Page 7 of Undoing the Grumpy Guy

Red as bright as the freshest strawberry floods her face, but it’s the flash of pain in her stormy eyes that has my stomach sinking like I swallowed a lump of iron.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers as her shoulders slump.

I’ve never thought of myself as a deliberately cruel man. Now I’m second guessing that assessment.

Inching closer, I reach out my hand and trail my fingers down her arm. When she doesn’t move away, I tangle my fingers with hers. “Why are you apologizing?” I rasp. “I’m the one who was rude. I’m sorry.”

Winnie’s fingers tighten on mine as her gaze searches my face. “No, I was rude first. I was nervous, so I kept you waiting while I took the time to steady my nerves. It was silly to hide in the bushes like that.”

“Why agree to the date if you were nervous?” This close to her, the clean sunshine scent of her reaches me and I inhale deeply, wanting nothing more than to keep her sweet smell with me always.

Her tongue swipes along her lower lip, so quickly I almost miss it. I don’t miss the glow of heat in her eyes or the answering burn of desire flaring to life within me.

“I wasn’t nervous about the date,” she admits slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. “But I didn’t realize it would be with you.”

My eyebrows lift as I digest her statement. Searching my memory, I come up with nothing. “Have we met before?”

Those vibrant curls flare out and bob as she shakes her head. “No, we haven’t met.” A touch of pink fills her cheeks. “But I’ve seen you many times before.”

That doesn’t help. My job necessitates speaking to the press at times so she could have seen me in a news clip or even eating at my favorite restaurant. That’s not it though, and something itches at the back of my brain.

Quickly my mind picks everything apart and pieces together where I’ve seen that honey-blonde hair before. “Honeysuckle Senior Center.”

The pink on her face deepens. “Yes. I have lunch with my Mimi weekly and have seen you there with your grandmother.”

“Elliot, yes.”

So it’s what I originally thought. A pang of regret tugs at me. Her “Mimi” somehow coerced Elliot into setting up this date. The why evades me.

Just as fast, I reject that. She said she didn’t realize the date would be with me. “I don’t understand. Our grandmothers set up this date, yet you didn’t know it would be with me?”

“I’ve seen you there, but I never knew your name. Mimi just told me she wanted to set me up with one of her friend’s grandsons whose name was Reed.”

An ache forms like a hot ball of lava in my chest. “If you would have known the date was with me, you never would have accepted.”

CHAPTER FOUR

WINNIE

A hardness settles over his features, making him appear as beautiful and unattainable as the marble statues of the Greek Gods.

Despite his amazing looks, he’s not a god or a statue, he’s a flesh and blood man and I think I just hurt him with my confession.

Unable to believe my boldness, I stroke the fingers of my free hand along his arm, feeling the strength of the concealed muscles under his suit. For an attorney, he’s much more solid than I would have thought. Once again, the idea of sketching him pops into my head, but I shove that way to the back of my mind, just like I try not to dwell on his job or how unbelievably out of my league he is.

What in the world was Mimi thinking?!

“I might have had a little crush on you,” I confess in a rush, not daring to meet his piercing blue eyes. “I mean, who wouldn’t?” Letting out a strident laugh, I wish the words would stop pouring out, yet they keep on coming. “So to have my date turn out to be you, it messed with my head.” Understatement of the year there.

Hard fingers grasp my chin, startling a gasp out of me as he urges my face upward. Our gazes collide and the tick of desire I’ve been fighting all afternoon rushes forward, making me almost sag against him.

“I’m sorry I never came over and introduced myself before,” he says as those intense eyes roam my face.

“Me too,” I squeak out and then immediately want to dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment. “I mean…”

Reed’s lips part as he smiles, and I realize this is the first time I’ve seen this man truly smile. I’ve caught him grinning at his grandmother- Elliot? Is that really her name?-while they had lunch together, but I’ve never seen this heart-stopping, panty-wetting smile.

And it’s aimed at me.

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