Page 6 of Broken Heart

First, I needed to find Skye, explain the situation, and figure out how she wanted me to handle it.

So, I turned and walked away from the front door and went in search of her. She was busy helping a patron, so I stood back and waited.

I wasn’t what I’d consider a patient person. Sure, I had moments when I could kick back and relax, but when there was work to be done, I didn’t prefer to stand around doing nothing.

In this case, I had no choice other than to wait. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as it might have normally been for me to exercise patience, because at least I had something very nice to look at.

Skye was, simply put, a gorgeous woman.

Her hair was one of the first things I’d noticed about her. It looked unbelievably soft and healthy, mostly golden, but with hints of a strawberry blonde color in the bottom layers, a lock of which had been draped over the front of her shoulder from the base of her neck.

I had two sisters, so I’d seen plenty of hair styling tools over the years. If I had to guess, Skye had used a curling iron on her hair this morning. It fell in loose waves down to about the middle of her back, with some shorter pieces framing her face.

I didn’t know if there was a word to describe the way her face looked other than to say it was perfect. Her features just all seemed to fit together. Her eyes drew me in immediately—soft, upturned, and blue-gray in color. Her bottom lip was fuller than the top, but neither overpowered her face. And her cheeks looked like they’d be even more prominent if she laughed.

Skye wore some makeup, but it only enhanced her natural beauty. I didn’t doubt she would have been just as beautiful stepping right out of the shower.

Of course, on that thought, my eyes drifted down her body. She was on the shorter side, particularly compared to my six-foot frame. I had at least seven or eight inches on her. And where my line of work kept me in prime physical shape, Skye had curves in all the best places. Her waist was trim, but her hips and ass filled out her jeans beautifully. She was wearing a short-sleeved white sweater on top that accentuated her larger breasts.

A single sweep over her, and I knew I could have had a whole lot of fun getting lost in so many of the physical aspects of her body.

But there was something else there, too. If the roles had been reversed and someone had been responsible for the door to my business being shattered, there wasn’t a chance I would have been as understanding as she had been.

I sensed an uneasiness about her when I’d first entered the store, but it was quickly replaced by a quiet acceptance. She seemed like the kind of woman who liked to look on the bright side, like she would do anything to avoid conflict.

Softness.

That was the word that came to mind when I thought about her. From her physical features to her persona, there was something unbelievably sweet and tender about her.

She was the very opposite of me. But I also wondered if she was the kind of woman who could bring a man like me to his knees without even having to utter a single word. One look was all it would take.

“Excuse me.”

Those two words broke into my thoughts, forcing me to shake my head as though needing to rid it of the thoughts I was having about a woman I’d just met and barely had a conversation with.

Skye’s customer was leaving, attempting to get around me, so I stepped to the side to allow the woman to pass.

Once she walked away, I shifted my attention to Skye. She was looking at me with questions lingering in her gaze, but it was clear she didn’t intend to ask them.

So, I didn’t hesitate to speak. “First, I want to apologize again for what happened here today. I’m terribly sorry about the door.”

She offered a nod and said, “I appreciate that. Thank you. But don’t worry so much about it. Accidents happen.”

“As I’m sure you can see, there’s a very temporary solution in place for you right now,” I started. “It’s not pretty, but it will do the job until I can get the permanent fix here for you. I will let you know that making that happen is my top priority, but I may be at the mercy of suppliers. I’m hoping it won’t be more than a day or two before I can have this all fixed for you. Unfortunately, I just don’t know what the situation is with the replacement glass yet. I assume you want to keep your current door, right?”

A wave of uncertainty washed over her as her eyes shifted between the front door and me. When they finally settled on me and stayed there, she revealed, “I don’t have any emotional ties to the door or anything like that, but I would assume that keeping it and replacing the glass would be the easiest and most cost-effective solution, wouldn’t it?”

Nodding, I confirmed, “Easiest and cost-effective? Yes. Quickest? I don’t know the answer to that yet. If it’s not, and you’re open to having it changed out, I’m happy to make that happen, because I don’t think it’s fair that your store has to be in this state for something that isn’t your fault.”

“It’s not really your fault, either.”

She’d already noted that accidents happened and not to worry, and now she was insisting I wasn’t to blame. There was no longer any doubt about it. Skye was one of the most easygoing people I’d ever met.

“Technically, I guess you’re right. Mother nature intervened here, but the bottom line is that I’m responsible, and I want to get it taken care of for you,” I explained. “I’ve taken some measurements and pictures for both scenarios. If I can have the glass replaced in a reasonable amount of time, we’ll go that route. If it’s going to be too long, I’ll research some other options for you.”

“Okay. I don’t want you to have to worry about spending more money than is necessary. If I have to wait an extra day or two to have the glass replaced, it’s not a huge problem,” she said.

And there was more proof I hadn’t been wrong about her. Skye seemed as sweet as they came. That disposition was a huge turn-on. I wasn’t here for my own personal gain, though. And the reality was that my life was unbelievably chaotic at the moment. It would have been unfair for me to even consider getting involved with someone like that.

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