Construction crew. He’d mentioned earlier that was what he did for a living. My mind drifted to thoughts of him out in the heat of the day, sweating as he hammered nails into boards and…whatever else it was construction workers did.

Heat no longer rushed to my face. No, it was going to a completely different body part.

Whoa. What was happening here? This was…different.

“Rosewood Ridge is a small town,” he said. “We’ll band together and put it back like it was.”

“Or even better.”

My words brought a reaction from him. It was a brief flicker, but I caught it. He thought I was implying Rosewood Ridge could be improved. Not at all.

“My college town had a tornado,” I rushed to explain. “Afterward, it seemed like the locals were so much closer. Working together… Plus, we got a crap-ton of new restaurants out of it.”

Did that sound shallow? I was a college kid at the time, always in search of a good pizza. After the tornado, there were so many more options.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Dyson said. “Not about the restaurants, but about us working together to rebuild. We’re about to see what this town is made of.”

“Exactly.”

“What about you?” he asked before popping a fry in his mouth.

What about me? Going by the most recent words out of his mouth, he wanted to know what I was made of. Was this another chance to flirt?

“You’re here for the makeup convention,” he said. “Is that your job?”

I shook my head. “It’s a side gig. My job is as an account manager for an automotive sales company based in Atlanta.”

Another look flashed in his eyes, and this one I couldn’t read. It almost looked like disappointment.

“So, you live in Atlanta?” he asked.

Oh. Was that why he was disappointed? He thought I lived four hours away?

“Kingston,” I said. “I work from home.”

“Kingston, Tennessee?”

I nodded. The disappointment had vanished. I’d driven just over an hour to get here. That was definitely doable if he wanted to see me again.

Did he want to see me again after tonight? Did he maybe want to date me?

No, I couldn’t get my hopes up about that. This guy was gorgeous. G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. He could have his pick of women. What would he want with a twenty-three-year-old account manager who’d barely even dated?

“Maybe I’ll just have to drive to Kingston and take you on a date,” Dyson said. “Any good restaurants around there?”

“A few.”

My mind was spinning. This guy was actually thinking about taking me on a date. That was more than just an attraction. He wanted to spend more time with me.

Unless he just wanted to get me into bed. A guy would drive an hour to get laid, wouldn’t he?

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the tornado aftermath. Maybe it was the fact that I could easily walk out of here and never see this guy again. Whatever the reason, I found myself boldly blurting out the only question on my mind.

“Are you looking for a relationship or just sex?”

3

DYSON