Chapter 2 #2
I hesitated as I pulled the phone out. Mom Calling the display read like a warning.
“Shit,” I hissed on a whisper, staring at my phone like it was a cobra about to strike.
I stood like that for so long that the ringing eventually stopped, and a chime sounded, alerting me to a new voicemail.
Just like all the others she’d left since I climbed into my baby and fled my old life, stopping first in Tennessee to visit my dad in prison before topping off my tank and heading for parts unknown, I intended to leave this one sitting without listening to it.
After all, she didn’t have a goddamn word to say that I wanted to hear.
Stuffing the cell back into my bag, I started for the register once more. I’d almost made it to the counter when I had to jerk to a sudden stop to avoid colliding with the huge monster of a man who’d just rudely darted in front of me.
My face pinched into an unhappy frown as I stared in shock at the faded T-shirt stretched over the giant’s back while he mumbled his order to Molly.
He was at least six and a half feet tall, dwarfing me completely, but his size did nothing to dissuade me from calling him out.
“Uh, excuse me.” Assuming he didn’t hear me since he hadn’t turned around, I tapped him on his massive shoulder to get his attention. “Excuse me.”
The man finally turned, and I was forced to pull in a sharp breath when I realized the cutter was none other than the Adonis on the bike.
I got my first glimpse of his face, up close and personal, and it went without saying that the dude was hot.
The full beard covering his chin and jaw was the same sexy midnight color as his hair, both sprinkled with hints of salt throughout that made him look even more mouthwateringly rugged.
Even with his awesome facial hair, I could see the definition in his sharp cheek bones and his full, pillowy lips.
His long, straight nose looked like it belonged on a male model, and with the sunglasses now hooked in the collar at the front of his shirt, I could see his eyes were an inky black so deep they seemed bottomless.
With just one look I sensed an underlying danger in this guy that made my breathing shallow.
To most women, that would send up a red flag telling them to run, but I wasn’t most women.
I’d grown up around bikers all my life, so there was something about the ruggedness of a bearded man with an edge to him that just did it for me in a very big way, and this guy had all of that in spades.
He was the antithesis to my ex in every way possible. I’d changed myself to match John, but with one glance, I knew this guy was of my ilk, no doubt about it. And even though I’d taken a break from men, I wasn’t dead. I still allowed myself to window-shop.
I felt my lips pull in a small smile, and my inner flirt started rising to the surface. But when he opened his mouth and clipped, “Christ. What?” in a tone liberally laced with agitation, the spell was suddenly broken.
“I was already here,” I said as my grin fell into a scowl.
“Don’t know how you figure that, seein’ as I’m in front of you.”
Okay, so this guy wasn’t edgy. He was just a prick. “You’re in front of me because you just cut in line.”
He glanced over my shoulder before returning those bottomless eyes back to me. “This some sort of imaginary line?”
I looked back to see there was no one behind me. But that didn’t matter. “I’m the line,” I snapped.
“Usually a line consists of more than one person. There was no one else behind you, and you were fuckin’ around with your phone when I came in, so I got here first. Now why don’t you back the hell off and wait your turn.”
Squeezing my hands into tight fists, I spoke through gritted teeth, “I wasn’t fucking around on my phone. I was walking to the register when you rudely pushed in front of me. That’s the very definition of cutting.”
The man rolled his eyes and grunted, “Don’t have time for this stupid shit,” before disregarding me completely.
My mouth fell open in affront as he turned back to Molly like I wasn’t even there.
“What a dick,” I grumbled under my breath while trying to force lasers to shoot from my eyes.
Anger made my blood begin to simmer, and I crossed my arms over my chest while tapping the toe of my cute sandal in frustration as the guy completed his order and moved to the side.
I finally made it to the register, receiving an apologetic look from Molly as I let out a sigh to release the last of my frustration. “Sorry about that,” she said quietly.
“Don’t worry about it. Some people are just jerks.”
“True enough. So what can I get you?”
