Page 5 of Storm Bound
That just happened.
Beshert, part two.
And to think I’d spent the past hour eating lunch and feeling like a good schmuck for not taking the opportunity to ask for the guy’s number.
Well, we had the rest of the journey to New Harlow for me to work up the chutzpah to do so. No excuses.
As the bus revved to life, I leaned back on my seat, but relaxing was impossible with such a gorgeous man beside me.
He had short, blond hair that almost looked platinum when it caught the light, and his eyes were a wonderful seaweed green.
The snowy misery of the outside world attacked the windows with a white fierceness.
“Can you believe this weather?” I said, turning to him.
“Yeah... January really isn’t messing about, is it? Was your flight canceled, too? Or do you prefer the luxury of the twenty-hour trip?” He smirked and took his windbreaker off, resting it on his lap.
The black sweater he was wearing underneath hugged his torso warmly. He didn’t look like a particularly athletic guy, but he definitely looked so darn huggable.
“While I can’t deny this bus trip is already exceeding expectations,” I started. “I did have flights booked.”
Charlie’s lip pressed to one side in the slightest hint of a smile.
“Yeah, same here. Where are you from? You don’t sound Virginian… at all,” he said.
“Oh yeah? What do I sound like?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Michiganian, for sure,” he said.
I smiled. “You’re right. I’m...Michigander.”
He rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Sorry. I simply refuse to use Michigander. It sounds… stupid.”
My stomach trembled with laughter, and I covered it with my hand. He didn’t need to think I was even fatter than I was.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll allow it,” I said. “And you? Where are you from? Do I detect a little Southern drawl?”
It was barely there, but I could hear it in the vowels for sure.
“You got me. I’m a Virginian, but I’ve been living in Detroit for the past eight years.”
“And you’re visiting your family?” I asked.
“Something like that.” He scrunched up his face and oh my God, was he adorable. “You? New Harlow is a long way from home.”
“And don’t I know it. It’s not like it’s my mom’s every second sentence.” I chuckled.
Since Uncle Aaron offered me the job, it was all Mom could talk about. How I was abandoning her and moving across the world. Never mind Virginia was hardly the end of the world. Or that she had, like, three more sons to coddle. Or the fact I was a thirty-seven-year-old man. Or the fact that I needed this more than anything, and she knew that.
“New job?” he asked.
“Something like that,” I replied, mimicking his earlier words. “Any words of wisdom?”
Charlie squinted again.
“Well, for starters, if you think this is bad, you got another think coming.” He pointed outside the window.
