Page 2 of His to Unwrap

“You’ll be off them soon.” Hopefully, Roland has good insurance until then. I love the woman, but she creates disaster. Not intentionally. She’s just gifted.

The coffee shop door opens as we near, and a behemoth of a man steps out. He’s easily six foot four with auburn hair cut short on the sides, but long and messy on top. A dark beard covers his jaw and his shoulders are so broad, I swear he has to turn sideways to get through the door. His faded brown jacket hangs open, revealing a blue flannel shirt that hugs his chest and flat stomach, hinting at the heavy muscles beneath, while dark jeans cover his thick thighs and long legs.

Holy hell. He’s hot.

He holds the door open, glancing at Amanda, before those golden eyes land on me.

I feel the weight of his gaze as his eyes sweep over my curves, lingering like a slow caress on my hips and breasts as they travel up to my mouth. I lick my lips and press them together as a blush heats my cheeks.

“Oh thanks,” Amanda chirps, oblivious to my sudden fascination with this man.

He shifts closer to me and the scent of pine and clean male skin hits me. Has anyone ever smelled so good? I want to bury my nose in his neck and breathe for days until his scent is so imprinted that I’ll never be without it. It’s an insane thought. Who does that?

The man rumbles something in a deep voice that sends a delicious shiver through me that makes my nipples hard.

Amanda hobbles inside the coffee shop.

I haven’t moved. This man is radiating strength and power just standing there, holding the door for me. There’s a presence about him that I can’t quite define.

His lips quirk in the barest smile as he waits. Then he leans toward me until I feel the warmth of his breath tickle the shell of my ear.

“Better get inside, angel. Don’t want you to get too cold.”

My hands snag onto his flannel shirt as he speaks, because I’m swaying into him like some swoony romance heroine. Dear god, could I be more cringe in front of this man? No. Can I help myself? Obviously not, or I wouldn’t be making such a scene. He just smellsso good.

A large, warm hand lands on the small of my back, breaking me out of his wicked spell. I meet his deep, golden gaze.

One corner of his mouth tugs up before he pries my fingers out of his shirt and gently nudges me toward the door.

The entire encounter probably only lasted a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of melting over a stranger on the street when I still have a full week to spend here. Nope. Not mortifying at all.

“Uh… thank you,” I stammer as I get to the threshold.

His eyes glitter down at me and his chin lifts in acknowledgment, then the door shuts behind me. I turn backto the window and search the street outside for his big, rugged frame, but he’s gone.

Who was he? Will I see him again before I leave?

The thought that I might not makes me feel hollow. I shove the weird feeling down and meet Amanda at the counter. Jet lag. It’s the only explanation.

“Girl, you need to be bubble wrapped before you leave the house,” the woman behind the counter says, pointing to Amanda’s crutches.

“Probably,” she replies. “Sasha, this is my best friend Madison I was telling you about.”

Sasha extends her hand over the counter to shake mine, a wide smile on her face. She’s about our age, I think, with beautiful bronze skin and black eyes. “FromSpicedright? I love that TV show. Although how you deal with Chef Alastair is anyone’s guess. That man would scare a saint.”

My boss… or rather, my ex-boss, is a tornado in the kitchen. If a person’s movements were out of sync with his, they were destroyed verbally. Usually in front of an audience of millions. Most people think he’s the worst part of the show, but he never had a harsh word for me.

Before I can reply, Sasha turns to Amanda. “Did you ask her?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Ask me what?”

Amanda’s face scrunches. “I know you just got here, but I need a big favor.”

“Sure.”

“A really big favor. The town’s charity gala is in a few days. I volunteered for it before I fell.”

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