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Chapter 1
Julia
“Holy shit!”
I screamed as I stomped on the brakes. The car jerked to a violent stop.
“I have to let you go. I just hit someone with my car!”
“Youwhat?” Winona gasped over the speakerphone.
There was no time to explain. I hung up on my sister, shoved the gear into park, and practically leapt out of the driver’s seat to circle around front.
I was only going about ten miles per hour because I was struggling to read the street sign when —WHAM— the guy came out of nowhere.By the time I got to him, he was already picking himself up off the concrete, hissing a string of curses under his breath as he clapped his hands free of dirt.
“I’m so sorry!” I said hastily, my heart in my throat. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“I was in the fucking crosswalk,” he grumbled, standing upright. “Watch where the hell you’re going— Whoa.”
Our eyes locked.
Time stood still.
He wasgorgeous.
Dark, luscious brown hair that I wanted to comb my fingers through. Strong shoulders and a broad chest that could put a billboard in Times Square to shame. A sharp jawline, complete with five o’clock shadow, made me wonder if he was on loan from the Louvre. Massive arms and equally impressive hands that were tough from hard, honest work.
His eyes did me in, though. A dazzling, rich green that made me feel all types of ways. The intensity of his gaze, the focus and concentration left my skin tingling. He looked me over with such breathless ardor that my cheeks flushed and the butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
Oh, my…
“Julia?”
My heart skipped a beat. I blinked up at him through my lashes, stunned. “Sorry, do we know each other?”
The man scratched behind his ear sheepishly. “You probably don’t remember me. Dylan Callaghan? You were a senior and I was a freshman. I dated your sister, Winona?”
It all came rushing back to me. High school felt like a lifetime ago — roughly ten years, to be exact — yet I could remember the chime of the bell and the metallic banging of locker doors, the never-ending gossip and complaints about homework and plans made for the weekend.
Dylan Callaghan had always been sweet, but quiet. Insanely smart, if I remembered correctly. We didn’t talk a whole bunch, but Winona used to gush about him all the time. Theirs was a young love, a first love. He was the kind of kid who brought flowers to give to my sister at the start of every day.
The kind of guy who walked her to the door and saw her safely inside before going home.
Now he was a man, towering over me by a good foot and a half with eyes that remained on mine.
And good God, does he smell good.
“Of course,” I said, “how silly of me. It’s good to see you. How’ve you been?”
“Apart from denting the front of your car, not bad.”
I grimaced. “I’m really sorry about that. Do you want me to call an ambulance? Take you to the hospital? It’s probably a good idea to get checked out.”
Dylan shook his head, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corner of his lips. “I’ll live. Though I’m curious to know why you weren’t paying attention to the road.”
“I’m running late. I know it’s a shitty excuse, but I have an interview to get to and my GPS hasn’t updated to account for all the new roads in Sunville.”
“You’re interviewing for a job?”
