“I totally get you. Some days I get home and barely get my shoes off my feet. You look like you need someone to talk to. If you have a minute then I have a minute. Tell me about it.”
“Uh, well,” I started. I didn’t know her but she seemed very genuine. “I really don’t like dealing with politics. I hate it like I hate Brussel sprouts. I’ve been dealing with some catty managers at work, and to make things worse, this morning we were told that the store was in the middle of an ownership change. Now most of the management team seems to be jockeying to either keep their jobs or move upward.”
Suzanne nodded. “Sounds like those managers are in a panic.”
Nodding, I continued, “I affectionately call them the “vampire crew” but not to their faces. That would make things awkward. Although I’m tempted a lot. More than a lot. The current owner left an hour after the meeting was over. He looked overwhelmed when he passed me in the office. I stayed out of all of it and hid in the warehouse for most of the day. If this is going to be a daily thing, I need to go buy a crucifix.”
Suzanne laughed so loud that her boss looked over from the table.
She lowered her voice and leaned over the table. “This place isn’t that bad with the politics but there are days when no one is happy. Trouble just seems to come in phases and then goes just as fast. I guess it just depends on if you actually like your job, and whether you can put up with the nonsense for a while. Waitressing, for instance, is not for everyone. You have to deal with a lot of crap every day. Not complaining though! The tips are good. Normally. When I’m not working this room.”
I chuckled at her honesty. Suzanne’s boss was still looking over at the table like he was about to throttle her. Suzanne gave him a “don’t mess with me” look.
“My name is Olivia, but most people call me Liv. Thanks for listening to me,” I said while extending my hand toward Suzanne. “I work at Stacks around the corner.”
She shook my hand and said, “Oh the book store! I do love books. I might have to come visit you just to get a good look at the “vampire” crew. I’m all kinds of curious now.”
“Cool, but bring pepper spray to avoid being attacked.”
Suzanne laughed again, “Come see me sometime. I work the late shift at the bar on Fridays. We could have some fun with that. Saturday nights off and any other day on the day shift.”
“Thanks, that sounds nice.”
Suzanne paused before she stood up. “And believe me girl, you aren’t underdressed. I’m surprised you don’t have a stack of phone numbers on your table right now. You’re gorgeous, don’t sell yourself short.”
With that, Suzanne the sassy waitress left, swinging her hips past her now red-faced boss all the way out of the room.
A laugh escaped me, embarrassed by Suzanne’s compliment. I liked Suzanne. I would be back just to chat with her again. In this city, any friendly face was a good one.
When I turned toward the table, still smiling from Suzanne’s antics, I caught the blue-eyed man looking at me again. His eyes had softened slightly as he looked at my mouth.
My breath caught in my throat. Time to go.
Gathering my satchel quickly, I dumped a few items out on the seat while trying to balance my food in the other hand. I stuffed my things back in the bag and took my food. Walking all the way up the table, past the most gorgeous man I had ever seen and out of the room without making eye contact, I managed not to embarrass myself.
Before exiting, I thought I had heard that growl again. I shook my head. I must need sleep because I was starting to hallucinate. That man really didn’t exist, he was just a figment of an overactive imagination.
Romance book diet time.
Chapter Two
Stepping just outside the door, I stopped and started breathing normally again. I took a deep inhale and let it out slowly. The traffic was starting to get thicker and the air was a mixture of exhaust and humidity. Still, it was better than being in that room with him wondering what he might smell like up close. I would probably never see him again. Part of me was relieved.
There was another part though, that wanted badly to be the kind of woman that would have sat at that table eating my burger like it was sex on a bun in front of him. That wasn’t me though, he was way out of my league.
Glancing across the street, I noticed that the courthouse had a few benches under some trees that I could sit down to eat at. There were only a few people over there and all of them were doing their own thing.
One man was turned toward the bar and seemed to be thinking about crossing the road for a bite to eat. A woman was walking her very animated, yipping dog toward the grassy area. A couple sat near the fountain in some deep discussion and there were a couple of men coming out of the courthouse building. It wasn’t a busy time right now it seemed, or half of them were in the bar I had just exited.
It did seem nice and quiet over there. That would work, otherwise I was destined for a meal in the car.
I needed to make a quick call to my roommate to tell her to hold off on the pizza tonight. I was going to be unconscious later from carb overload if I ate my burger, plus pizza, and I would rather not do the “girl’s night” thing tonight.
Opening my satchel, I began looking for my cell phone. Rummaging my hand through the bottom of it, I was coming up short. I opened it wide and couldn’t see anything other than my keys, books and planner.
Shit. I was going to have to go back in there.
I heard the door open behind me, and before I could move out of the way, someone bumped into me hard, nearly knocking me down. Off balance, my legs tangled, I stumbled forward and was about to crash into the sidewalk.
A large hand slid around my waist to catch me and I let out a small squeal of surprise. Whoever it was, lifted me up and pressed me back against a large, hard chest. A very large, masculine chest. Very, very large and smelling like man.
Oh my gawd.
