Looking around, I spot the crate up above but can't read the label from the floor. I slide the ladder over and climb quickly, marking off the numbers on my tablet. Right as the storage door opens, I turn to see my buff cowboy employee standing there looking up at me.
"Oh, hey, Brando," I say right as my foot slips.
I lose my grip on the ladder and fall backward, barely registering what's happening. Then, my body lands in muscular arms. Electric sparks consume me as we stare at each other, dumbfounded, for a beat before he gently sets me on the floor.
"Whoa. Thank you. I don't know what happened just now," I say, feeling dizzy.
Brando's cheeks are clearly bright red, and he tips his hat at me, offering me a shy, crooked smile.
"Just glad I was in the right place at the right time," he says before turning and walking back to his truck.
Blinking stupidly, I take a moment to gather my thoughts. My entire body feels like an electric storm is coursing inside of me, and I'm not sure what to do with myself, so I walk back into my office and sink into my desk chair. I fill in the blank spaces on the spreadsheet, then stare blankly out the window. My body continues to tingle. Bart has never made me feel that way with his touch.
I wonder why.
February light streams in through my office window. As I shut down my desktop, ready to leave for lunch, my cell buzzes on the table. Looking at it, I groan to myself, reading the name on the screen.
"Hello, Aunt LynnDee. Is everything okay?" I say, answering the call.
"Yes, everything is fine. Do you still have a date for the wedding?" She asks, getting straight to the point.
"Of course, I have a date for the wedding, Aunt LynnDee. Remember, I'm engaged," I say, feeling my neck prickle with irritation.
"I'm just making sure because I was telling a friend how you're in your mid-fifties and have never been married, and she was quite horrified. I felt very embarrassed, Joss," my aunt says, and I stare at the phone wondering what she expects me to say.
Right then, I hear the jingle of the front door opening.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Aunt LynnDee. I have a customer. I have to go. Was there anything you actually needed?"
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to embarrass me at this wedding," she sniffs.
"Alright then. Have a great day," I say, hitting the off button with my thumb and swallowing a mouthful of curse words.
Stepping into the front, I'm surprised to see my fiancé, Bart.
"Hey, babe. Did you tell me you were coming by?" I ask, reaching toward him, but he flinches away from my greeting.
"We've got to talk, Joss," he says.
Right then, the door opens behind him, and Brando walks inside.
"Oh, hi, Brando. Bart here decided to surprise me with a visit," I say, swallowing back the concern because of Bart's behavior just now.
"I'll get out of your hair," the ruggedly handsome cowboy says before tipping his hat and disappearing through the back door.
When it clicks shut, I turn to Bart, who is shaking his head.
"Listen, I'm just going to come out and say it, Joss. I can't do this anymore. I've been thinking about how toxic your family is, and there's no way I want to marry into it."
"Excuse me?" I say, my head filling with a loud buzzing.
"And I'm not going to go to the wedding with you next weekend either," he says matter-of-factly.
"Your family isn't exactly a picnic either," I snap back, feeling a rage bubble in my gut.
Did this dude seriously just waste three years of my life?
"It's over, Joss," Bart says, before turning on his heel and striding out the front door.
