Page 2 of Tempting the Heart

My sister Audrey might touch a gold ring, and suddenly, she’d be thrust back into the 1950s as a man kissed his new bride, or my sister Amelia would find a stack of letters and suddenly marry the man of her dreams.

No wonder I still fantasized about a man I couldn’t have. It was safer that way, and I didn’t have to worry about conjuring up some love match from some vintage bowl or something.

There.

I already felt better after the conversation with me, myself, and I.

Washing my hands, checking the fresh coffee, and slowly walking over to the door to unlock it put me right back where I needed to be.

In reality.

Soon, rush hour would liven up my little coffee shop as commuters waited to catch the ferry, and I’d happily roll into bed this evening exhausted.

I flipped theOpensign and unlocked the door just as a man outside reached to pull it open. Bringing my gaze up, my breath caught when I realized who was standing on the other side of the glass.

It couldn’t be.

My heart pounded like a gavel in a courtroom as I quickly looked around my safe haven to hide. I’d only been kidding myself to think that Tyler had been at the park this morning.

And now look at what I did.

It’s like I manifested the man right in front of me.

His ruffled dark hair and striking blue eyes.

The stunning smile with a hint of aloofness.

I dropped my gaze to his boots, realizing I hadn’t turned the lock completely.

What I ought to have done and what I did do were two very different things.

Rather than twist the lock all the way open, I spun around and kept him on the outside while I tried to regroup on the inside. I’d only gotten a quick glimpse of him to know the years had been kind to him.

Too good.

Meanwhile, today, of all days, I’d decided to skip a shower, pull my hair into a low bun, smack a bicycle helmet on my head, and call it good.

The story of my life.

No, I could not keep the man locked outside my coffee shop for the next hour, but I could buy myself a few more seconds of peace before opening the door and pretending I didn’t know who he was.

Because why would I know who Tyler was?

If I admitted I remembered him, I’d blow my cover.

After all, he was merely my brother’s best friend, whom I hadn’t seen since I was a kid, and he was… a kid.

Technically, I was sixteen and he was eighteen, on his way to college with a full-ride baseball scholarship.

But who needed the details?

I stared at the menu behind the counter, took a few deep breaths, and waited for him to knock.

Except that…

He didn’t.

At least a minute passed before I slowly spun around to see absolutely nobody at the door.

---