Page 15 of The Last Resort
“Hello. We meet again.”
It was the young woman from the airport arrivals, she of the near disaster with the pile of suitcases. Their eyes met, and a flash of recognition crossed her face. “Oh, my god. It’s you. My airport hero. I was hoping I’d get the chance to see you again. You saved my life.”
His well trained eye for detail slowly took her in.You poor girl.There were several butterfly bandages on her forehead, along with a dark bruise which her makeup barely hid. She was standing putting all her weight on what had to be her good leg. The one she hadn’t smashed against the concrete.
Matthew had a sudden urge to hug her.
“I’m glad to see someone fixed up your head. But I can tell that your left leg is still giving you trouble. You did take quite the tumble. Please tell me you went to the hospital?”
She gave him a weary shrug. “No hospital, but I do know someone who has extensive first-aid training. He managed to bandage the broken bits of me up. The knee and hip are just badly bruised. Sorry for the huffing and puffing as I came through the door. Every muscle is feeling extra stiff this morning.”
After witnessing her heavy fall at the airport, he could just imagine that two days later she would still be sore. His heart went out to her.
Matthew glanced back at the slow-moving queue ahead of him. The disagreeing couple were now at the front counter but still hadn’t made up their minds.
“We might be here for some time. How about you go take a seat and rest up. I can place your order. What were you going to have?”
His question got another shrug. “Um. This is actually my first time here, so I don’t know their menu. Is there anything you can recommend?”
She wasn’t a local.Good.That took care of any worry he might have with her wanting to know too much about him. He’d been warned by his father that people in small towns had a good nose for sniffing out strangers who’d come bearing secret plans.
It was all he could do not to sigh with pleasure as she slipped her blue striped beanie from her head and the rest of her pale blonde tresses tumbled down to settle about her shoulders.She’s pretty.
He looked again. No, she was stunning. A genuine beauty.
At the airport, he’d been so busy worrying about stopping this young woman from slipping into the road and under the wheels of a car, that he hadn’t had time to take in her appearance.Now as he studied her in the calm safety of the café, Matthew was captivated. Her blue eyes reminded him of the hot nights when he’d sat on the deck of his cousin’s yacht and stared out over the sapphire waters of the Aegean Sea.
Don’t rush out the door, stay with me.
“Well then if it’s your first time here at theManhattan Escapee Bakery,I am obliged to buy you breakfast.”
He was sure he was about to melt, when she offered him a gentle smile. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. In fact after your heroics of the other morning, I’m the one who should be buyingyoufood.”
Spellbound, Matthew shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s the law in this town. Since you are a newcomer, I must treat you to a full breakfast. You wouldn’t want to get me arrested now, would you?” He gave her a wink, and to his undisguised delight, her smile blossomed into a soft laugh.
She touched the sleeve of his puffer jacket, and it awakened something primal deep within him. The need to claim and keep.
“If you insist. We can’t have the authorities hauling you out of here in handcuffs, who else is going to save the town’s damsels in distress?”
“I’m glad you are starting to see things my way. What’s your coffee order?”
“A strong flat white please.” She glanced at the menu which was written in large letters on the wall behind the counter. “It all looks yum. I’ll eat pretty much anything … well, except for offal.”
He wasn’t much of a fan of offal either. “I don’t think they have it on the menu, but I’ll make sure not to order it just in case.” Her grateful smile sent an unexpected flutter of joy to Matthew’s heart.
This woman was playing havoc with his body, and they hadn’t even touched skin. As his cute, breakfast companionheaded off to grab them a table, Matthew was left trying to figure out what was happening to him. He liked women, had a great appreciation of them, but until this morning no female had ever had him wondering if he’d just been struck by lightning.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned back to the counter. The argumentative couple had finally decided on their order. As soon as they were done, Matthew stepped up to the counter.
His original plan had been to pick up his coffees and a muffin, then head back to the apartment. Mia had sent word overnight that his final notes for the design were being incorporated into the model and it would be ready for him to collect when he returned to New York on Monday. He’d intended to keep reading through his draft presentation for the planning meeting, but this unexpected encounter with the woman from the airport had him happily changing plans. He was in the mood for something different.
I have time to share a meal with a beautiful girl. I need to make time.
The server at the counter greeted him. “Good morning. Coffee and muffins?”
“Actually no. My friend is just getting us a table over there.” He pointed in the direction of his new breakfast partner. “So we’ll be dining in this morning. Could we please have two full American breakfasts, and two large flat white coffees. Oh, and could you also bag up some of your zucchini nut muffins to go.”
Rachel was beyond pleased to have met up with her hero from the airport. She’d been worried that he hadn’t realized just how close to disaster she’d come. And how grateful she was that he had stepped in when he did and saved her.
