Page 100 of Unexpected Hero

“Oh?” I feign disinterest, complete with a nonchalant shrug and approximately twenty-seven rapid fire blinks. “I wasn’t back there, of course. Did you happen to see anything interesting?”

I don’t want to know what he saw or did while he was there. I’d prefer not knowing that room even exists. So why am I asking?

His voice brings my attention back to his handsome face. “Why are your cheeks getting red?”

“It’s a little warm up here,” I fib, fanning myself with a sticky note. Everyone knows sticky notes are known for their cooling properties due to their robust size.

His eyes light up with a twinkle of mischievousness, communicating his disbelief. “It was a scorcher today, but the rain cooled it down.”

“We sure needed it,” I offer, as is customary when someone mentions precipitation.

We have the best conversations when we’re uncomfortable like this.

His external awkwardness pairs nicely with my internal awkwardness.

He taps his knuckles on the top of the front desk. “You look nice.”

“Thank you. As do you.”

I glance at my short skirt and low-cut blouse, suddenly self-conscious as all get out. But his eyes seem to eat up my skin, so that feeling is soon replaced by warmth.

The silence stretches far too long, so I take the bull by the horns. “Listen, James, this feels weird.” I gesture between us. “Why is it weird?”

“I’m not sure. But I’m working through it.”

“Working through it,” I whisper, nodding eagerly like it’s fascinating information. Glancing at my desk, I grab a club guidebook that Dante gave me.

“Everything good so far?” he asks after a few seconds of my pamphlet flipping.

“Yes. Freya is sweet and funny. She’s training me until I’m comfortable enough to be on my own.”

“Great. Were you with Dante earlier?”

The desire to needle him hits me out of nowhere. To tease him with innuendo or not to tease him with innuendo? That’s the question.

And the answer I choose? Tease him.

My eyes fall to the most interesting pamphlet ever printed. In truth, I’m using it as a safety blanket. I guess that would make it a safety pamphlet. Har har har.

Ignoring the cracked-out squirrel controlling my thoughts, I reply, “Yes.” Intentionally, I add a breathy heat to my tone. “He needed to teach me a few things about the business.”

The counter of the desk creeks, drawing my attention to the source of the sound. James has a white-knuckle-death grip on the wooden surface. My lips repeatedly quirk into a teasing grin, but I school my expression by sheer force of will, determined to carry out the gag.

When I meet his eyes, he’s looking to the ceiling and mumbling softly.

I can’t be sure, but it sounds like a list. Maybe… friend, sponsor, mentor. What is he rattling on about? I lean forward, my ears straining.

“Are you okay?”

His nostrils flare with a deliberate inhale. “Yeah.”

When the wood creeks again, I rise and walk around the counter. After placing my hand on top of his, whimpers of mirth break through my tightly sealed lips. The grin I’ve been fighting finally wins the battle, eclipsing my entire face.

Instead of laughing with me, he glances at my hand caressing his, then burns his gaze into mine with a look so penetrating that I can barely stand.

My chest quivers with a shuttering breath, and tightness coils in my lower abdomen.

His eyes are dark aquamarine fathomless pools of secrets and desires. I want nothing more than to wade through to uncover all they hide.

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