Page 15 of Andy

Warmth spread through her as they walked downstairs. “I’m not usually this bold,” Mel said.

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “Actually, I don’t date enough to be this bold. I’ve had guys walk out in the middle of dates. They just aren’t interested in me.”

“Their loss,” Andy said.

“You really believe that.”

Andy stopped walking and turned. Agitation flitted across his face. “You’ve got to stop putting yourself down. I don’t know what was wrong with those other men, but you are a snack. You’re beautiful and funny, too. I like you a lot. So yeah, any guy who walked out during a date with you was stupid. They were one hundred percent wrong. You are smart and sexy, and I really hope we like spending time together because I want us to work.”

She put her hand on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. “The way you said that makes me want to believe. Just give me time to adjust my thinking.”

He removed her hand from his chest, and for a second, she thought he was going to tell her no. He didn’t. Instead, he kissed each one of her knuckles as he held her gaze.

“Soon, not today, but soon, I’m going to show you how sexy I think you are.”

A shiver snaked through her, and Andy cleared his throat as he stood straight.

“Right now, we need to get out of here before I toss you over my shoulder and carry you up to my bed.”

Her lips screwed up to one side, and she spoke in a totally flat voice. “Sure, that sounds like a really bad idea, and I’m sure I’d be totally against the idea of you doing that.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Just wait.”

“Oh, I’ll stick around for that. I’ve never been carried anywhere by any guy.”

He grabbed his keys and her hand, leading her out the door. “Really? No guy has picked you up and carried you to his bed? You weigh, what? One hundred and five pounds, maybe.”

They stepped outside, and a refreshing breeze hit her. Inside hadn’t been hot, but being alone and so close to Andy had heated her up.

“One hundred and six. I weighed this morning. I’m proud of that extra pound. If I don’t pay attention, I can drop down too low.”

He stopped and studied her, the concern evident on his face. “How low?”

“A few years ago, I was down to eighty-seven. It was bad. I felt terrible. It took more than six months to gain ten pounds. I’ve been working hard to gain these last few pounds. The robbery could have caused some chaos, but I’ve been forcing myself to eat.”

He held her door open and made sure she was in before he closed the door and ran around to the other side of his truck. Once he settled in the driver’s seat, he flashed a smile. “Do you like pizza?”

“Oh yeah. I love pizza.”

“Cool. Let’s go get some pizza.”

She smiled to herself as Andy pulled his truck out onto the road. She was dating a super sexy guy who could hoist her over his shoulder. When she’d had her legs wrapped around him, she could feel his strength. She liked it, and she really liked him. But could she hold it together enough to last?

Chapter 7

“You’re kidding me?” Andy asked as Mel nodded and chewed on the bite of pizza she’d just shoved into her mouth. It took her a moment to finish, but she swallowed and then wiped her mouth.

“Yes, it’s totally true. There are more avocados grown here than anywhere else in the US.”

“That’s an odd fact to know.”

She shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t like just sitting around my apartment on the weekends. I go to museums, hikes, to the library. I try to do stuff like sit in on lectures and such.”

“So after we finish, would you like to—” His phone rang, and he wasn’t going to answer, but it was Harry. “Hold on, he might have left something at the house. Hey, Harry, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if you both wanted to come by the condo and swim.”

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