“These are lovely if you think your mother would like them.”
He ambled over to the cabinet, closing the distance between them. The smell of sunshine, sea breeze, and man surrounded her and sent her senses into overdrive. She clutched anxious fingers around her locket and stepped away, only for her back to press against the wall, giving her no more room to move.
As he looked inside the cabinet, oblivious to the turmoil he was causing her, Lauren examined his profile. The start of an afternoon shadow covered a square jawline. His long, narrow nose had a small bump on the bridge, the only flaw on his chiseled face. He bit his lower lip as he studied the vases, and for a moment, she wondered how they would taste.
Where were these outrageous thoughts coming from?
Lauren desperately needed to put more space between them. Standing so close was making it impossible to think, but to move would involve brushing past him. Touching him wasn’t going to help with her jumbled thoughts and sensations. She hadn’t reacted to a man like this since Graham.
When she trusted her voice not to quiver, she excused herself. He stepped back, giving her room to pass, but not enough to avoid contact, and her bare arm brushed the length of his strong, firm one. Another blast of heat shot from him and into her. Blinking up at him, their gazes locked, and she searched those piercing green orbs to see if he’d felt it too. His emerald eyes held hers.
Unable to pull away from his penetrating gaze, she reached for the metal locket, but its coolness did nothing to remind her that being so close to this heat-missile was a bad idea.
A shrill tooting of horns outside broke the spell, and she glanced out the window. A bunch of excited New Year’s Eve revelers, with colorful hats and party horns, crowded the footpath in front of the shop.
“They’ve started early,” she said on a shaky breath, using the noisy distraction to move away from him. She scurried behind the counter, putting a safety barrier between them.
He flicked a glance over his shoulder at the partygoers. “It will be a great night for it.”
By his casual stance she would have believed him unaffected by the burning moment they’d just shared, but heat still smoldered in his eyes. Then, in a blink of an eye, it was gone. Could she have imagined it? It had been so long since anyone had come even close to looking at her that way that she probably read the signs wrong.
Needing to get back to the reason he was there, and not be distracted by that liquid green heat, she cleared her throat. “Do you see anything you like?” She relaxed a little because her voice sounded professional and not like the trembling mess simmering on the inside.
The liquid heat was back in his eyes and they raked over her in a way that saidshewas what he liked. A sharp breath caught in her lungs and her heart began to race. Surely she didn’t getthatsignal wrong?
“The vases…do you like any of them?” she managed to croak out.
His lips tilted in a knowing smile, like he knew she’d been rattled, then he sauntered closer, as if he had all the time in the world. “They’re very nice, but her house is full of them. I recognize a couple in your display.”
God, hurry up and pick something, then leave!The warm, relaxing bubble bath she planned for the evening would have to be replaced with a long, cold shower. “Do you have any idea what her tastes are?”
“I do know she loves this shop. She tells me she comes here all the time. I think she’s dropping hints for me to buy stuff from here.”
“Looks like it worked. What’s your mother’s name? If she’s a regular customer, I’d probably know who she is.”
“Susan Henderson. I’m Jack.” He stood there with his hand out.
The name froze her on the spot for a beat. Now she knew why he looked so familiar, but it wasn’t because of a family resemblance to his mother. It was because Jade had been drooling over the man standing in Lauren’s shop for over a decade. Until a couple of years ago, Jack had been the captain of Jade’s favorite football team, The Flaming Stars. He was now retired due to an injury. Susan often spoke of her children but never mentioned she was the mother of a very famous football player. Lauren, who wasn’t into sports or sport stars, never knew the two were related.
Jade also followed Jack off the football field and kept Lauren and Ava updated on his social life. Lauren refused to read gossip magazines since the day she had seen Graham’s proud, beaming face staring back at her from the pages of one of them with the news that had shocked her life. But Jade loved reading them, and according to her, Jack had been involved with a string of women from actresses to supermodels and everything in between. Lauren always believed Jade exaggerated his infamous relationships. The media liked to embellish or even make stories up so they could sell their magazines. But after seeing Jack in the flesh and witnessing his charm, she could understand how women didn’t stand a chance against him.
From the moment he charged into the shop he embodied confidence, charm, and beauty. His casual clothing did nothing to hide the quality and expense, nor did they hide the powerful body beneath them. Instincts screamed to keep her distance. Jack was definitely aMr. Pretty. Mr. Pretty was a nickname Jade and Ava had made up when Lauren started keeping away from all attractive men, especially if they were also very successful.
Warning bells clangedback away now! If he weren’t Susan’s son, she would have quickly ushered him out the door, with or without a gift. But Susan was one of her best customers and someone whom she liked very much. Not only did Susan shop there often, she’d noticed Lauren’s unique way of decorating the place and encouraged—more like insisted— Lauren to redecorate Susan’s bedroom. The woman had been so happy with the results she passed on a good word to her friends. With another two bedrooms lined up for clients, Lauren was busy collecting the necessary pieces. It was very exciting that her business was branching out into design. A little scary too. She wasn’t a qualified interior designer but people were trusting her with their homes.
Eyeing Jack’s waiting hand like it was a snake ready to strike, she reluctantly accepted it. His large, firm grip smothered hers, and a jolt of heat zapped up her arm to slam into her chest.
Freezing for a beat, she finally managed to say, “I’m Lauren Moore. Susan told me about her inconsiderate son not making it home for Christmas. I assume this is why you’re in her bad books?” She tried to sound amused.
“She’s made no secret that she’s not happy with me.” He chuckled, keeping her hand in his strong grasp and showing no signs of letting go. Heat traveled at the speed of light through the rest of her body, warming her from head to toe.
The warning bells clanged louder, telling her to move slowly and carefully away from the imminent threat. With a light tug, she pulled her hand free and placed it on the counter’s surface, hoping the cool stone would help bring her body temperature back to normal. It didn’t work.
Focus.Lauren needed to focus, sell him something, and get him to leave. She didn’t understand what the reaction to him was about. This was new to her. “I have a mirror in my office I put aside for her because she was looking for something to hang in her entryway. I’m sure she’ll love it. Just give me a minute and I’ll get it.”
She hurried to the office, thankful for a few minutes alone to get her messed-up head and body back in order. Closing the door behind her, Lauren leaned back on it, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. It helped with her shaking hands but did nothing to slow her racing heart.
There wasn’t anything she could do about her heart rate so she picked up the French provincial style mirror leaning against the wall and glanced at her reflection. Bright pink spots flushed her cheeks and neck—the result of a mere brush of an arm and a touch of a hand. What was happening to her?
