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“Hey, Ford—won’t be long.”
“Sure, no worries, Joe,” he said to Luke’s older brother, the owner of AS. The man was behind the bar, serving. He watched him move down to the other end and pour a beer and a shot of whisky into glasses at the same time.
The brunette started to turn, and something like anticipation stirred inside him. He hadn’t felt that in a while, and then everything inside him slowed and he could swear he stopped breathing. He knew that face. Sure, it wasn’t pale and pinched, but he’d know her anywhere.
“Excuse me,” she said, brushing past him.
“Uh, sure. How’s the headache?” he said when nothing else came to mind. He felt like suddenly the ground under his feet was moving. Or it wasn’t moving and in fact someone had set his feet in cement, because they suddenly felt stuck.
“Pardon?” A frown caused a line down her forehead.
He’d held her in his arms that night when Ford carried her to her room. He’d looked after her, and when he’d left the hotel, he’d thought he’d never see her again.
Turns out that was wrong.
“That night in the hotel. I was the one who helped you get to your room.”
It was funny that in a bar full of noise and music, it felt like he could suddenly hear a pin drop.
Her eyes widened, and then her mouth fell open in a perfecto. “You? You’re him?”
“If you mean the man who carried you to your room, then yes. I’m him.”
She had deep green eyes that softened as the realization of who he was hit her. “I’m not really much of a hugger, so I’m okay if you don’t want it, but I feel like I need to.”
“Hug me?”
She nodded.
Before he could react, she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his waist. Ford hugged his people, but never strangers. Some people were into that as a way of greeting—he was definitely not one of them. But inhaling this woman’s soft scent and feeling her lovely body pressed to him, he had to say it was worth it.
It was over in seconds, but not before she kissed him softly on the cheek.
“I’m sorry. I’m making a fool of myself, but I never thought I’d see you again. Th-that night you looked after me, it could have turned out really bad if you weren’t a good guy.”
Damn, she was sweet. That face had been lovely bleached of color, but with whatever she’d put on, it was stunning. His eyes fell to her soft, pouty lips slicked with something, and he felt his body stir.
Whoa there! Back it up.
“You would have been okay. There are plenty of good people out there. This town is full of them.”
The smile was small but genuine. “I’ve met a few of them already.”
“Well, that’s good then.” He shot Joe another look. His dark brow was raised, and clearly he was curious about what was going on between him and this woman.
“I need to buy you a drink,” she said quickly.
“No, you don’t. I was just helping out.”
“That was more than just helping out. You didn’t have to look out for me like that. Helping me to my room and getting my meds. I tried to find you when I woke up. I went to your room and knocked, but no one answered. I didn’t even know your name.”
Did she remember what they’d talked about? Nah, probably not. Hopefully not. He didn’t want her asking about his inability to sleep or his nightmares.
“My name is Autumn Harris.”
“Ford Winter,” he said, holding out his hand.
He absolutely didnotfeel a jolt of awareness as his fingers engulfed hers. He remembered how he’d felt holding them that night. How small they’d been. Vulnerable. It had been hard leaving her.
