Page 5 of Second Love

His jaw flexed. In fact all of him flexed. If it wasn’t for the fact Sawyer had been her fiercest defender when they were kids, she’d be quite intimidated by him. Most of the townsfolk were. Her parents had hated him. He’d always been large for his age and always in trouble. Even now, he seemed to screamI’m going to take you to all the deepest, darkest places and you’re going to love every moment. But then his expression relaxed a little, taking her by surprise. As a kid, he’d been so quick to jump to annoyance.

“Promise me you’ll think about it. Promise me you’ll think about us.”

A hard lump blocked her throat. Had he shifted closer? Where normally there were books on every wall of her small shop, all she could see was muscular shoulders. His cologne invaded her senses and the curl of ink of his arm drew her attention again. No matter how hard she tried to swallow, the lump refused to budge.

“What do you have to lose?” he asked quietly, his voice low and promising.

What did she have to lose? Her heart throbbed and reminded her exactly what.

“What...”

Now practically standing on her toes, he forced her to look up at him with the lightest tap to her nose.

“Do...”

Oh God, he was so close she could smell his minty breath. Oh no, did hers smell of coffee? No, she’d chewed gum earlier. Thank God.

“You.”

Sawyer dipped his head and a whisper of breath tickled her eyelashes and cheeks. She couldn’t help it. She closed her eyes.

“Have to lose?” he repeated softly.

Maddie remained rigid. Behind her eyelids, she imagined the dark hair on his jaw and those firm lips. They had to be so, so close to hers.

She waited and waited. Finally, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her intently. Now she saw the flecks of brown in his green eyes and the way each iris was ringed with a darker green. His lashes were unfairly long and dark. Damn him. The knot in her throat grew. Why couldn’t she look away? How long had she even been standing there?

Something had happened in those eyes. Something she didn’t expect. They had become serious instead of teasing. Had she ever seen Sawyer serious?

His lips hovered over hers. “Give me a chance,” he told her. Then his lips brushed her forehead and he turned and left.

The bell on the door jingled. The touch of his lips still burned her head. She felt like a popped balloon at the same time, feeling as though she’d been drinking espressos all morning. He hadn’t kissed her.

He hadn’t kissed her. But he had touched his lips to her skin.

And that one movement had been the most erotic thing to ever happy to her. None of her ex-boyfriends had made her feel tingly all the way deep down inside by merely brushing their lips over her skin. God, the forehead wasn’t even an erogenous zone, was it?

Well, apparently it was for her. Who knew?

She stared at the green-painted door and its frosted glass. Outside, the tourists were gathering and soon the sweet cobbled street would be crammed full of crowds. And they would all walk by her shop, thinking how twee it was but not bothering to do anything other than peer into the window.

And no one would know that inside the shop stood a woman who had just experienced the sexiest moment ever.

Give him a chance. She touched her forehead. No. How could she? He’d broken her heart twelve years ago and she didn’t doubt he’d do it again just as easily.

Chapter Two

Dust motes swirled in the light pouring through the windows of Sawyer’s childhood home. He recalled lying on his bed and staring into the shimmering rays as he waited for his father to sober up. His bedroom lay empty now. Gone were the posters of hot girls and cars and the odd rock band LP he’d left on the shelves. The only sign this had ever been a boy’s room was the half-finished space mural his mother had been painting before she’d been killed by a drunk-driver when he was six.

A short spasm wrenched his heart and he tamped down on it. He smirked to himself. Ironic that a drunk had turned his life upside down, and then driven his father to drink.

“As you can see, Mr Steele, the place needs a lot of work.”

He nodded absently and ignored the look of disapproval on the estate agent’s face. Mrs Fletcher had been selling houses in the area since his teens and knew well of his reputation and desertion.

As did everyone in the damned town. Even now, twelve years later, no one had forgotten what he’d been accused of—what had driven him away to stay with his aunt. And everyone wanted to stand up for sweet Maddie Green. He suspected the people of Ballicliff would be harder to win over than Maddie.

Or perhaps not. But he’d known it wouldn’t be easy. He’d fought for over a decade to become his own person and create a good life for himself. That hadn’t been easy either but it had been worth it. Now he could actually offer her the kind of life she deserved.

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