I grimaced. Please let this be some construction worker that just happened to be passing by, and accidentally bumped into my backside! Not that man!
The chest behind me expanded and the subtle tingle I had experienced earlier, went into overdrive again. My heart started to race. I pulled against the arm holding me but wasn’t getting far. He held me easily, and I knew I wasn’t going anywhere unless he let me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” a deep voice said close to my ear.
He let go slightly but kept holding my hip as he turned me around.
His blue eyes settled on my face.
He was even more intimidating up close. He was well over six foot in height and towered over me. His broad shoulders looked even bigger at this range. The slight stubble on his jaw was sexy and I was close enough to reach out and slide my fingers in it. My breath caught as I stood mesmerized.
A look of concern slid across his eyes as he gazed down at me.
“Are you okay?”
“Uhm,” I managed to say. My breathing increased the more I stared at him.
“I didn’t expect you to be right in front of the door when I stepped out.” He sounded apologetic.
I could only manage a smile and a nervous laugh that sounded more hysterical than funny.
What the hell was wrong with me? A degree in English and I couldn’t think of one response that remotely sounded like communication among humans. He was simply too good looking, too everything, and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.
Clearing my throat, slightly embarrassed, I stepped back out of the reach of his large hand, still gripping my hip. I could feel the heat of his palm as it slid over my slacks and pulled away.
“I, um, that’s ok. I wasn’t paying attention. I should have moved out of the way. Entirely my fault. I was looking for my cell and just, I don’t know.”
I inwardly groaned. I sounded like a twelve-year-old. My voice was an octave higher than normal and vocabulary had apparently escaped me.
His brows lifted slightly and his lips twerked
up in a subtly amused way. That smile must have been a true panty dropper with women. It was the kind of smile that made me warm all the way down between my legs. It was mischievous, playful and so very hot.
“Well then, if it’s your fault I don’t feel guilty at all for catching you mid-flight.”
“Flight?” Was he talking about guilt for bumping into me or guilt for grabbing me? I couldn’t concentrate while he was standing so close. The man was a total distraction.
“Yes, flight. You ran out of the bar and nearly into the concrete. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I shook my head in a futile effort to clear my thoughts. I had to slap my brain around a few times and remind my eyes that this man was not to be ogled. Ogling was to stop immediately. I needed to focus. Even if he had perfect full lips, a broad chest and eyes that could pin you to a wall with a glance.
Damnit.
He smiled, “What was that?”
Did I say that out loud? He had perfect teeth too. Ugh! Kill me now!
Time to move on.
“I’m normally not in the habit of standing around, waiting for someone to go barreling into me. It’s been a long day. I think I’m just hungry and tired. If you’ll excuse me, I’m starving and just really need to eat.”
He frowned at me and looked down at the food bag. “Well I’m glad I was the one to barrel into you. Why don’t you come back in to eat?”
I bit the side of my lip and glanced at the benches across the street. “No really, I was headed across the street to eat. It’s a nice day and the trees over there were calling my name.”
He smirked and looked up at the sky. “Hmm. Seems like your planned picnic might get rained out soon. I assumed earlier that you had planned to stay for lunch until I saw you bolt for the door.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I was tongue-tied as it was.
My plan had been on staying to eat a sit-down meal before driving home. Until I had seen him. It was disturbing the amount of attraction I felt toward him. Even more disturbing was that he had noted me leaving as hastily as I had.
He looked down at me again. “We can get a little loud in there so I thought we had scared you away. And then I thought maybe that sprint out of the bar was because of me.”
“Uhm.”
“My name is Aiden by the way.”
He reached out a hand to shake mine. His warm palm slid against my skin. My hand was nearly swallowed by lean fingers and his firm grip.
“Liv.”
I pulled my hand away quickly before I got a case of the ditzy-head again. The tingling sensation that small touch had produced, was both distracting and utterly unnerving at the same time. My face felt like it was on fire from blushing.
“Hello Liv.” The sound of his voice was smooth and lowered like an intimate greeting.
“Hi,” I managed to squeak out.
“So, if you’re set on eating outside, I’ll just join you,” he said with an amused look in his eye. “I just need to tell my associates to pack up my things and head out. Unless you would like to get a table and talk for a while?”
Oh no.
I wasn’t normally so shy around most people. If I was in the office or out on the floor selling to people I was told I could be extremely engaging. I could talk numbers while juggling books, customers, and inventory. I could organize the hell out of a store or anything else you put in front of me.
But this...
I was never very good with men.
Once, I had dropped an entire bookshelf in my lap when a very handsome man at the store approached me asking about a futuristic thriller. He had laughed and helped me pick them up. I got nervous and stammered my way through the rest of the conversation. I just didn’t really know what to say to men.
Especially good looking men.
There was, unfortunately, a lack of dating experience in my life when it came to anything male. Only one boyfriend in the last five years didn’t help either. That was largely to blame on my parents. I had led a very sheltered life until college, and after Brandon, I had never even considered dating anyone ever again.
