His smooth tone is in complete contradiction to my sharp one. That’s about fifty jars ruined. There’s nothing but broken glass to get up. I don’t need help; I need a damn broom.
“Just go. You’ve done enough already,” I huff and roll my eyes.
“Nah. This is all me. I got it. Let me make this right,” he says, still smooth and calm with a smile, before rushing off.
Again, I roll my damn eyes. He has the nerve to be sexy and charming when I’m out of fifty fucking jars. This was not on my damn bingo card today.And why is he so damn fine!
Chapter 3
Meleck
This day just gets better and better. First, I don’t have a spot here at the ranch and now this. Too busy looking up ranches on my phone, I damn near knocked a woman over, a pretty ass, thick as hell woman.
“Is there a broom or something I can get?” I ask the tall woman behind the desk inside the lodge. After giving me a quick once over, she cuts her eyes at me as if she’s questioning who the hell I am. Before she can ask, I save her the energy and volunteer the info with a little white lie. “I’m Meleck. My uncle Rufus sent me in here for a broom.”
“For outside?” she asks and I nod. She reaches for the walkie talkie on the counter then lifts it. “Rome, come in. Rome,” she calls.
“This is Rome,” he calls back.
“Can I please get a broom or a vacuum in the front of the lodge?”
“It’s glass,” I tell her.
“The industrial vac,” she tells Rome. “
“Gotcha. On my way.”
“He should be up in a minute. Is anyone hurt?” she asks with concern.
“No. It’s just broken jars.”That she looked pissed about.“Thanks,” I say before heading back out to apologize. I’m dying to wipe that scowl from her face. If she looks this pretty with a frown, I can only imagine her beauty with a smile. When I walk out, she’s leaning down, picking through the glass. “You shouldn’t do that. You might cut yourself,” I tell her and she shoots me a fiery glare.
“And you shouldn’t knock people’s shit out of their hands,” she fires back, so I step up.
I walk over to her and kneel. I’m instantly hit with her soft, sweet scent. She smells like strawberries and peaches and I catchmy damn mouth watering. I shake it off and focus. When I do, I see she’s grabbing the few non-broken jars from the ground.
Reaching over her to stop her, I say, “On everything, I’m really sorry. Let me get these. They’re bringing a vacuum and broom and I’ll clean this all up.” Our eyes lock for a moment in a heated stare. She’s really mad and it’s clear she doesn’t want my help. I don’t care though. I did this and I’m going to clean it up and try to make her whole. “Let me,” I insist sternly.
She rolls her eyes hard. However, she relents and stands. She doesn’t step back though. She hovers and gives orders. With a grin, I just follow them.
“There’s another one. Right there. Oh, and that lid; it’s in the snow a little. There. Yeah and there’s another to your left,” she says.
By the time Rome drives up with the broom and vac, I’ve recovered the ten or so jars and a majority of the lids. So, I bypass the broom and just use the vac to suck up the shards of glass. Because broken glass manages to shatter everywhere, I vacuum the area twice before giving it back to him.
“’Preciate you,” I tell him before he leaves. Then I turn my attention back to her. “I don’t know how much this costs but I’ll pay for the damage.”
“Keep your money,” she says before reaching for one of the crates. I snatch it up before she can and she sucks her teeth. “I can carry that. I would hate for you to break the only one I have left.”
“You tough, damn. You won’t let up on a brotha,” I say, then shake my head.
That’s when I see it, her smile. It creeps across her face slowly, but when she realizes she’s smiling, she quickly drops it. But it’s okay. I saw it and she’s even more beautiful.
“Are you going to get the other one?” she asks.
“Yeah, I got them both. Where do you want them?”
She raises a key in her hand then presses a button. The lights on a silver Avalanche illuminate and she walks over. I follow. She opens the passenger door and instructs me to place the crates inside. When I do, I close the door and walk over to her driver’s side. She hops in quickly and closes the door, so I tap on the window. She starts her ride then lets the window down.
“Yes,” she says dryly.
