Page 4 of Daddy's Heart

She found George sitting at a table in the corner with another man. Assuming it was Ryder, her host for the next few weeks, she took a deep breath. Maybe she should have taken a second to try to fix her hair. George motioned toward her as she got closer to them, and his companion turned in his chair to look at her.

She paused.

It was the man from the honking car. His curious glance fell away as he locked eyes with her. His left eyebrow arched with obvious recall.

Well, hell. Perfect first impression.

“Ryder, this is Samantha.” George stood up from his chair, and Ryder followed.

He was at least two heads taller than her. She tilted her head back to look up at him better, then retreated a step to put space between them.

“Hi.” She forced a lightness to her voice, hoping he didn’t actually remember their very short, very unimportant encounter.

“Hey,” he said, putting his hand out to her. She’d noticed the bulk of his shoulders and chest when he’d stood up, but with his hand outreached, she could make out the muscles of his forearm and the callouses on his fingers. This man knew hard work. And it showed.

She swallowed—drooling over him wouldn’t make his opinion of her any higher—and seized his hand. He gripped it and gave a gentle shake before letting go.

“Hi,” she finally managed to say.

“I’ll grab you a tea,” George said, escaping from the situation.

“Actually, I think I’d like a coffee. Caramel Macchiato?” She glanced up at the menu board hanging over the bakery selection.

“Sure thing. You hungry? Did you stop on the way up to eat?” George fired off his questions.

“I’m fine. Just a small coffee, thanks.” She smiled at him and found a chair between his and Ryder’s to sink into. The sooner she could get head level with Ryder, the sooner her mind would stop reeling.

“Do you usually play with your phone while you drive?” Ryder’s question fell between them. George was already in line and couldn’t overhear them. She supposed she should be grateful he hadn’t said it in front of him.

“No.” She wrapped the thin strap of her purse around the bag and placed it on the table in front of her. “I was getting the directions to meet here. That’s all,” she explained, feeling defensive.

He didn’t know her. Who was he to make judgements about her from a three-second encounter on the road?

“Hmmm.” He leaned back in his chair and slipped his hands from the table. “You didn’t already have it in your maps?”

She met his glare with what she hoped was a stern look of her own. “No. I didn’t. When George text me about it, I was already on the highway.”

His eyes, melted chocolate, narrowed. “He text you this morning. I was with him. You didn’t stop at all on the drive?”

She sighed again. Inquisitions irritated her. “I didn’t. No.”

“Easy drive then?” he asked, lightening his tone slightly.

“Yeah. Not bad.” She glanced at George, who had moved up one spot. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go.

“George said you have a few interviews this week?”

She swerved her gaze back to Ryder. “Yeah. Look, maybe it would be better if I just got a hotel. I should hopefully have a job by the end of the week, and I can start looking at apartments tomorrow. Hopefully, only be a few weeks.”

The tip of his tongue slipped out between his teeth before he bit the edge of it. Was he trying to hold back his words or deciding what best to say? As irritating as he was, she couldn’t help but wonder what pleasure that tongue could bring.

The drive must have been more tense than she’d thought.

Stress made her libido kick into overdrive. And she’d been alone in the romance department for over a year. Yes, that was what made him so damn attractive.

“No.”

She snapped her attention back to him. “What?”

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