I’m not unaccustomed to other people sitting in the lounge area, but I’m not at all used to them engaging me. Especially someone who looks like this man. He definitely doesn’t seem like he’s from around here.
For some reason, my cheeks heat, and my breath grows shallow. “Hey,” I squeak and dip my face back to the pages of my book.
God, no wonder I never have a date. Look at my reaction to when the opposite sex talks to me! Especially a man as good-looking as him. He has shoulder-length brown hair with a glint of highlights that fall in light waves, but it’s his eyes. The deep blue eyes that draw me in. The jeans and deep green Henley he’s wearing leave no doubt that underneath is a fit and lean, muscled body.
“I’m sorry, have I made you uncomfortable? Would you prefer for me to sit somewhere else?” he asks.
My eyes widen at my book, and I slowly look up. “Of course not.”
It’s not that I don’t get approached now and then, but I’m not used to complete strangers making small talk with me, let alone a man this attractive and much older than me. If I had to guess, he’s probably in his mid-thirties.
“You sure? You seem like you might be more comfortable if I sat farther away.” His gaze is intent on my face.
Though being under the weight of his stare does make me uncomfortable, he’s done nothing wrong, and I’d never want him to feel bad. “I just thought you were being polite in saying hello, that’s all. I didn’t realize you wanted to have a conversation.”
One corner of his lips tips up in a wry smile. “When doesn’t a man want to speak with a beautiful woman?” He winks.
My face is like an inferno now, ready to erupt in flames. “Oh, well… thank you for the compliment.”
He doesn’t respond, instead glancing at the book splayed open on my lap. “What are you reading?”
My lips press together. “It’s a book about a family of nine siblings in Alaska who were orphaned when their parents died in a snowmobile accident.” There’s no way I’m going to tell him it’s a romance and a steamy one at that.
He nods, and from the glint in his eye, he knows I’m leaving out the best part of the book.
“Do you read?” I ask quickly, before he can question me further about my book.
He shakes his head. “Don’t have a lot of time for it, unfortunately.”
An awkward silence descends between us, and I curse myself for letting my nerves get in my way. Taylor would be so disappointed. I always get too in my head when I’m around people I don’t know. It takes me a long time to get comfortable with new people, which made the move here a few years ago more difficult than it needed to be.
He’s just a person, Hattie. An attractive one, sure, but still just a person, and he approached you first.
I swallow past my dry mouth and force myself to talk. “What keeps you so busy?”
A look of satisfaction crosses his face as if he’s happy I’m talking to him. “I own my own business. It keeps me pretty occupied.”
I shift my book off my lap and reach over to the table beside me to grab my hot chocolate. “What industry are you in?” When I blow lightly on my steaming mug, I notice his eyes dart to my lips, and my face heats again. Is this flirting?
“I’m in the entertainment industry.” He stands abruptly, and I’m irritated with myself for the disappointment in my chest that he’s about to leave. But instead, he leans forward with his hand held out. “I’m Bastion.”
I quickly set my hot chocolate back down and accept his hand. “Hattie. Nice to meet you.”
When our palms meet, the heat from his seems to seep into mine. A pleasurable buzz travels up my arm when his middle finger skims down the center of my palm as he pulls away.
“Believe me, the pleasure’s all mine, Hattie.”
I suppress the shiver that races up my spine, afraid he’ll realize how much he affects me. I don’t even know where my reaction is coming from. It’s never happened before.
He sits back in his seat and plucks a coffee cup off the side table and brings it to his lips, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time he sips. Something about his gaze feels intimate, so I glance away toward the fireplace that is on but doesn’t have any heat being forced out because of the time of year. Regardless, my body temperature rises.
“What do you do for a living, Hattie?”
The way my name tumbles off his lips does something to me, which is ridiculous. This man is much older than me and hasn’tgiven any overt signals that he’s interested. He’s just being polite and making conversation. Maybe he’s as lonely as I am, given that he’s not in his hometown. I can certainly relate.
“I do bookkeeping and other administrative tasks for a manufacturing company in town.”
He nods and sets his coffee on the table. Despite not wanting to, I notice how large his hands are and how they dwarf the mug when his fingers are wrapped around it.