“I’m not really sure what we would have to talk about. You don’t have to join me, seriously. I saw you were busy in there and I’m sure you have a lot of really important stuff to do. With all that, stuff. Whatever it is.”
“I think we could talk about a lot of different things. For a very long time.” He chuckled and turned to head in the door. His hand pulled out a cell phone that remarkably looked like mine. “This look familiar?”
“Hey!”
“I saw you leave it on the bench inside and I was hoping to catch you before I had to have it hacked to get in touch with you about it. Or hacked first and download all your dirty photos on my laptop and then return it.”
I gasped and felt my face flush. “I don’t have dirty photos on my phone! Who does that?! Even if I did that would be private! Give me my phone.”
“Say please. And I’m very interested in why you’re turning red just talking about it. Maybe I should keep it for a little while.”
“Oh!” I stomped my foot and scowled at him. “Please!”
He laughed. It was a deep rumbling sound that took over the space around us and I felt the timber of it roll over me.
“Hmm, maybe I can have it hacked and we can have a very long conversation about what’s on here.” He waved my phone slightly. “I’ll be back in a minute. But in the meantime, the phone stays with me. Call it insurance so you won’t sprint down the block until I get your number. Go sit down and wait for me. I might even bring an umbrella.”
My mouth hung open as he went back in the bar. Did he just tell me to go sit?
My brain finally kicked back on. Choices. Leave minus the phone or do as I was ordered by hot and bossy.
I could afford a new phone. The one I had was a cheap one I had picked up in the mall for next to nothing. But I might have lied about there not being a dirty photo on there. Only one. Taken in a dressing room and sent to my roommate to get an opinion on a fairly revealing dress that didn’t require a bra. It wasn’t sexy but I had been pouting in it, making a joke of being sexy.
And it was in a dressing room. There was no shame with that. I just hated shopping and relied on others to help. It was called outsourcing. Besides, Julia was a pro at shopping.
He said he could hack it, but it was password protected and when someone said that, they didn’t honestly mean they could do it. So, I would call the company and just get it shut it down, claiming it was lost. The few phone numbers I had stored on there, were backed up in my email account. Sync the data on a new phone and boom, everything would be back to normal. Simple.
Done. Choice number one. Leave. Clearly the safest route to take. This guy could be a real creep for all I knew.
I hesitated for a second, he was also gorgeous and really tall. And had nice butt, from what I could tell.
I needed a mute button for my hormones.
Turning, I began swiftly walking away from the whole scenario. Too much risk for me. Forget the park, the man and the wildlife. My car was a far tamer place.
I turned around the next corner and ran across the street. The entrance to the parking garage had a stairwell that I began climbing. My legs weren’t happy but I was back to thinking about that dress at home. I had sworn to myself that I would lose a few inches to fit into it this summer.
The outer perimeter of the third floor had a railed open view, so I avoided it. I was never a fan of heights and hated walking by the open spaces. It did, however, cut down on the stale smell that seemed to linger in enclosed parking lots.
An elevator opened in the opposite corner and the man from the park stepped out, looked around, and then went back into the cab again.
Typical guy. Probably lost track of where he parked.
I pressed the key fob for my car several times and the locks finally disengaged. Before opening the door, I checked the backseat for signs of serial killers or strangers. Not
hing there but a pile of books. I really needed to stop reading from the true crime section at work. A girl had to be safe though.
After I climbed in, I sat there for a while with my head resting on the back of the seat and my eyes closed. I was enjoying the silence of the car for a moment and may have drifted off for a minute or two.
The cheeseburger was probably cold by now, but I wrestled it out of the container anyway and bit into it. Meat, jack cheese and barbecue rolled over my tongue. Delicious!
My stomach was rejoicing at finally being fed. Nothing tasted so good in my life. It had nothing to do with the stressful day at work, or the bar or Aiden or my lost phone at all. Technically, stolen phone.
First things first, I had to go by the mall to get a new phone. Then I was going to have to call my mom because she would definitely freak out if she called the other number and it was suddenly turned off.
The swat team would probably raid the apartment if she couldn’t reach me.
I put the key in the ignition and turned it, but the engine just made a strange rattle, then died. When I tried it again, it had the same result. The car had multiple problems with it since I bought it at a used car lot two months ago. It had seemed like a great deal at the time but I would never buy from that place again.
Frustrated, I banged my head on the steering wheel a couple of times and then sat there thinking about walking back to the bookstore to use the phone.
A few minutes later, I heard thunder roll outside of the garage and looked in my rearview mirror. The sky had opened up and it was pouring rain. Apparently, Aiden had been right about the weather.
I stared down at my keys for a minute thinking about my options.
In general, I was a positive person. I loved laughing although I found sarcasm and wit far more funny than overused jokes or cliché’s. I could even find a lot of humor in bad situations for the most part, by just making a wisecrack about it that most people would laugh at. I giggled at books, enjoyed some comedic movies, and especially liked to laugh at my own bad luck some days.
Not today.
“Damnit! Shit! Grr,” I yelled at the universe.
Run (Lakefield Book 1) Page 2
