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I caught the gaze of the man in the suit as he strode toward me with an air of confident grace. His stare was intense, intimidating almost, yet lines of concern spread across his flawlessly sculpted features. Speechless and embarrassed by my clumsiness, I took a step back.

Big mistake.

I slipped on the spilled drink and went down—hard. Now my head and my ass hurt. Mortified beyond all belief, I wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there forever.

This cannot possibly be happening. The hottest guy on the planet. Me sitting in a puddle of cappuccino. Un. Fucking. Believable.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and I looked up. The suited man was gazing down at me with the most incredible pair of blue eyes I had ever seen. They were the color of cobalt blue, reserved and calculating as he regarded me. I didn’t think eyes could be so vibrant. For a moment, I presumed he wore colored contacts. However, as I continued to stare, the depths of his eyes were endless and seemed to swallow me whole. The intensity of them sent a shiver up my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

He was definitely not wearing contacts.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard Mr. Roberts speaking again. “Did you hear me? I asked if you were okay? This is Mr. Stone. He’s trying to help you up.”

“Mr. Stone?” I asked, half in a daze. I couldn’t tear my focus away from those astonishing deep blues.

“That’s correct. And you might be?”

Stone’s voice was smooth and confident as he lowered himself to a crouching position next to me. Running his hand down the side of my arm, he rested it near my elbow. I felt my pulse quicken at his sudden closeness and the heat surging off of him in a palpable wave. He was just so there, radiating with power, eyes level with mine.

He repeated his question a second time, again asking me my name . All I could think of was the hand firmly present on my arm, warming my skin through the sleeve of my thin cotton shirt. His touch sparked an electric shock, igniting a presence in me I hadn’t known existed. Butterflies twirled and danced in my stomach. I shook my head to collect my bearings and gave myself a quick reprimand.

Um, hello? He’s asking you a question! Get a grip—he’s just a guy in a suit for crying out loud!

“I’m K-Krys,” I finally stammered. I sounded like an idiot. I was sure of it. I fidgeted with my hands and licked my lips, my mouth suddenly feeling as dry as the Sahara Desert. A dangerous look flashed in Stone’s eyes. It happened so fast, and I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t my imagination.

“Krys? Is that short for something else?” He sounded displeased. Was there something wrong with my name?

When I didn’t answer immediately, Jim responded for me. “It’s short for Krystina. Krystina Cole.”

It was hard to miss the expression of irritation on Stone’s face as he slowly turned his head to consider Jim.

“Why, thank you, Mr. McNamara, for speaking on Miss Cole’s behalf. However, I would have preferred to hear it from Miss Cole herself,” he said curtly.

“Well, Miss Cole appears to have lost her voice,” Jim retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Jim!” Mr. Roberts hissed.

Stone simply ignored both men and turned back to me. He stood gracefully and held out his hand.

“Please, allow me to help you up,” he offered.

I didn’t know if I could stand—and not because of the fall I took. I was utterly mesmerized by this man. It was as if he had me under a spell, and I didn’t trust my shaky legs.

I took hold of his outstretched hand and carefully stood up. His grip was firm as he pulled me to my feet. He reached his free arm around me, securing it against my lower back to balance me. His hold was steadfast, pinning me against his side, his eyes never once wavering from mine. My cheeks flushed crimson, and those striking blues darkened. I felt my heart rate accelerate even faster as I returned his gaze. He was so close to me. I couldn’t stop myself from breathing in his scent. It was a heady combination of sex and sin.

“I’m sure she could have gotten up on her own, you know,” Jim said irritably, reminding me of my humiliating predicament. I blinked, clearing my clouded vision.

Ugh! Go away, Jim!

I wanted to grab one of the canned goods off the nearest shelf and throw it at Jim’s skull.

Much to my disappointment, Stone slowly removed his arm from around my waist, took a step back, and released my hand. Once he was sure I was steady on my feet, he broke his gaze from mine and turned his head toward Jim. I could no longer see the expression on Stone’s face, but it must have been intimidating. Jim cowered visibly and took a few steps back.

Mr. Roberts, having noticed the tension on the verge of boiling over, made a loud show of clearing his throat and was quick to dismiss Jim to do some other task in the dairy department.

“But, Mr. Roberts, I was supposed to—” Jim started in protest.

“Go help Melanie. Now. She’s alone in the department today, and I’m sure she could use a hand unloading the truck that just arrived,” Mr. Robert ordered.