Page 2 of Charmed By the Mountain Man

"She's the new girl at the café who thought up those new carrot apple chocolate chip muffins," Crow says. "This is what you miss when you take off for a few weeks."

Hux releases my hand and narrows his eyes as he growls at Crow. A second later, he's laughing with him. "We all have family stuff sometimes. Geez." He crams a huge bite of the smushed Danish into his mouth, then his eyes roll back in his head. "Mmm. Mmm-hmm."

I love that such a big man in his…thirties, I think?...is so melodramatic about pastries. Even though he's solid as a rock, there's a twinkle in his eye that makes me want to step closer.

Crow's eyebrow arches as he clears his throat. "You know, that ink’s dry enough. You wanna put a shirt on and stop terrorizing this sweet young lady?"

Hux turns, walking toward the back room and giving me a mouthwatering glimpse of his broad, rippling back. It's covered in thick slashing lines of what looks like marker, depicting trees surrounding a stone castle, with an overflowing treasure chest near the middle. A full moon takes up a large part of his left shoulder blade.

"That's…not the finished artwork, is it?" I ask.

"Nah." Crow shakes his head. "We're still working on ideas. We want to keep it a little bit storybook and a little bit pirate. But we definitely know it needs to swoop around the contours of the muscle."

Hux returns, pulling down the bottom of a snug black t-shirt. It does nothing to camouflage his size. In fact, the sleeves end at a section of his bicep that makes them look even thicker.

"Did you bake these?" he asks before popping the last of the Danish into his mouth.

"Sort of. I helped."

"They're fantastic." As Hux washes the pastry down with a swig of coffee, it draws my attention to his lips. The urge to stretch up for a kiss is overwhelming—not to mention ridiculous, and totally unlike me. I don't even know the guy! But all I can think about is having those massive arms around me.

Quick – think of something vaguely intelligent to say."That mountain scenery in the tattoo artwork—did you guys make it up, or is it based on a real place?"

Hux exchanges a glance with Crow and then chuckles, the deep rumble sending sparks through me. "Like your Danish—sort of. It's a mashup of several different real places."

Crow holds up his phone. "Check it out."

I stare in awe as he scrolls through several photos. None of them shows more than the roof of the house, but the rolling hills and rocky crags of Wolfe Mountain are seen perfectly. "Wow."

I should be getting back to work, but something stops me. As in, Huxley. I don't want to leave his orbit.Think of some more chitchat, fast."I like the jewelry you have in the window," I say to Crow.

Huxley’s head tilts, then he snaps his fingers. "Wait, I remember now! The new morning girl at Charming Café… Didn't Desire say something about you making jewelry?"

"Did she? Yes, I do. But it's stones and beads and wire spirals. Charms for bracelets and necklaces, stuff like that. Not cool rock 'n' roll accessories like these."

Crow shrugs while taking another huge swig of coffee. "Different doesn't mean not cool. We have the space to put a small collection of your stuff at the end there, if you like. Everyone in Cedarville loves to buy local."

Hux is giving me a look that makes it impossible to guess what he's thinking. Then his gorgeous lips curl into a smile. "Hey, I like rocks and stones. I'd buy some myself if I were a jewelry guy."

Crow snatches the pastry box away from Hux just as he's reaching for a chocolate cherry cruller. "That one's mine. And I don't think anyone makes jewelry that wouldn't fall apart from you stomping around in it." From the way they talk to each other, I can tell they've been friends for a long time.

"Well, enjoy breakfast. Good luck with the…um, storybook pirate." I wave, then spin toward the door just as Hux is giving me another look I can't figure out.

As I hurry back across the street, my heart is racing as fast as if I'd just jogged half a mile. I've never gotten so revved up around a man before—prickly, overheated, and completely at a loss of what to say or think.

All I know is that I cannot wait to see him again.

2

HUXLEY

Who knew that having raspberry jam smeared across my abs would be such a thrill? Even though I've long since scrubbed it off, the sensation of Willa's sweet nervousness as she wiped my skin with that napkin lingers. And as I climb into my truck to drive home, I'm still a bit off kilter.

Willa's reaction to me triggered something. It wasn't just how I immediately felt about her – i.e., starstruck. Her dark blue eyes were the exact shade of the lake at sunset, the kind of depths I could stare into forever. Even without her pretty dark blonde hair that waved to her shoulders, without her sexy, curvy figure, those eyes alone made her the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

But that's not what really startled me. It's how the way Willa looked at me made me feel. More…solid, somehow. Grounded.

It cemented my decision to stay here in Cedarville. I'd already pretty much decided to do that, despite the family stress that will ensue. Knowing that Willa lives here has rocketed my decision from 70% all the way up to 97.3% – even though I know it will tick my mother right off.

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