Page 3 of Crave

The giant, or man, I guess, is at least six-foot-five, towering over me with his thick, broad shoulders and burly chest. His dark blue overalls can barely contain his body—every muscle is bulging against the fabric, the seams threatening to burst wide open. His blue eyes glint at me as I stare up at him, and his mouth curls up into a smile. Holy crap he’s handsome. Breathtakingly, panty-droppingly handsome.

“I—uh, what?” I ask, stumbling over my words.

Was he even talking to me?

“I said damn straight. Those curves sure are beautiful.” He says it so matter-of-factly, his eyes lingering on my body, devouring me with his gaze until I feel my skin begin to heat up. Crap. I can’t believe he heard me randomly complimenting myself.

“Uh, thanks, I’ve just been saying a lot of affirmations lately. They help with confidence and stuff.”

The man nods, cocking his head as he says, “Well, you have every reason to be confident. You’re a beautiful girl.”

My heart sings at his words, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. I’m not used to being randomly complimented like this, especially not by insanely sexy older guys.

“Thanks,” I say. “You are too.” I frown at my words. “Not a beautiful girl, I mean, uh, a beautiful man. Handsome. A handsome man.”

Great. I’ve forgotten how to speak.

The man chuckles. “Why thank you. I’m Grant.” He holds out one of his enormous hands, engulfing mine in a lingering handshake that makes my heart skip a beat.

“Esme.”

Grant smiles slightly. “Pretty name. It suits you.”

At that moment, Millie appears holding a steaming foam cup in each hand.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything,” she says, handing me one of the cups, “but I got you some cocoa anyway.”

I thank her, gratefully sipping the hot, chocolatey mixture and letting the cup heat my frozen hands. It warms me up, but not nearly as much as Grant’s gaze—my cheeks burn at the feel of his eyes sweeping over me.

“Oh!” Millie says when she turns and notices Grant standing there. “Hey, Grant.”

He nods his head at her politely, looking a little surprised. “Hey, Millie. I didn’t see you there.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah, Grant is a mechanic. He works with Cole over at Randy’s Auto Repair.” She looks back up at him. “Thank you so much for fixing the pick-up, by the way. It looks way better now.”

“No problem. I’m always happy to help you and Cole out.”

Millie smiles, then looks curiously between Grant and me. “How do you two know each other?”

“We don’t,” I say. “We just met.”

Millie raises her eyebrows, watching us thoughtfully. A sly smile slowly tugs at her lips and she catches my gaze, her face full of excitement. I can tell exactly what she’s thinking.

Grant would make the perfect rebound fling for you, Esme. You’ll forget about Josh in no time with this burly giant on top of you.

Millie’s smile grows as she says, “I’ll be right back! I’m going to grab some more soup.”

I almost roll my eyes as she winks at me and walks back toward the food truck, leaving me alone with Grant. Could she be any more obvious?

“So…” I rack my brain for something to say. “You’re a mechanic?”

Grant nods his head. “Sure am. A diesel mechanic.”

“That explains the uniform.” I gesture to his coveralls which are streaked with black oil. He looks so damn good in his work outfit: strong, sexy, and a little rough around the edges.

“Yeah, I came straight from work. I wasn’t planning on it, but I heard the concert and figured why the hell not?” He falters for a second, lowering his eyes to mine. “I’m glad I stopped by. Getting to meet you made it worth it.”

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