Page 7 of Falling for Her

“I didn’t ram into you, you rammed into me. How was I supposed to know your head was in the clouds?”

“My head was not in the clouds. It was right here, in the middle of . . .” I look around to see if there is a street sign anywhere. “I guess, Main Street.”

“You weren’t even watching where you were going. You were looking down.”

“So you saw me looking down, and instead of avoiding me, you crashed right into me?” I shake my head. “Wow, how very Southern gentlemanly of you.” His mouth opens in shock that I’m talking back to him. “Good day, sir.” I storm away.

Then I think about maybe not going to my car so he doesn’t see that it was me he was tailing as I sped through town. I stop and look back at him. His head is still turned toward me.

“Are you checking me out?”

“What?” he asks, flabbergasted. “Of course not.”

“Well, I walked away”—my voice raises and he looks around to see people have stopped to watch—“and you are staring at my a—” I stop short of saying ass in the middle of the street, where there are kids and now adults looking our way. “My, uh, private area.”

He shakes his head, muttering something before turning and heading into the bakery. As soon as I see him inside, I hightail it to my car. I start it and pull a U-turn instead of driving in front of Maddie’s. I look in my rearview mirror. Not seeing him, I check in my side mirror and again I think I’m in the clear.

The GPS voice fills the SUV. “Turn right and make a U-turn.”

“I will not do that,” I tell her. “I will go around”—I turn right at the first stop sign—“and hope for the best.”

The GPS reroutes me until I pull up to Theo and Collins’s house. I don’t even have the car off before the front door opens, and Collins comes out. “She’s here,” she hollers over her shoulder. “Finley.” She runs down the steps toward me, and I hold up my hand as I walk around. When I needed to get away, she was the only one who encouraged me to take a break, so now here I am.

“I’m drenched in matcha.” I point to my shirt, and she pauses.

“What happened?” She looks worried.

“Some big old oaf ran into me.” A smoking-hot oaf who I will be avoiding for the whole time I’m here.

“Let’s get you in the shower.” She smiles at me and puts her arm around my shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re here, I’m so excited.” We walk up the four steps and Theo, her fiancé, comes out of the front door. “Theo, she’s here.”

“I see that, baby,” he says softly, “and she needs a shower.”

“I do,” I agree. “I would give you a hug and thank you for having me, but . . .”

“I’ll get your things.” He motions with his chin toward my car. “She’ll show you your room.” He walks past us, stopping to kiss Collins’s head, his hand going to her baby bump before heading to my car.

“You need to get ready,” Collins urges. “Your interview is in thirty minutes.”

“Huh?” I ask her, confused.

“The nanny job we spoke about?”

I put my hand to my head. When I called her last night, after driving for what felt like two straight days and finally getting a hotel room, I was so tired I don’t remember half the conversation.

“You said you would go and meet the dad and get a feel for it,” she reminds me.

“I was kind of joking.” She stops by the bathroom door. “I mean, me? A nanny to a real-life human child?”

“He’s eight years old, so it’s not that big of a deal. He can basically do everything for himself. I think you should do it. I think it’s the perfect distraction.” I look at the bathroom and think about my imploded life right now. I know I should have booked a hotel room and not just crashed at Collins’s place, but she insisted. “Just go and see. It might be perfect for you. And it’s just for a month, I think.”

“Okay, I’ll go, but don’t be surprised if I don’t get the job.”

CHAPTER THREE

LINCOLN

“I know you just clocked out, but I’m going to need you to come back to the station,” Captain says.