“I’m ordering for two,” I answered. “Dani said you’d know what to make for Roxanne, the redhead who works at Alpha Omega Investigations. Today’s my first day, and I want to make a good impression.”
“Ah. Gotcha.” She grinned widely. “For Rox I’d go with a double shot cappuccino and a cinnamon swirl muffin.”
“Awesome. Gimme both, and I’ll have a pumpkin spice latte and a cranberry and orange scone.”
The young woman’s face fell into a sympathetic frown. “Sorry, Sage. We’re all out of the scones. Unless you want to wait for the next batch to come out of the oven, but that might take a while.”
My eyes got big and my back went straight. “What?”
“I just sold the last scone to the guy in front of you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I seethed as my head whipped around in search of the asshole who’d not only cut in front of me, but he was currently heading out the door of Muffin Top with my scone in his grubby hands.
I spun on my heels and started after him, moving at a fast clip as I hit the sidewalk. “Yo, Sasquatch,” I shouted angrily, ignoring the wide, curious eyes of the people passing by. “You stole my scone!”
He didn’t bother slowing or looking back at me, so I had to jog in order to cut him off.
“Jesus Christ,” he snapped when I stepped in his path, forcing him to stop or risk plowing over me. “What’s your deal, lady?”
“My deal is you just stole my scone,” I semi-repeated, my chest rising and falling on quick breaths from the small amount of cardio I was just forced to endure because of him. The bastard.
He looked at me like I was a mental patient who’d just escaped the asylum, still wearing a straitjacket. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah, I’m serious.” I slammed my hands on my hips and threw out my left leg, taking on the unmistakable pissed-off-woman pose for added effect.
There was a strong possibility I was blowing the situation out of proportion, but he was rude .
. . and I took my breakfast pastries very seriously.
“I get that scone every single morning, and you just stole the last damn one.”
“How the hell did I steal somethin’ I just paid for?”
“You wouldn’t have that scone right now if you weren’t a line cutter, you big jerk.”
His eyes rounded in shock. “What is this, fifth grade? Did you really just call me a big jerk and accuse me of being a line cutter?”
“Yeah, I did. Because that’s what you are. Any guy with manners knows he’s supposed to let the woman go first. I was practically at the register when you shoved your way past me.”
The guy’s face went perfectly blank as he did a full-body scan from the top of my head all the way to the tips of my toes.
Any time I got a look like that from a man I expected one of two reactions.
Either he’d regard my get-up with disdain, thinking he was better than me, or his eyes shined with lust as he ogled my legs, tits, hair, or any combination of the three.
But this man’s lack of reaction totally threw me off.
“Maybe if you weren’t wearing those stupid ass shoes you’d have been able to move faster, and I wouldn’t have made it to the counter before you. ”
Oh no he didn’t. I pulled in such a huge gasp it was a wonder there was any oxygen left between the two of us.
“My shoes are not stupid!” I yelled, curling my hands into fists to keep myself from lunging and clawing this asshole’s face off.
“They’re freaking awesome. Not that I’d expect a guy who looks like Grizzly Adams’s long lost demented cousin to know the first thing about fashion. ”
For a brief moment I could have sworn I saw a look of surprise flash across his face, but it was there and gone before I could be certain.
Unfolding the paper bag, he reached inside and pulled out the scone.
I wasn’t sure what he was planning on doing with it until he brought it to those sexy lips and bit the thing clean in half.
“Mmm,” he moaned with pleasure as he chewed and swallowed my pastry while I stared on in open-mouthed astonishment.
“Damn, Shortcake, no wonder you like these things so much. They’re delicious. ”
“You—you—you,” I sputtered indignantly before crying, “I can’t believe you just did that!”
“Consider this a life lesson, little girl. Expecting to be handed whatever you want just ’cause you got tits and ass will only lead to disappointment. Not all men are nice. Maybe next time you want something, you shouldn’t fuck around.”
With that, he turned and started back down the sidewalk, leaving me by myself to deal with the aftermath of my head exploding all over the place.