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He flashes a quick smile, that would’ve slashed me by the knees had I been standing like a normal person. The smile isn’t lopsided or half-hearted. It’s chockfull, full of confidence, energy and potency. The kind of smile that can send a rocket up to the universe. Electricity makes my lower back prickle and suddenly I feel strangely warm around my temples.
”Need any help?” he adds.
He doesn’t wait for an answer, probably because I’m acting as if I’m frozen in time. I’m not frozen, I’m just too stunned to speak or move.
Clasping my wrists, he swiftly pulls me up and doesn’t let go until I’m steadied. My cheeks heat like two torches when he bends down and picks up the rest of my scattered stuff.
”You d…don’t have to do that,” I say, wondering if I sounded just as awkward in his ears as I did in mine.
He seems to be a guy with a busy schedule. I’m sure he has better things to do but his helpfulness is numbing. Nobody has ever gone out of their way for me like this before. I’ve lived in this town long enough to know that this isn’t a normal occurrence. But maybe he’s one of those extra-kind people that are nice to everyone?
”No, I don’t mind,” he replies, handing me the dirty laundry back, and I’m so overwhelmed by his presence that I barely remember how to lift my arms to take it.
The blond giant nods at the pond nearby. ”Is that yours too?”
”Huh?” I ask in confusion with knotted brows, following his gaze and then I see the old-fashioned nightgown floating upside down in the water. ”Oh no!”
”Don’t worry, I got it,” the man says. I’m about to yell at him to not go in there because he’ll get wet and ruin his nice clothes, but then he grabs a branch.
I pinch the inside of my cheek. I should’ve thought of that.
It takes him a couple of tries to rail the garment in, but once he’s got it, he wrings the water out between his massive hands.
”Here.” He gives it to me with that disarming smile that makes my pulse beat a little faster. ”At least it’s not dripping anymore.”
”Thanks,” I murmur, taking it from him. ”You didn’t have to come to my rescue.”
But now that he’s here it feels as if I’m surrounded by an impenetrable shield. I barely pay any attention to the snappy pedestrians anymore, and the frenzy I felt earlier about being late is suddenly gone.
It all went away, as if the man snapped his fingers and made everything so much more…okay. Inside of me, something turns gooey and smooth like someone just pulled a fuzzy blanket over my head, and told me to stay safe and warm.
He shrugs his wide shoulders. ”You were in distress. I couldn’t just walk on by.” His grey eyes darken a pinch.
”And that asshole on the bike should’ve watched where he was going.”
I muster up a smile. ”He was going at a rude speed wasn’t he?”
”Men are dicks,” he agrees and I hide a laugh, because he’s a man and he seems more than nice. ”Sorry about the laundry, by the way. Hope your clothes will be okay.”
My gaze quickly lowers to the pile in my arms, mostly because I can’t keep staring at him. ”They’re not mine,” I confess. ”They belong to this old woman that I work for.”
The man raises his brows. ”That makes sense.”
”What does?” I frown.
He grins. ”That nightgown isn’t exactly what I imagine you wearing when you go to bed.”
The sudden purr in his voice, makes me choke. On what I don’t know. I don’t have anything in my mouth so maybe it’s my heart that’s suddenly in my throat.
”No…um, I sleep in flannel pajamas my mom sows for me.”
Boyish disappointment coats his eyes, and I regret mentioning the pajamas. I sounded too young and unsophisticated, even though I’m three years past twenty.
”Flannels, huh?” he says, a little huskily.
His gaze slips down my body, like a glove falling off a hand and his breath comes out in puffs, fresh and pepperminty. I usually don’t pay attention to guys lips but I pay attention to his. They seem…gentle, but with a pinch of something exotic.
I hiss in a breath between my teeth. Is he flirting with me? He looks away and I feel a little bit cold now. He wasn’t flirting with me.The realization brings me back to earth and I clear my throat.
