My cock stirs under the table, hardening against my leg as I take another sip of coffee and try to distract myself with the remains of my breakfast. But my appetite has crumbled to nothing as I pick at the last of my pancakes, barely tasting them. It’s hard to eat when my insides feel all shaken up.
I stay at the diner longer than usual. Most days, I force myself to shoot off right after finishing my breakfast, or I know damn well I’ll never get anything done. But today, my protectiveinstincts force me to stay, just in case those asshole customers come back.
It’s nearly lunchtime when I finally force myself out of the booth, leaving a fat tip behind before heading for the door. I snatch a glance at Josie as I pass the counter, and our eyes meet for a brief flash, my heart jumping into my throat.
“Bye, Brewer,” she says, smiling sweetly.
“Bye, Josie.” The words come out rough and hoarse as I tear my gaze away and step outside, the door closing behind me.
I suck in a gulp of chilly mountain air as I get into my truck, shooting one last look at the diner. Then I begin the drive back up Cherry Mountain with a hollow feeling in my gut. It gnaws at me long after I reach my cabin and grab my axe, picking up where I left off with the unchopped wood.
Moving to the forest and working as a lumberjack was meant to bring me peace after I left the military three years ago. I was looking for calm—a dull, structured life full of chopping wood, walking in the forest, and sharing a quiet whiskey with my brother now and again.
But there’s nothing peaceful about the way I feel right now.
Nothing peaceful about the thud of my heart or the fire in my veins.
Josie has totally wrecked me.
I’ve tried to convince myself that she’s a stranger—that I barely know her and shouldn’t be getting so obsessed. But she doesn’t feel like a stranger. I felt the connection the minute I laid eyes on her, when she woke my body from a deep sleep like a shot of adrenaline to the heart.
Josie is the woman I’ve been waiting for my whole life.
I know it.
But I also know she’ll never want a beast like me…and I don’t know how the fuck I’m meant to accept that.
4
JOSIE
My nerves have been flutteringall morning. Even after Brewer has gone, I can’t stop thinking about how he stood up for me, the fierceness in his gaze when he said, “Nobody talks to you like that.” I can’t stop looking over at his empty booth, imagining he’s still sitting there and watching me with those dark, stormy eyes.
When my lunch break finally rolls around, I hurry out of the diner, heading toward Mountain Brew—the coffee shop where I meet Savannah for lunch every day. I’m desperate to tell my best friend everything that happened this morning, so I’m relieved to see she’s already sitting at our usual corner table. She’s tapping away on her phone—texting Clay, no doubt—but she sets it down when she sees me approaching.
“Hey!” Savannah smiles widely. She’s been glowing ever since she met Clay, like her pores are radiating sunshine.
“Hi, Sav.” I lean down to give her a one-armed hug, taking a seat across from her.
“I already ordered,” she says. “It should be here soon.”
“Awesome. Thanks.”
We always get the same thing: two hot chocolates and two grilled cheese sandwiches. Mountain Brew makes the bestgrilled cheese in town—even better than the ones at Creekside—but it’s not the thought of melted cheese that’s making my heart race right now.
“Are you okay?” Savannah asks. “You look a little flushed.”
“Something happened with Lumbersnack this morning.”
The words spill out of me in a rush as I recount everything, pausing only for a moment when the server brings out our food. Savannah listens eagerly, nodding as I repeat what Brewer said word for word.
“He definitely wants to marry you,” she says when I finally run out of steam.
“Don’t tease me, Sav.”
“I’m not!” She leans in conspiratorially, ignoring her grilled cheese. “Clay told me that Brewer has been acting weird for weeks. He’s always distracted, always brooding, and he insists on going to the diner every morning, no matter what. I bet he’s only going there to see you.”
My heart thuds wildly at her words, but it sounds like pretty wishful thinking. Heck, Brewer usually makes a point of ignoring me, and today was the first time in a month that he’s actually looked me in the eye. But when I tell Savannah this, she shakes her head impatiently.
