t-shirt.

The fact that I probably look way too flustered for someone who’s just been offered free tech support.

I force myself to look up at him.

Mistake.

Because he’s still watching me, dark eyes warm, his mouth still curled in that almost-smile.

And for the first time today, my website disaster is the least of my problems.

I have a terrible track record with men. I know better than to get the hots for this one.

Horace is simply out of my league. He’s somehow managed to combine hot boy body with brains, a real geek meets jock kind of vibe, and God knows, my ability to resist temptation is low.

Must be vigilant,I remind myself.

“Can I sit here?” he asks nodding at the tiny folding chair I have in front of my desk.

“Sure,” I say acutely aware of the fact that thing is way too small for him.

But he moves gracefully and sits best he can. Then he dips his head at the laptop and again I’m blushing like a buffoon.

“Here ya go,” I say and turn my laptop towards him.

Right away, he falls into some super geek tech mode. His perfectly arched brows furrow and those near black eyes seem to darken as he focuses on the screen.

He frowns.

“What is it?”

“Huh? Oh, well this site is garbage, What they’re doing is a classic bait and switch, promising you all kinds of security and flexibility, but denying you access. With your permission, I’d like to move your whole website to a more secure server,” he says, and I don’t even pretend I understand.

“Um, I have no idea what you are saying, but also, I’m broke. That is, my budget for this is nil until we start making some money?—”

“No worries. This is what my company does. And seeing as how this is already my new favorite restaurant, I figure we can work out a trade?”

“So like, free pizza for IT support?”

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