Page 32 of Vacation Friends

Still, she hesitated before reaching for it.

Then she opened the folded slip.

Words were typed there.

Someone you know has CRUEL INTENTIONS. I’d be careful.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

THEN

A week had passed, and Cecilia was still thinking about Garrick.

He seemed to have stepped directly out of her dreams and into her real life.

Only he was just a blip on her timeline, someone she’d talked to for a few minutes one evening and whom she’d never see again.

Besides, it was probably as she’d assumed. The man most likely already had a girlfriend. What kind of man like that didn’t?

She straightened some of the expensive suits hanging on the racks at Balderston’s, each one silky and luxurious.

She hadn’t heard from Grocery Store Ryan since he stood her up. She really wanted to give the man a piece of her mind for leaving her at that restaurant to foot a bill she didn’t even know would exist.

Then again, if Ryan had shown up, Cecilia might not have met Garrick.

And Garrick had nicely occupied her thoughts for the past seven days.

She needed to stop though. What were the odds she’d ever see the man again?

“If it isn’t the woman from the restaurant,” a deep, gravelly voice said behind her.

Cecilia turned a little too quickly, instinctively knowing who it belonged to. But she also feared she was only hearing what she wanted to hear. Making things up in her mind.

When her eyes confirmed that it was Garrick standing there, her eyelids began to flutter, and her heart swelled. “Garrick . . . fancy seeing you here.”

“I need to get some new clothes for a fundraiser tonight. How fortuitous that I happened to show up at the very place where you’re employed.”

“How fortuitous,” she repeated.

He pointed to the suits beside her. “Do you mind?”

Cecilia shook her head quickly, hating how flustered she felt. “Right. Of course. Do you remember your measurements?”

“I’ve been working out so I’m hoping those numbers may have changed slightly.” He ran a hand down his chest as if checking his muscles. “Would you mind measuring me?”

Why did her cheeks heat at the thought of touching him? Of being that close? She was a professional. She took measurements all the time.

But never for someone like Garrick.

She swallowed hard. “Of course.”

They stepped toward the angled, three-paneled mirrors that stood on a platform amidst the suits.

Cecilia pulled the measuring tape from her pocket and faced the mirrors. “Raise your hands, please.”

Her throat tightened as she slipped her arms around Garrick to measure his chest. His waist. His hips.

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