Page 1 of Bear In Mind

Bear In Mind

Chapter One

Tuesday

Bryn

He came in every morning for a large dark roast coffee with honey.It was the strangest combination, yet he never deviated from it.

And my gaze never deviated from him.

There was something about him, something magnetic.I felt drawn to him, lured to him.Something about him spoke to me, called to me, stirred my soul.

It was more than a passing fancy or a lustful whim on my part.

My breath hitched as he strolled up to the counter, a mischievous grin curling the innermost edge of his lips.His honey brown eyes were aglow with amusement, as if he knew my deep, dark secret infatuation and was laughing about it inside.

I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he was interested.I’d seen his friends and their wives in here; none of them were the least bit curvy, let alone plus size.Perhaps I was reading too much into it, but I couldn’t imagine him straying from the pattern.He and his friends were so much alike, from their beefy, athletic builds to their features, their charisma, and their habits.They were the only other customers who ordered their coffee with honey.

On the odd occasion, I pondered whether this was some elaborate prank, but I couldn’t quite put the pieces together.They’d been coming here for years.I’d been lust struck for years.And not once had he ever indicated the slightest bit of interest in my abundant curves.

“Good morning, Bear.The usual?”I quirked a brow, grabbing a large Styrofoam cup with the shop’s logo printed on the side.

Paper was more Earth friendly, but Styrofoam insulated better, according to the owner, Stuart Bartholomew III.He’d purchased the place shortly after I’d been hired and had made a slew of changes in a short amount of time, but, sinceMugswas the only coffeehouse in our small mountain town, he could get away with all of them, including the cups.

Bear didn’t speak.He merely nodded his head once, confirming it for me.There was something so alpha male about it.It painted him as the strong silent type that he was.

Orson Bear, Bear, as the locals typically called him, was the owner ofOrson Construction, the number one employer in our town, and the leader in the industry across the entire state.He had more offers than he could handle.Even during the economic downturn, his company continued to grow and prosper.From what I’d seen, he and his men did excellent work.They were fast and efficient, or so the Mayor said.He’d hired Bear’s company for every commercial expansion, build and repair in town.

In ways, I suppose you could say I admired the hunky male.He was a force to be reckoned with.He was well respected by everyone.And, heavens almighty, the man was pure sexy sin on a stick dipped in honey and coated in yum.

I barely suppressed a shudder, snapping out of my daze.I swallowed hard at the sight of his intense stare, focused solely on me.I didn’t need a mirror to know my cheeks were red.“Coffee.Right.Sorry.”I cringed.Ugh!Kill me now.

Expelling a small breath, I pushed my glasses up on the bridge of my nose, sauntered over to the fresh pot and poured the dark brew into the cup, leaving a solid inch for three tablespoons of local honey from Lester’s Bee Farm, near the outskirts of town.Giving the contents a light stir, I pressed a lid on top, ensuring the drinking flap was sealed before heading back to the register.“Here you are.That’ll be $2.76.”

Retrieving his wallet from his back pocket, he kept his gaze on me.“Up late studying again?”

Another wave of heat brushed my cheeks.I had attempted to cover the black and blue semi-circles beneath my eyes with my make-up, but, somehow, he saw past it.“It’s finals week.”I had two finals, both Thursday and Friday.I wouldn’t be able to truly relax until my grades were posted the following week, but, the bulk of my stress would be behind me, and, after six long years, I would finally be a college graduate.

He handed me a ten dollar bill.“Knowledge without sleep is useless.”Picking up his coffee, he paused for one moment.“Take care of yourself, Bryn.”Before I could reply, he walked away, leaving me dumbstruck with a healthy tip in hand.

My heart skipped a beat.He rarely said my name, but when he did, my heart never ceased to react.There was something about the man, something about him that affected me, that reduced me to a schoolgirl with an obsessive crush on the popular jock.Orson Bear was far more than bulk and brawn, though.

At thirty-nine, he was one of the oldest bachelors in town.At twenty-six, I was one of the oldest students at my community college.At six feet four inches, he was one of the tallest men in town, towering over my five feet three inches.At a US size twenty-four, I was one of the largest women in town, weighing more than Bear and all of his muscle probably.

The facts didn’t change my heart’s desire, though, and that was the lone fact that scared me.There was nothing worse than one-sided adoration.There was nothing worse than wanting someone who never gave you a second glance.

Bear was always respectful, always polite.

But I didn’t want polite from him.

I wanted sexy, committed love and nightly rounds of hot, passionate sex, the kind that burned up my Kindle, the kind I dreamed about so often, the kind I was beginning to fear I’d never have.

And therein lied the problem: I wanted what was clearly unrealistic.Bear had seen me five days a week for nearly five years now, and not once had he flirted with me.Not once.He never crossed the line of professionalism.

With a sigh, I completed his transaction, sticking the change in the communal tip jar.One of these days I would stop torturing myself.Either that, or I’d snap and do something that forced me to move halfway across the country to a city of strangers, where I, too, could be a stranger without a humiliating past.

Chapter Two

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