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I tried to keep control of my composure, not wanting to look too eager and risk hurting Jim even more. I made a conscious effort to steady my voice and sound indifferent.

“Mr. Stone is looking for me. Are you sure?” I asked evenly.

“Yeah, he’s here. You’d better get a move on,” Jim said with a lazy shooing motion of his hands. “I get the impression he’s not the kind of man that likes to be kept waiting.”

Say no more.

“Thanks, Jim.”

I turned to go, struggling to walk at a reasonable pace. It was hard to keep myself from running.

As I rounded the corner of aisle nine, I noticed the end cap had been changed. The racking no longer stuck out. I moved to look at the new display but stopped short when I saw Alexander Stone standing just a few feet away. He was facing away from me and didn’t see I had come up behind him. I couldn’t help but pause to take in the view.

He was wearing a suit again today, although this time it was navy blue. He had removed his suitcoat and had it draped casually over one arm. Without the coat, I could faintly see the outline of his well-muscled back and shoulders through his pricy white collared shirt.

My gaze moved past his tapered waist to his perfectly tailored pants. They looked as if they were made specifically to fit the magnificent, contoured ass beneath them.

Boxers or briefs? Or maybe he just goes commando.

My cheeks flushed pink, and my hands clenched tight, fighting against the urge to reach out and touch him.

Down, girl!

He had a shopping basket of groceries in front of him, which I found somewhat strange. I didn’t think millionaires shopped for their own groceries. I had always thought they hired a minion to do it for them. Out of pure curiosity, I chanced a quick glance into the basket. I saw a few boxes of pasta, almonds, bananas, chocolate, eggs, olives, honey, and pomegranate juice. It was certainly a peculiar combination of food items, to say the least.

As if he finally sensed my presence, his shoulders squared, and he slowly turned to face me. And there it was—the spark.

My heart began a steady pitter-patter that quickly evolved into a strong thumping in my chest. He was even better looking than I remembered—the definition of pure male beauty. He skipped wearing a tie today, and I had to try very hard not to look at the small area of skin revealed near his collar. I had no trouble imagining myself unbuttoning the neatly pressed shirt and running my hands over his chest, down his abdomen...

Get ahold of yourself—you’re thinking like some hormone-crazed teenager!

“Miss Cole,” he said with a short nod, the two words sliding over me like warm whiskey.

“Hello, Mr. Stone. I heard you were looking for me,” I said evenly, proud that I was able to sound controlled despite the man’s ability to turn my knees to liquid.

“Indeed, I was,” he said. He was chewing gum. Alexander Stone chewing a piece of gum was probably the sexiest thing I had ever seen in my life.

“Was there something you needed?” I asked while watching his jaw move up and down over the piece of gum.

A slow, leisurely smile began to form on his face, and he waited a moment before responding.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing after your fall yesterday.”

Of course, that’s what he wanted.

A potential investor in Wally’s would naturally be concerned about the accident.

The word “lawsuit” is probably a flashing neon sign over my head right now.

“Oh…my fall.” I tried to hide my disappointment. I felt self-conscious about my black-and-blue eye and hoped my makeup did a better job of covering it than Jim led me to believe. “I’m fine—really. It’s just a bump on the head. I owe you an apology for my clumsiness. Thank you for your assistance in helping me up.”

I was talking way too fast, my words coming out in a rush, but his mere presence was unsettling. He made me feel like a scatterbrain, and I found it difficult to stay composed. However, if he noticed my hurried ramblings, he didn’t let on.

“It was no trouble at all, Miss Cole,” he assured me.

“Well, it’s like Jim said. I could have gotten up on my own, but I was a little stunned from...” From you. Stunned from you. “From smacking my head on the end cap.”

His eyes narrowed at the mention of Jim, and I wanted to slap myself for bringing him up. After all, they hadn’t exactly hit it off the day before.