Page 8 of His Pickle Her Jam

A little water on my cheeks and a stern pep talk to myself later and I was ready to face Mrs. Montgomery, her nasty receptionist, and him.

“You ready?” Buck asked, standing outside the restrooms.

“Were you waiting for me?” I asked.

“Uh, just come on,” he mumbled.

Buck cupped the back of his neck, giving me a half shrug before gesturing to Mrs. Montgomery’s office. I pretended not to notice the way his light blue t-shirt tightened over his pecs and biceps, giving me a tantalizing glimpse of the rippled muscles I knew he had beneath his clothes.

I huffed out a breath, earning me another inquisitive look, but I just ignored him. It was my go to those days.

Pretend the hot boy doesn’t exist.

That was my motto. Yup.

I walked past the empty receptionist’s desk without pause and into Mrs. Montgomery’s office. The woman herself was standing inside, and she looked vaguely uncomfortable.

Uh oh. Mr. Jones rejected my offer.

At least, that was my first thought until she opened her mouth.

“Miss Morrow, I wanted to apologize for my receptionist’s behavior. She is a new hire, not that it’s any excuse for being rude to a client or anyone, really. Anyway, I hope you’re both still willing to work with Montgomery Real Estate in handling this matter, but of course, you are welcome to find another realtor if that makes you more comfortable?—”

“Whoa, slow down, what are we talking about? Oh!”

Realization dawned, and I tilted my head back and to the side, staring at him with my eyes so wide I was surprised they didn’t pop out of my head.

Did he? Had he actually complained about that horrid woman? And if he did, then why?

No, it was impossible.

But as I stood there looking at his serious mien, I realized he must have said something. He was studying Mrs. Montgomery as if to gauge her sincerity before looking at me.

“Are you okay if we keep our business here?” he asked me.

Heat sizzled through my veins, and I bit my lip. Not only had he stuck up for me with that nasty receptionist, but he apparently brought it right to Mrs. Montgomery, the owner of the real estate firm handling the property.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine. Thank you,” I said, looking directly at him.

No one had ever really stuck up for me before. Unfortunately, being nasty to someone because they were fat was still acceptable to most of society.

The world just wasn’t kind to someone carrying more weight than was deemed fit or proper. I was a big girl. Always had been, always would be.

Yes, I ate healthy foods and loved fresh produce and greens. But I also had the occasional cookie or sweet. And yeah, I enjoyed bread and pasta.

I liked myself the way I was, and anyone who had issues with it, well, those were their issues, not mine.

But I was grateful for him right then. Really, I was, and I wanted him to know I meant it.

I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. A shock raced up my arm and I gasped, looking down at where his big, tanned hand still clasped mine. David’s dark gaze zeroed in on me, and my mouth went dry.

“No problem, Pretty Girl,” he whispered.

“Great! Why don’t you have a seat, and I will get Mr. Jones on the line,” she replied and gave us a toothy smile.

CHAPTER THREE-BUCK

Was it getting warmer?

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