TWO
STELLA
I stared at the gorgeous Viking man before me who had just finished speaking in a language I was unfamiliar with.
I turned to my best friend and coworker, Luna LeBlanc, who was working the register and had come to get me, letting me know two customers had asked for me by name and that they knew Anna.
If he’d asked for me by name, surely that meant he spokesomeEnglish, since I knew Luna didn’t know anything other than English. Even though we had two Spanish-speaking employees,tacoandholawere the extent of Luna’s Spanish knowledge.
Luna’s furrowed brows were stretched high on her forehead, which meant she was just as confused as I was.
I turned back to face the handsome man in front of me and tried a new tactic. “Umm, do you speak English?” I asked.
“He literally had an entire conversation with me in English just three minutes ago,” Luna pointed out, answering my earlier thought.
“Yes, I speak English,” the man replied. “But I assumed you would prefer to speak in Swedish.”
Ahhh, now it made sense. From time to time, I would get a customer who thought I was born in one of the Scandinavian countries and just moved here.
“My ancestry is Swedish, but I was born here in the States, so the only Swedish words I know are the ones that are related to pastries and desserts,” I told him, shrugging.
He nodded slightly. “Ah, I’m sorry. When Anna told me you are Swedish, I thought she meant youcamefrom there like me.”
“I get it,” I told him. “You’re not the first person to make that assumption.”
“Can y’all move it over to the other side of the counter? We’ve got a line forming,” Luna said, causing me to look up and see three people now standing behind the hunky Viking.
“If you are not very busy, we would like to ask you a few questions about your…situation…that Anna told us about,” he said, clearly trying to be delicate about announcing in front of everyone that I had a stalker sending me creepy letters.
“Nope, she’s not busy,” Luna replied for me and then used her hand to shoo me away. “Go talk to them and get this sorted. Go. I’ve got this covered.”
I turned my body and glanced behind the handsome man toward the side of the room at my favorite table in the space. It was tucked in the far corner. A little nook that had a window on one side, a wall at the back, and another wall to the side opposite the window. It was the perfect place to sit in the afternoon sometimes when we would get slow. I could get work done on my computer but also keep an eye on the counter in case my employees needed my help.
“Let’s sit over there, if you don’t mind,” I told him, pointing to that perfect place, and he nodded.
He and another man were standing by that very table by the time I had walked around from the counter. I hadn’t realized he was here with someone else. He had a presence that took overthe whole room. I felt slightly embarrassed that I had missed the other man, since he wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes either, but he wasn’t as gorgeous as the Viking.
Speaking of which… I realized when I got over there that the tall man was waiting for me to sit down first. I wasn’t sure if that was to make me more comfortable when talking to a stranger, or if that was just his chivalrous nature.
I took the seat closest to the wall, allowing him to take the seat by the window. His friend chose the seat next to him.
“I’m Axel Skarsgård,” he said, holding his hand out to me.
I shook it and smiled at him. “I’m Stella Nielsen, but I guess you already know that.”
His only response was a small grin, but man, did it look good on him. He had dark-blue eyes like the deep ocean that were a soft contrast to his large, muscular frame.
“I’m Jack Hutchinson,” the other man introduced himself. “I don’t want to interrupt the flow of your business, but is it possible for me to talk with one or two of your employees while Axel gets information from you? It will help speed things up if we can talk to several of you.”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here,” I told him, putting my hands in my lap in a nervous gesture. “I’m really hoping this man is just a little slow on the uptake and will eventually get the hint I’m not interested and back off. Anna was adamant, however, that someone from her husband’s office at least just take a look.”
“Don’t apologize,” Axel said, shaking his head firmly. “This isnotyour fault. You are correct. You shouldn’t need us to help, but we’re happy to. Anna also said you would try to pay for this, and I am to tell you no. You’re a friend of Anna’s, and we help our friends who are in trouble for free.”
I rolled my eyes because I knew Anna would fight me on this, but I had hoped that her husband, or whoever showed up would allow me the option to pay. I hated feeling like I owed people.
“Then all of you can have free cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate anytime you want,” I told him, hoping that would at least work for now.
Axel produced a megawatt smile, and I suddenly felt a fiery heat roll through me. This man was gorgeous, but when he smiled, I imagined he became dangerous to any female within a ten-mile radius.
