Page 40 of Anything for You
Very reasonable. Completely understandable.
Exceedingly attractive.
No! Bad brain! We do not objectify our beautiful mountain man baker friend! No!
“Right. Makes sense. Absolutely.”
I turned away, glancing at the cabin, trying to remember why I was even out here. Why had I left my house and entered the perilous wild where I’d stumbled upon this mountain of a man in nearly all of his rather unignorable glory?
“How was your day?” he asked, drawing my attention back to him before I valiantly bounced my eyes away again.
He was just so beautiful, and I hadn’t seen a real-life flesh and blood man without his shirt on in, well, ever.At least not one who wasn’t a patient, and when I was in work mode, I didn’t feel things like whatever was happening right now. No, I’d never seen a man like this.
Especially not one who made me mini pies and liked tea and had the sweetest dog and the most soulful, endless eyes…
Stop it already!
“It was good, actually. Work was fine, and seeing Nan was kind of amazing.” I peeked at him, face only. A swoop of attraction made me stumble.Still a problem.
He reached out, grabbing my upper arm and steadying me.And now he’s even closer!
That large, warm hand on my skin felt a little bit like it lit a fire underneath the point of contact. It sizzled out from the touch simultaneously searing me and scorching every brain cell I owned. After a second, I found my feet as he released me and awkwardly chuckled as a way to say, “I’m totally fine and not literally falling all over myself because you are not only the kindest man I’ve ever known, but now I can confirm you are the actual hottest and that is not awesome because I was already struggling not to have a gigantic, unmanageable crush on you.”
“What made it amazing?” he asked.
The abs? The pecs? That dusting of dark hair I wanted to press my hand against…
“Oh, uh… the visit? With Nan?”Get a grip, woman! You’re better than this!“She was just so happy. She’s doing so well there. And I’m not hating it here. So it was good to take a moment and let that settle in.”
When I dared to look at him, the soft smile on his face threatened to slay me.
I mean, come on! Didn’t he realize he wasfive-alarm fire hot already and then he hit me with a little smile and a hint of teeth? Did he want to be attacked out here?
If I was a bear, he was a tent with an uncovered fruit tray slathered in honey as I trundled out of my hibernation cave.Come on, man!
“Glad to hear it, Dove. That’s great.”
We shared a smile. Or at least I hoped it looked like a smile because currently, my insides were disintegrating and reforming into shooting stars and rainbows at the same time.
“Mind if I bring you dinner? I was going to do a shepherd’s pie and some salad. Nothing fancy. Maybe around seven?” He slung the towel over one shoulder.
I swallowed hard. “Uh. Dinner? Me? Seven?”
He chuckled, but his expression faded into concern. “You okay?”
Finally, my humanity broke through the fog of desire and attraction. More heat joined the already blazing blush on my cheeks and I scrubbed my hands over my eyes.
“Yes. Sorry. I think maybe I need a snack or something.” Hypoglycemia brought on by ogling such a magnificent specimen—that was a thing, right? I gave him a sheepish look.
“I have food inside if you need. Or?—”
“No, thank you. You’re already feeding me dinner, right?”
A pleased look crossed his face. “If you want.”
If I want.Hilarious. “Yes, please.”
He nodded. “Good. Then I’ll see you around seven for the delivery. For now, I better head inside and get cleaned up.”
