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Today, I’d come away with a free pack of honey sticks, one of my favorite snacks. I supposed they weren’t exactly free since I’d jumped in to help Mick while he was in the weeds with a long line of customers. I wasn’t an expert like he was since he was the beekeeper, but after a summer of stopping by his booth and sampling all his goods, I could answer questions and bag up purchases.
Of course, my impromptu job meant I was running late for brunch with Elise, Weston, Elliot, and Luca.
I was finally going to meet him, and I was just a little bit giddy about it. Technically, he was my boss, but I was trying not to think about that. Having brunch with my boss was somewhat intimidating.
I made it to the brunch spot with a minute to spare, so I ducked into the restroom to wash my hands and make sure my hair didn’t look too crazy from my morning outdoors.
Pleasantly surprised to find my hair cooperating, draping over my shoulders in soft waves and my cheeks slightly pink from the sun, I passed inspection. I smoothed out my red-polka-dot wrap skirt and tugged down my cropped white T-shirt then pushed open the door, intent on finding my friends.
But I ran straight into a man. He caught me by the arms so I wouldn’t fall backward after bouncing off his solid chest.
“Excuse me,bella.”
My eyes jerked up, but not far, finding Luke was the delicious-smelling obstacle.
“What—?” So shocked to see him for the second time in less than twenty-four hours I couldn’t get my mouth or brain to function.
Luke had no such problems. He dropped my arms like he’d been scalded and practically leapt away from me.
“What the fuck is this?” he hissed. “I was joking about you stalking me, but Christ—”
“Wait a second. You think I’mstalkingyou?”
His heavy, dark brow furrowed into a furious line. “This isn’t a coincidence. It’s impossible. And since I’m sure as hell not stalkingyou, it’s pretty clear what’s going on here.”
Incensed at his ridiculous accusation, I folded my arms over my chest. “You’re nuts, aren’t you? How do I know you aren’t following me? That’s much more likely. Or…I don’t know. We both ended up at a popular brunch spot on a day when half of Denver goes out to brunch. Did that occur to you?”
“No.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You aren’t the first girl to chase me like this, but it ends now. If I see you again, I’ll be forced to take action.”
“Go for it, buddy. And see how stupid you feel when you’re proven pathologically paranoid.”
I stormed by him, making sure not to touch even a thread of his stupidly fitted T-shirt. What an egotistical bastard. The idea that I’d ever stalk a man. Pfft. It was outrageous.
When I found my friends, I yanked out my seat and flopped into it. Their conversation came to a standstill, all eyes on me.
“Bad day at the farmers’ market?” Elliot deadpanned.
Mentally, I was flipping him off, but I refrained since there were children present around us. The stink-eye I gave him conveyed my displeasure at his condescending question just fine.
“I just ran into the biggest a-hole in Denver, that’s all.”
Elise had been thoughtful enough to order me a mimosa, which I slammed back. Of course, champagne and orange juice weren’t meant to be chugged, so I choked on my own fucking drink. Weston patted me on the back, and Elise took the glass from me, placing it gently on the table.
When I stopped coughing, I wiped my mouth on my napkin and waved them off. “I’m fine. Sorry to make such a dramatic entrance.” I glanced around the table. “Where’s Luca? Is he not coming?”
“He’s making a call.” Elise glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, there he is now.”
Time stood still when I spotted the man in question. Tall and lean, wearing a fitted black T-shirt and dark-gray pants, Luca Rossi strode to our table. But Luca wasn’t Luca. He was Luke.
Or…LukewasLuca?
Oh shit.
He spotted me at the same time, and his expression was thunderous. Did he think I’d stalked him all the way to this table? Was he not putting the pieces together like I had?
Dummy.
Elise hopped out of her seat and grabbed Luca’s arm, steering him directly in front of me. I slowly rose, leveling him with a gaze filled with more confidence than I felt.
