Page 1 of Crossing the Line
A Happy Accident
Paisley Grove
“It’s you.” Those words escape past my lips in a strained whisper.
I’m trapped in his gaze. I can hardly believe I’m looking at Hercules Lord. His eyes haven’t changed at all since I last saw him. They still have the sort of depth that’s able to see straight into my soul—and they are very, very,veryseductive.
How long has it been? Seven, eight years? Something in between?The last time we gaped at each other this way comes back in a rushed memory. We were in Boston. First, we were at a New Year’s Eve party, and then we went to his place.
“PG,” Hercules says, savoring each letter.
My face is suddenly flushed with warmth as I’m only barely able to say, “Hi.” I clear my throat, determined to sound less flustered the next time I speak.
“Hello. What a…” His words hang in the air, gently wafting over me for a few moments. “Pleasant surprise.”
“So, the two of you know each other?” my new friend Lake Carlton asks. I almost forgot that Hercules and I aren’t alone.
It’s hard to rip my concentration away from his extraordinarily handsome face. Trimmed stubble layer his dimpled chin and sharp jawline. His dark eyebrows are neat, teeth white and he still has good skin. And a delicious freshly laundered scent rises from his tailored shirt. From high school to college to now, age has been so good to him.
I’m finally able to focus on Lake, who looks quite stunning tonight. She’s wearing a silky white halter dress that displays her bare shoulders, which appear as supple as soft cotton balls under the warm lights of the chic venue. And her dark chin-length wavy hair complements her graceful swan’s neck.
I arrived at Lake and “Kirkie’s” engagement party moments ago, and when I finally located her, she was conversing with a tall, well-built Adonis of a man. At first, I admired the guy from behind, planning to wait until their conversation ended before approaching. But something about him led me to close the distance between us right then and there. Then I saw his face. My instincts had served me well. I did know the sexy stranger with the alluring rear view. I knew him very well.
Something suddenly dawns on me, and I slap a hand over my rapidly beating heart. “Wait. Is HerculesKirkie?” I ask Lake.
Hercules crunches his eyebrows. “What’s a Kirkie?”
Gosh, he’s so beautiful when he makes that face.
“No, no, no,” Lake says, shaking her head with each denial. She puts her long fingers on Hercules’s fit bicep. “Mason is Kirkie.”
Hercules’s confused expression intensifies. “Mason is Kirkie?”
Lake presses a hand next to her mouth as if she’s about to tell him a secret. “It’s what I call him when he’s not around.”
“Ah…” Hercules says, laughing as his head tips back.
I can barely focus on Lake when she tells me that Hercules is Mason’s—Kirkie’s—best man, best friend, and boss. One thing’s for certain: I dodged a bullet. I wouldn’t know what to do or how to feel if Lake introduced the man I’ve always had an epic crush on as her fiancé. I probably would’ve fainted or something.
“So really, how do the two of you know each other?” Lake’s pointed finger shifts between Hercules and me like a windshield wiper.
“High school,” we say at the same time.
I beam at him and he at me. My face is warm and has probably turned a dusty rose by now. I’m embarrassed about that. I want to appear like someone who doesn’t go all schoolgirl crush in the presence of the man she’s never been able to get out of her system. I’m darn near thirty. I should be better at interacting with him by now.
Wearing my best, most confident smile, I add, “Well, we met in high school, but we last saw each other my final year in college.”
Hercules winks at me. “Yes. That’s our story.”
Lake’s slow smile builds as she watches us as though Hercules and I are rare creatures that she must learn absolutely everything about. “Then you have a story?”
“What?” I croak. My head is spinning.
“You have a story. Does that mean the two of you were involved at some point?”
Hercules folds his hard arms high on his broad chest. “Clarify ‘involved’?”
Tapering an eye suspiciously, Lake says, “You fully know good and well what I mean by ‘involved,’ Hercules. Stop stalling.”
