Page 3 of Silver Linings
We reach the steps into the train station, and I pull him into a hug. “You’re going to crush it. There isn’t a single doubt in my mind.”
When we pull apart, he gives the lapel of his maroon jacket a tug, nodding his head at me in confidence.
“Atta boy!” I balance my tray of coffee in one hand and slap his ass right before he takes off down the stairs.
He whips around, spearing me with a look. “You’re incorrigible.”
I beam wide and trill my fingers at him in goodbye.
There’s still ten minutes on my walk to work, and I’m lucky that three of them are spent on the phone to Nan. It’s impossible to get a hold of her these days because the over-sixty community she lives in keeps her booked and busy with a better social life than mine. She deserves it after having to put up with the trials and tribulations of raising me, but our call ends just as quickly as it began, and I’m left missing her with a persistent ache in my chest.
The sun beaming down on me slowly aids my recovery, but the light is making my already-sensitive eyes burn as sweat collects on my back.
Typically, I can handle my drink well enough to rally the next morning and make it through a work day. Last night was a rare case. One look into Kena’s pleading eyes, and I was agreeing to whatever his stupid cherubic face wanted. Which, as it turned out, was for everyone involved to get shit faced off Sambuca shots (vile) and stay out celebrating what he dubbed,“the last night of relative freedom before I become too busy to even remember who any of you are’’.
Charming.
Taking a sip of my cold brew, I’m about to round Christopher Street in the West Village, heading closer to Brownstone Books, holding the coffee I’m still finishing and the one I got for Holly. I start rifling through my canvas bag, looking for my sunglasses,not needing to pay attention to a walk that’s muscle memory after a decade of commuting.
I’m treading a fairly brisk pace to at leastattemptto arrive on time, digging through the black hole that is my bag, shoving twenty receipts, my wallet, and a minimum of seven lipsticks aside so I can find my sunglasses and—HA! There they are. My eyes can finally get some relief from–
“Omph!”
Pain lances through my body at the abrupt collision. Did I just walk into a wall?
“Damnit!” I cry, glancing down at all the coffee I just spilled. “Well, that’s not ideal.” At least the rats will be caffeinated.
“No, it certainly isn’t,” a deep voice grumbles from above my head.
The resonance of the voice vibrates through my body, making me go still. I didn’t walk into a wall—no, I walked into a person. A veryhardperson. Practically built from granite. And yup…that is my precious toffee nut cold brew puddling around and all over his shoes. I slowly drag my eyes up from his cognac-colored boots, over strong thighs encased in dark denim, and further up to a dark green henley hugging a trim, muscled waist and a broad chest.
My interest builds the longer I let my eyes roam up this stranger’s form. Who needs to arrive to work on time? Holly has it covered, right?
Continuing my perusal, I’m struck speechless as I feast my eyes on the most attractive man I have ever seen in my life—tanned golden skin, dark stubble neatly hugging his jaw, dark chestnut hair with a slight wave you just want to run your hands through, bright hazel eyes that remind me of the sun spearing through pine trees in a forest. And his mouth is full, sinful… and moving?
I snap out of my daze and obvious perusal to see him scowling down at me. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I was asking if you were okay, but I see you’ve gone into some sort of—” he gestures at me with his hands, “—catatonic state, mumbling to yourself about pine trees.”
I smirk, continuing my not so subtle perusal of him, noting the tattoos peeking out from beneath the sleeve of his shirt and the lack of any sort of ring on his left hand. There’s no doubt a deranged gleam in my eyes.
“You’re staring. Are you concussed or something?” There’s a vague note of concerned irritation in his tone, his eyes darting behind me.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine! I’m so sorry about your shoes. Here, I think I have a napkin.” I sift through my bag but come up empty. I do, however, have all twenty receipts that will do the trick in a pinch. I grab the wad of them, smiling as I bring them up to his face for him to see. He flinches back from my sudden movement.
“No napkins, but these will work.” I kneel on the sidewalk to clean up the mess I made.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asks incredulously.
I pat at the liquid coating his shoes with the physical proof of my love for a sweet treat. “I know it’s not ideal; the absorption of these is justnoton par with a napkin or paper towel, but it’s all I have.” I look up at him from the ground, pasting on my best flirty smile. “If you want to give me your phone number, I can call you to get these cleaned properly.” It’s not exactly the most subtle come on.
He clenches his jaw, his whole body rigid. “Please get up.”
Okay…maybe I’m off my game today. Normally, I’m more charming than this, but I did spill coffee all over his shoes and look like a swamp creature.
I slowly stand, looking up at him. He looks like he stepped straight out of the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean, inone of those cologne ads thatnevermake any sense, all rugged lines and intense stares.
“So, like I said, I can get those cleaned for you when you aren’t currently wearing them and have them returned to you ASAP.” I reach to grab my phone so I can hand it to him to put in his number.
