Page 10 of The Boy from Half Moon

I quickly gathered my arms to my side, focusing on the floor as I fought the panic attack I recognized was coming on fast. Focus, Luke. He is not a bad man.

“Please just go,” I pleaded. “No charge. Can you please just leave?” I cried.

The most amazing-looking man I’d ever seen looked shocked by my sudden change of demeanor. His eyes pleaded with me to explain what had occurred, but where would I even begin?

“Yes, of course,” he whispered, rushing past me and through the open doorway. “I’m so sorry,” he added, as I slammed the door and locked it. He stared through the glass as I gazed back at him. We locked eyes until he finally turned around and walked toward his car, stopping twice to glance back at me. He must think me a child.

CHAPTER Five: Tate

“Mr. Browning to see you, Mr. Finnigan,” the voice of my assistant came through my office phone. “Shall I send him in?”

Jesus! He frikken owns the company. What the hell do you think? Those were my thoughts, but of course, not how I answered. “Please send him in right away, Tyler,” I responded. “And call me Tate, please,” I added, disliking formalities, since in my opinion, I was far too young for boring names like sir.

My office door opened and there stood Alec Browning, the man I’d met on Zoom and one of the partners of my new employer. “Welcome, Tate,” he said. “How are you settling in?”

I stood and held out my hand. “So far, so good,” I began. “Tyler is scheduling my days and catching me up on pending cases. He has been excellent at steering me along.”

“Good to hear,” he replied, gesturing to the chair on his side of my desk. “May I?”

“Of course,” I answered, waiting for him to be seated. I felt uncomfortable that a partner was sitting across from me on my first day in the office. “Nice to finally meet you, Alec. May I call you Alec?”

“Absolutely, you can. We’re all on a first-name basis here, and we are thrilled you’ve joined us, Tate.”

My realtor, his Aunt Sarah, had been correct; Alec was the whole package. He was understated in his dress, but you couldn’t hide expensive when you had taste, and he had it in spades. He was my height, but our coloring was opposite. Whereas I had a caramel tone to my light brown hair, Alec had black hair. I was tan from laying in the sun for two weeks in Cabo before I moved to Bend, while he was paler and had a few freckles on his blemish-free face, giving him an incredibly boyish, yet stunning look.

His freckles hadn’t been apparent in the Zoom meetings. Oddly, he wasn’t a ginger, and by pale, I didn’t mean he was ghostly white either. Maybe Nordic was a better description. But did Scandinavians have black hair? The origin of his dark hair and freckles didn’t matter because he was very handsome indeed.

“I’ve felt very welcomed so far,” I stated. “And Tyler is amazing,” I repeated.

“We brought him over from finance where he assisted one of our VPs,” he said. “I knew he’d fit well with you.”

“Thank you,” I said, studying him as we chatted. Alec was confident yet spoke engagingly, quick to put me at ease. I liked him immediately and not just because he was gorgeous.

“So,” he began. “I understand that you’ve met my aunt Sarah.”

I let out a chuckle. “So I have,” I agreed. “She called you?”

“She did,” he confirmed. “I hope she didn’t prejudice you about me.”

“Only if you’re concerned that she views you as being the single most handsome nephew in the world,” I said.

“And let me guess, she told you she doesn’t understand why I’m single? Am I right?”

“Something like that,” I responded. “I have a mother that says the same sort of things.”

“Aw, so you’re single too?” he asked.

Alec stood and went to the window, gazing outside at my tenth-floor view, leaving his question to dangle because I avoided answering. His position facing away gave me the time to truly appreciate what Sarah was talking about.

He was lean and very fit. The expensive jeans he wore were tight in all the right places, hugging two perfect globes. The V of his back was pronounced, proving he worked out religiously. Alec turned toward me and smiled. Damn, he’s striking to look at. A noticeable bulge revealed itself through the front of his jeans. I swallowed hard. This would be more difficult than I imagined.

“Yes,” I said, gathering my senses, and deciding I needed him to know. “I am single.”

Strangely, just as my mind was filled with images of him naked and me exploring the obvious, Luke’s face appeared in my mind and shut down my desires. A surprising thing for sure, replacing the hunk in front of me. Like the past few days, the boy at the bakery was once again front and center in my brain.

Alec was definitely a ten, and he was also my usual type. He’d be fun, hot even, but I’d had that with Thomas and the one or two guys I’d dated since, but Luke had something I couldn’t stop thinking about. The problem? I hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what that something Luke undeniably possessed was.

“Perhaps we’ll have the occasion to right these wrongs,” he said. “You know, the two of us being single, part,” he added, sitting down again. “Maybe a drink after work if you’re free?”

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