Chapter Two
Austin
How did I get here? Like this. Mortified and frozen to my spot. Unable to take the obvious action needed to redeem myself.
It all happened so fast.
I’d hefted a bag of mortar mix onto one shoulder and was making my way back to the front of the build to work on my project when all of a sudden, I slammed into something in my path.
Or rather, someone .
And not just anyone.
Holly James. The owner of this build.
Everyone around town knew the James sisters. Holly and Ivy. Both were cute, friendly, and perpetually single. Which meant every available guy I knew wanted to shoot their shot.
It was rumored that many had tried—especially with Holly—and most had failed. At least none of them had stuck, because both ladies were still living the single life.
I’d put myself at the back of that metaphorical line of suitors.
Why? Because even though I was lonely as hell and more than ready to settle down, I wasn’t about to compete with all the bachelors lining up.
After enduring the title of “husky kid” for most of my life and into adulthood too, I didn’t need that self-esteem blow.
Those men had a lot to offer a woman. Some were considered handsome or well built. Others were wealthy with large families and grand futures on the horizon.
I, on the other hand, had nothing to offer but my heart and winning personality. Which was actually more quiet observer than winning.
You keep your head down and work hard. There’s nothing wrong with that .
It was true. But I didn’t think it was enough.
Not for either of the James sisters.
They were outta my league.
And it was true that Ivy was on the plus side of life. She belonged to the Chub Club at our gym, so maybe that meant she could look past any outer disappointments.
But it was her sister that had captured my full attention.
We passed each other a lot at the gym. She was always leaving as I was arriving. But once, when I held the door for her, she grinned and it was like the sun breaking through clouds. It reached all the way to her jewel green eyes making them crinkle a touch at the sides.
And completely stole my breath.
She had the prettiest damn smile.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Or her.
So I kept making a point to hold that door as much as possible just to get more opportunities to bask in her glow.
She wasn’t smiling now however.
When we impacted, it was like she’d hit a brick wall—myself being the wall—and went flying.
Now, she was flat on her back gasping for air as I stood over her, trying to shake off the shock that held my body immobile.
Move asshole . Help her.
All at once, my brain connected with the will to move and my muscles unlocked. I slung the mortar mix aside and stepped forward to reach for her.
But instead of finding the solid concrete floor… my foot found a nearby mixing bucket and my boot became lodged inside.
Before I could recognize what had happened, my weight, all on one foot—the bucket foot, to be exact—shifted, causing the bucket to slide along the floor until I was nearly forced to do the splits. In an attempt to right myself, I lost my balance, and before I knew it, I’d come down hard, right beside her, my hip and elbow taking the brunt of the fall.
An audible ooof left my mouth as all the air was socked from my lungs.
Well, hell.
At least now I knew what she must have felt hitting the floor. And the idea that I might’ve caused her pain left a hot regret in my chest.
Shit.
Was this a nightmare? Could I wake up from this?
The pain in my ribs told me it wasn’t.
I blinked up at the unfinished ceiling, trying to wrap my mind around the last few seconds.
Was she okay? Because my clock was rocked in the worst way, and I would die if I’d hurt her.
Before I could look over to check on her, a slow, sluggish chuckle made its way to my ringing ears.
Was she… laughing?
It grew as the seconds ticked by, becoming something magical and sweet. Like the sound of bells at Christmas. But it wasn’t Christmas, and it was more likely I’d hit my head and was hallucinating it.
Twisting my neck, I looked at her.
She hadn’t moved from her sprawled state. Her long, dark hair was scattered haphazardly, forming a halo around her head as she stared at the ceiling, laughing.
So, I wasn’t hallucinating it.
Holly was either hurt or crazy. But damn if she didn’t make both of those things seem totally okay for a few minutes.
And if her smile did weird things to me, her laugh would be my complete undoing.
Fuck, I was doomed.
“Did I hurt you?” I forced the words from my throat, and they came out much harsher than I’d intended.
Somehow, this made her laugh harder until her eyes closed and a tiny tear leaked from the side.
“No, I think I’m okay,” she said when she caught her breath. “Did you hurt yourself?”
I lifted my head to see that the bucket was still lodged on my foot, and then dropped it back to the floor. I could move. That was a good sign.
“Just my pride, I think.”
This made her laugh all over again, and I didn’t mind. The sound of her humor was a balm for my embarrassment.
“I’m Austin, by the way.” I looked back to her as the laughter faded.
“Holly,” she said, still staring at the ceiling.
“I know.”
Her face turned to mine, surprise in her green gaze, and my heart decided to run a race with my breath.
“You know my name?”
Oh, shit. Was that creepy?
“Uh, yeah. This is your build, right?” Good swift recovery.
But something flashed across her eyes, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it looked a lot like disappointment.
“Yeah, that’s right. I think…” She hesitated before finishing her thought. “I think we know each other from the gym. Big B’s? You’ve been there, right? You always hold the door for me.”
She took notice of that, did she?
I felt heat flood my cheeks, and as a natural ginger, I knew my complexion was going to give away my embarrassment in point two seconds or less.
Instead of answering, I looked away, back to the ceiling.
“Sorry I ran into you like that. I didn’t see you there.”
“I had just rounded the corner. It was a wrong-place-wrong-time situation. Not your fault.”
“Should’ve been watching where I was going,” I muttered, regret still thick in my veins. “Blame it on the load I was carrying, I guess. How else did I miss a pretty lady like you coming my way?”
What the fuck did I just say?
Blink, blink.
Were those my words, coming out of my mouth?
Did I really just make a pass at the woman I’d regretfully introduced to the ground?
I pressed my lips together to hold back a groan.
Just how hard did I hit my head anyway?
Silence spread thick between us as my mind raced with how to take back what just slipped from my mouth.
“Well…” she said, her tone unreadable. “I guess if it bothers you so much, you could always make it up to me.”
I really should find a way to—
“By taking me to dinner.”
What?
I turned my head to find her pretty eyes staring right at me, practically dancing with intrigue as we both remained sprawled on our backs.
“I’m free tomorrow,” she added.
“For…”
“For dinner,” she confirmed.
Either I’d knocked myself clean out with that fall and I was having a crazy fever dream… or Holly James just asked me to have dinner with her.
There was only one way to find out which.