“Yeah. Or they don’t hear you. See you.”
“You get ignored.”
“Right.”
Our gazes lock and my neck heats. I didn’t mean to say so much.
His voice becomes low, gravelly. “You don’t seem messy to me. In fact, you’re really good at this.”
“At tossing cups in the trash?”
“No.” He rolls his eyes. “Smart-ass. I’m talking about people. Those women. You’ve got a great group of friends, even if they do go in for their curler sets once a week.”
I double over laughing at that and say, delighted, “You know about curler sets!”
Stone scrubs a hand up the back of his head. “A thing I wish I didn’t remember.”
We both laugh and step forward as if we’re falling into each other’s orbit.
He looks down at me. I look up at him, and there’s no denying the tension in the air, the pull of him. He handled the book club ladies with all this golden retriever energy, and it has disarmed me.
He’s unexpectedly charming and warm, like a cozy blanket in front of a fire. He’s this wonderful surprise, and my body hums at the nearness, at the pull of him.
How can you go from hating someone one day to being drawn to them the next?
It’s ridiculous.
Impossible.
Stupid.
Spellbound.
And a thought occurs to me: Maybe I’ve been so busy keeping people out that I forgot how to let anyone in.
“The ladies asked more than once if you were my girlfriend.”
My stomach jumps, but I tamp the feeling back down. My voice comes out soft. “Did they?”
He nods, tipping my answer over, seeming to study it, like he’s inspecting me right now.
“Mmm,” is all he says.
He shifts closer, lips directly in my trajectory. My own act like they’re just along for the ride, tilting up toward him.
His gaze flicks to my mouth.
My eyes land on his. Stone has soft lips, piercing eyes, strong features—all of which draw me in.
No.
This is wrong. Stone doesn’t know who he is. I can’t kiss him. I can’t even entertain the thought.
I clear my throat, step back, and search for another cup. Oh, there’s one!
He opens the bag for me to drop it in, but his smile fades, as if there’s a rain cloud hanging above his head.
“What’s wrong?”
