“Joe!” Sophie rushed around the counter and went to him. “Landon was just leaving.”
Landon looked at Joe, and Sophie saw the glint of superiority in the man’s eyes. He was worse than a snake and she couldn’t stand him. She was about to tell him exactly that when he turned toward the door. “I’ll be back to finish our conversation.”
Before Sophie could respond, Joe moved between her and Landon. Then he looked at Sophie. “Is that what you want?”
A million thoughts went through her mind, and none of them were about Landon. “No,” she said, keeping her gaze on Joe. “That’s not what I want.”
Joe turned to Landon. “You heard her. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Landon scoffed. “Stay out of this, Johnson. You know who’s going to win here.” He lowered his voice. “Me. Just like I won Jenna.”
Without hesitating Joe grabbed Landon by the collar with one hand and by the waistband of his pants with the other, then rammed him out the door.
“Not this time, Ferry.” He shoved Landon down the sidewalk. The man stumbled but regained his balance.
Sophie rushed to lock the door in case Landon tried to get inside.
Instead, a woman and her daughter walked by, gaping at him. He straightened the collar of his expensive casual shirt, then turned and walked away.
***
Joe felt the adrenaline drain from his body. Uh-oh. He shouldn’t have manhandled Landon the way he did. Having the element of surprise helped, but the fact was, Landon wasn’t a strong man to begin with and never had been. And not just physically. Landon still believed he was the victor in an imaginary battle Joe hadn’t known he was waging. Maybe Landon just liked collecting women, the way some people collected stuffed animals or stamps. Either way, the man was despicable.
He had to admit, taking out the weasel had felt good, but he wasn’t proud of that fact.
“Joe?”
The furious haze cleared, and he saw Sophie leaning againstthe door of her shop, a shocked look on her face. Once again, his plan had gone up in smoke. After mulling over what Claude said, he’d decided the old man was right. Joe had to stop living in the past. He wanted to take a chance with his heart, and even though it would probably sound crazy to Sophie, he had to tell her how he felt, and he’d deal with whatever came next.
Instead, he’d thrown Landon out of her shop.
Real smooth.
“Sophie, I’m sor—”
“That was awesome!” She pumped her fist as she walked up to him. “You picked him up like he weighed nothing.” Her gaze went to his arms, and she looked at them appreciatively.
Joe was glad he’d worn the short-sleeve Maple Falls football T-shirt.
She stood in front of him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Did he do anything to you?” Joe could feel the adrenaline pumping through him again at the thought of Landon hurting her.
“No.”
He listened as she told him about Landon’s client wanting to buy the shop.
“I told him to forget it, of course. I realized that was the only reason he paid attention to me in the first place. He’s a user and a jerk. I can see that now.” She smiled, her eyes never leaving Joe’s. “Thanks to you.”
Now was the time. He had her undivided attention and the shop was empty. It was the perfect moment to tell her how he felt. “Sophie, I...”
“Yes?”
Her softness undid him. Forgetting his words, he grabbedher in his arms and kissed her. A thrill ran through him when she encircled her arms around his neck and returned the kiss . . . and the next one . . . and the next one.
Finally, they both pulled away, Joe keeping his arms around her.
“Wow,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers.
