She came to Willowbrook to stand on her own, and dating hadn’t crossed her mind. Until now.
Seeing the way Crew tugged on the brim of his cowboy hat she’d never seen him without made her want to pull it off and see if his hair was as dark as the stubble on his jaw.
Or if it caught the sunlight with a glimmer of warm gold the same way.
She folded her fingers into fists, holding on to the image even as she battled to keep from tracing her fingertip over the muscle roping up his arm.
“What do you think of this stone color for the main paths?” She stooped to heft one of the heavy pavers into her arms, but Crew pushed close with a grunt.
“Let me.” He shoved the purse and measuring tape at her.
How she managed to close her hands around the objects when her mind blanked as soon as she saw his worn jeans straining around his muscled thighs, she had no idea.
As he lifted the paver, she got so distracted by the sight of his biceps that she didn’t catch what he said.
She redirected her attention to his face, but that was even worse because his earthy brown eyes burned with an intensity that had her stomach fluttering.
“Uh…sorry. I missed what you said.”
“Where do you want the paver?”
Her breath puffed out in a rush. She waved her hand, still clutching the measuring tape like it could keep her from drowning. “Over there. I was going to see what it looks like with the pebbles.”
“Lead the way.”
Turning toward the big bays of stone in piles that could be scooped up and dumped into a delivery truck, she was almost dizzy with how aware she was of Crew a step behind her. Herhead swirled with the rich scent of his soap, and his stare felt like a brand on her skin.
She stopped by some smaller pebbles in a variety of brown and cream tones. “Right here.”
He crouched to settle the paver near the pebbles.
Excited by how well the two things paired, she dropped her bag and measuring tape and began scooping handfuls of the pebbles around the paver edges.
“Ooh. I like this. A lot!”
Calm yourself. You’re in public.
A sudden wave of panic washed through her, and her back went stiff. She stole a peek at Crew’s face to see if he was embarrassed by her outburst.
But he only wore a soft smile that toyed at the corners of his lips and extended to the small creases flaring out from the corner of each eye.
Even though she knew he wasn’t her ex—he was probably the exact opposite of Chris—she couldn’t stop the geyser of anxiety shooting up her chest she got whenever she was carried away.
To cover her discomposure, she turned, scanning a small selection of benches. A heavy teak wood bench drew her in for a closer look, and she rushed over.
“Hey, wait up!” Crew’s chuckle felt like a caress, making her forget all about her ex again.
She stopped moving to toss a look back at him.
Another mistake. The way the man moved, in slow strides…thigh muscles bulging with every step he took…made her insides grip in a way she’d forgotten was possible.
She jerked her stare from his chiseled thighs up to his long fingers gripping her purse she forgot in her hurry to see the benches.
Issuing a little laugh, she moved to take the purse from him. Her eyes had a mind of their own and dipped low.
Oh god. He had her pink measuring tape hooked in his front pocket—just inches from what she could only call a large bulge in his jeans.
She gulped. “Sorry, I forgot to grab my purse.”
