Chapter 3 #2
Andrea glanced over, then did a double-take that she hoped wasn’t as obvious as it felt.
The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with the kind of rugged handsomeness that belonged in an outdoor sporting goods magazine spread.
Of course, that could have been the well-worn dark jeans, work boots, and short beard.
His hair was dark and looked like it had a bit of a wave to it, judging by the pieces sticking out from underneath a knit cap.
He glanced up from knocking snow off his boots and smiled, revealing a soft dimple in his right cheek. And while his smile wasn’t aimed directly at her, it had Andrea’s heart beating faster all the same. After a step, he glanced at her and stopped short. “Oh, excuse me,” he said. “Are you in line?”
Andrea realized she was staring, her lips parted, and she quickly jerked out of the way of the register. “Nope! All yours,” she said, and pivoted to inspect the bakery case with feigned interest, her cheeks hot.
“How’s it going, Maya? It’s already been a long day,” the man replied as he took Andrea’s place at the counter. A hint of cedar swirled through the espresso-scented air, the scent not overpowering, but intriguing all the same, a welcome reminder that she was no longer in the city.
“I had to go to Stowe on a supply run for a gut job I’m starting tomorrow,” the man continued.
His voice was rich and deep, his cadence slower than she was used to, but in a honeyed, unbothered way.
“But the supplier claimed they didn’t get the whole order, so I had to head over to Burlington to get everything, and then I got backed into in the parking lot. ”
Maya sucked in a sharp breath and Andrea shifted a glance her way, to find her lips puckered. “Ouch! Everyone all right?”
“Yeah, just a fender bender, but you know how it is with the insurance people,” the man trailed off. “Anyway, I thought a little pick-me-up might be in order.”
“I’ll fix you right up!” Maya declared. “Can I get you something from the case, Andrea?”
Andrea jolted at the sound of her name and straightened to her full height, her eyes moving from the dry-looking cookies speckled with M&Ms to the shop’s proprietor. “Oh, um, sure. A cookie sounds good.”
In reality, the treat looked like it might be hard enough to crack the filling she’d recently had done in her back molar, but for whatever reason, she felt compelled to order it all the same. She just didn’t want to go back into the cold.
Surely that was all it was.
She slid a sidelong glance at the handsome man and he smiled.
Maya pressed a button on the stainless steel espresso machine, then turned to snag Andrea’s cookie.
The shots finished pouring as she slid the treat into a pastry bag, and Maya shifted to pouring them into a medium-sized takeout cup.
She snapped the lid on and brought both items to the counter.
“One double-shot americano,” she said, sliding the cup across to the man, “and one jumbo monster cookie, on the house, for our visitor from sunny California!”
“That’s very kind of you,” Andrea said, accepting the cookie with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Maya.”
Maya smiled and inclined her head. “My pleasure, hon. If you need anything at all, you know where to find me.”
Andrea gathered her purse, latte, and cookie, acutely aware that the man beside her was watching the exchange with polite interest. As she headed toward the door, he fell into step beside her, calling back to say goodbye to Maya.
“Allow me,” he said, reaching around her to push open the heavy glass door.
The simple gesture brought him close enough that she caught the scent she’d noticed earlier—something woodsy and clean, with a hint of spice. Their eyes met for just a moment as she passed through the doorway, and an unexpected flutter shivered through her stomach at his warm smile.
“Thank you,” she managed.
He nodded and she shuffled past him, out into the cold.
The door closed behind them with a soft chime, and the man continued on his way, toward the blue pick-up truck parked in the spot beside her rented SUV.
He reached the driver’s side door just as Crumpet threw himself at the window, barking like the spirit of Cujo had possessed his little terrier body.
The man jolted and spun on the heel of his work boot.
“Crumpet!” Andrea exclaimed, rushing forward to scold the naughty dog through the glass. “That is not nice!”
She turned to offer her apologies to the man, but found him fighting back a grin. “That’s some guard dog you’ve got there,” he teased.
“Apparently he’s already claimed the rental as his territory,” Andrea said with an exasperated groan. “Or, he’s mad because I forgot his pup cup.”
Crumpet had stopped barking the moment Andrea approached, and stood wagging his tail as he stared up at her with stars in his little brown eyes.
“A cardinal sin,” the man teased with a chuckle. “Want me to run back and ask Maya for one?”
Andrea blinked up at the man, shocked by the thoughtful offer. “Oh, no, please don’t. But thank you.”
“He’s like the dog from Frasier. A Jack Russell, right?” the man asked as he leaned a little closer to the window. He grinned as he straightened and ran his free hand over the back of his neck. “Guess I’m showing my age with that reference.”
Andrea snorted a laugh. “Hey, it was a solid show. Shame about the reboot though, huh?”
The man laughed. “I’ll admit, I haven’t had time to check it out. Although I generally don’t find reboots live up to the original.”
Andrea smiled. “I need background noise when I sleep, and it works for that, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.
” She turned her head to look at Crumpet, and a strand of hair flew into her face and affixed itself to her lip-gloss.
“Blech!” she said, swiping it away, and Crumpet let out another startled bark.
She raised a hand and he settled down into a sitting position. “But yes, good eye. This is Crumpet.”
The man was no longer looking into the backseat.
Instead, his eyes were watching her. They were darker in the last ebbs of winter sunlight, but back inside, Andrea thought she’d seen flecks of green at the edges of his irises.
The space between their two parked vehicles didn’t leave much room, forcing them to stand more closely than she’d initially realized when launching herself into action to silence the anxious terrier.
She tried to take a step back, but there wasn’t anywhere to go, and her rear end bumped the side of the SUV.
If the man beside her realized it, he didn’t let on.
He smiled past her, into the backseat of the SUV.
“Well, Crumpet, I hope you packed your boots. The forecast says we’re in for a good snowfall this weekend. ”
“Boots?” Andrea tried to picture her dignified terrier in tiny doggie snow boots and nearly laughed out loud.
The man smiled and shrugged. “My neighbor swears by them for his retriever. The salt they put down on the roads can be rough on the paw pads.”
“Well, I think we’re planning to stick to indoor activities,” she replied, still smiling at the mental image of Crumpet in boots. “Fireplace, cocoa, some holiday baking. No boots required.”
The man chuckled. “Sounds nice. I hope you enjoy it.” A sharp chiming beep sounded, breaking the eye contact between them as he rummaged through the deep front pockets of his coat and retrieved his phone.
A furrow appeared between his brows as he read the screen, and when he looked up, the spell between them was gone.
“Nice to meet you both,” he said, already reaching for the driver’s side door handle on his faded truck.
Andrea waved and scurried around the front bumper of her SUV and got inside, once again chiding Crumpet for his rude barking, although as she watched the man ease his truck from the parking space and drive away, she couldn’t find herself all that upset over the encounter.