Page 15 of Fate Will Bring You Home

I was wandering around and started to browse through the records myself.

“How can I help you?”

My stomach dropped at hearing the voice behind me. I tentatively turned around and my mouth went dry. The sexiest man I’d ever seen was staring right at me. The first things I noticed about him were his hands. They were massive. My eyes traveled up and landed on his smile. His teeth were perfectly straight and whiter than his T-shirt. His smile was almost contagious, but it was his full lips that were surrounded by that sexy ass five o’clock shadow that absolutely drew me in. I was starting to wonder what it would feel like to run my hands over his beard. I don’t know what it is about beards, but I have a thing for them.

My gaze traveled up until our eyes finally met. Piercing blue orbs, like mine, stared back at me. I could get lost in those eyes. His hair was a dark dirty blond and he had that shaggy James Dean look about him, like just the top of his hair needed to be cut. He had that ‘I didn’t try’ look, but in reality, he probably spent twenty minutes getting it to fall that way.

My eyes traveled down his body again, and I could tell he was fit, but his muscles weren’t overwhelming. He had tanned skin and a few tattoos on each arm. One arm had a tattoo of musical notes on it, but I couldn’t see it in detail from this distance. He didn't appear to be obnoxiously tall, but he still towered over my five-foot-seven-inch frame. If I had to guess, he was over six feet tall. My eyes traveled back to his just as I realized I was gawking, so I looked away for a moment to compose my thoughts, and when I finally looked back, he was smirking at me.

My first thoughts were, Please don’t be related to me. Please don’t be related to me. If there is a god, please don’t let this man be related to me. I felt myself blushing, but I cleared my throat.

“Hey, I’m looking for August Foster. Is he here?”

He looked a little surprised. “Are you sure you’re looking for August and not me?” he said smugly. I nodded because I was sure I couldn’t speak right now if I tried.

“Are you a debt collector?” he asked.

I shook my head again. “No,” I said with a snort.

“Is he in trouble?”

“No,” I repeated. “I am just looking for him for personal reasons. Is he here or not?”

He thought for a moment. “Personal reasons, huh?” His eyebrows went up in curiosity. “You know he’s married, right?”

I nodded once again.

“Well, he isn’t here today. Can I leave a message and tell him who was looking for him and how to contact you?

“He doesn’t know me yet. I can just come back when he is here. Will he be here tomorrow?”

His smile dropped a little like he was getting worried or something. He started eyeing me up and down like he was checking me out. He leaned in toward me, placing his elbows on the counter between us.

“You in trouble or something? Need some money?” he asked with genuine concern.

My eyebrows went up in surprise. “Why would I be asking someone who doesn’t know me for money? Is that a normal occurrence for him?” I scoffed, almost like I was offended, and started to step away. “I will just come back tomorrow. Thanks for your time.” As I was turning around, he spoke again.

“Wait. Is it really that important that you speak to him today? You seem anxious, like you’re in trouble.”

I tried acting like I didn’t know what he was saying and turned fully away to calm my nerves. I pretended I was looking at some of the records in front of me. I gathered myself, then turned back around and looked at him again; my voice was calmer.

“I’m not in any trouble, and it’s not life or death,” I shrugged. “But yes, it’s somewhat important. Maybe even life-changing.” I raised my eyebrows and smiled.

“Life changing you say? Well then, let me get him on the phone for you and see if he can make some time to come down.” His smile grew. It’s like he got hotter the more he smiled.

He caught me staring at his mouth. God, I haven’t been kissed in so long. Calm down, girl. He still might be your cousin or something. I rolled my eyes at myself and my sex-filled thoughts. I felt myself getting all hot and bothered, and I knew if I didn’t stop soon, I would start to blush even more. If the heat crept up anymore there would be no controlling it.

He stepped away, but I could still hear his conversation a bit.

“Hey, Pops. I have a beautiful girl here looking for you.” He looked out at me and chuckled. I assumed he added the beautiful part because he knew I could hear him and he was trying to flirt. “Yes, I’m sure she’s here to see you; I’ve never seen her before; she must be from out of town. I don’t know what she wants, but she only wants to speak to you.”

He leaned his head out from behind the doorway and said, “Can you come back in the morning? He is about to have a meal with some friends. They just got back from a trip late last night, but he will come down here if it’s really necessary.”

I smiled. “Oh yes, tomorrow is perfect. I can be here at nine tomorrow morning if that’s okay?”

He repeated what I said into the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell her; Enjoy your dinner, don’t forget to save me some.”

That was not a good sign. He called him Pops and asked him about saving food. This man cannot be related to me. I will die. Hopefully, it’s just a nickname he used or term of endearment. I resisted rolling my eyes at myself when he came back out front.

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