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“Get it together.” She shook her head sharply, as if the physical motion could shake the thoughts from her mind. Another customer walked in, and she forced a smile onto her face.
“Morning! Let me know if you need help finding anything,” she called out, infusing her voice with a cheeriness she didn’t feel.
While Mr. Clovis busied himself in the nut and bolt aisle, she dusted a display of garden tools, deliberately focusing on the task at hand. She would not spend all day mooning over Bridger North. She was stronger than that. Too smart to be distracted by those broad shoulders, that crooked smile...
Aaargh. Her traitorous mind kept wandering back to him. She sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She needed to be present, be in the moment. This was her store, her livelihood. It was up to her to keep things running smoothly.
Up to her to keep her heart safe.
The tall rancher headed toward the register with his bags of nuts and bolts. Jane rang him up efficiently, making small talk about the unseasonably warm spring weather. As she handed him his change, she felt centered again. Back in control.
Thoughts of Bridger could wait.
The bell above the door jingled as another customer entered. Jane looked up from the cash register, ready to offer a friendly greeting. The words died on her lips.
No way this was happening.
She blinked hard, but the too clean, too handsome man in the doorway didn’t disappear. Pete Sanderson. Her skunk of an ex-husband.
Smarmy smile firmly in place, he strolled in, looking as cocky and self-assured as ever. Jane’s stomach dropped. Even after two years, the mere sight of her ex made her blood run cold.
He looked exactly the same—tall and slender, with olive skin and dark, intelligent eyes. His polo shirt hung perfectly from his gym-toned shoulders. His spotless chinos were crisp and perfectly tailored as always. He moved with predatory grace, a panther stalking its prey. That charming grin had once made her weak in the knees. Now it turned her blood to ice.
“Jane,” he purred, leaning an elbow casually on the counter. “You’re looking good.”
She fought to keep her voice steady. She wanted to run. No, she wanted to shove him out the door, lock the place up and hide until he was a hundred miles outside of town. “What are you doing here?”
His grin widened, showing a flash of white teeth. He was still good at projecting that carefree image, but there were cracks around the edges. Always had been, she just wasn’t wise enough to see them early on.
Grin hardening, he shrugged. “What, I can’t stop in to see my beautiful ex-wife?”
Ignoring the meaningless compliment, Jane crossed her arms, pulse racing, and waited. Pete never did anything without an ulterior motive. And he wasn’t patient.
The smile morphed into a petulant look. He glanced furtively around the store.
“I know I’m the last person you want to see, but I need your help. I’m in a...delicate situation.”
Jane snorted. “Let me guess. You cheated someone, and now they’re after you.”
Pete’s jaw tightened. “You always did think the worst of me.”
“Maybe because I saw the worst.”
That made him laugh. “Not even close, sweetheart. That’s hilarious.”
They hadn’t been talking two minutes and she already felt like she’d been slimed. She picked up a pencil and doodled meaningless figures on the pad at her elbow. “Watch the door on the way out. Move too slow and it’ll hit you in the butt.”
Maybe. Hopefully.
He leaned in, stilling the pencil with his perfectly-manicured hands. “I’m in asituation.” He stressed the word. “A serious one. I need to buy myself some time.”
She released the pencil, letting it clatter to the floor. “And I should care why?”
“There are some very dangerous men who want me dead.”
“How shocking.” She worked hard to keep any semblance of emotion off her face. She might hate the man, but she didn’t want him harmed. Much.
And there it was. The Smile. Her stomach clenched. She’d done it again somehow, walked straight into one of his traps.
