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Her middle sister’s text ended with a laughing emoji.
Viv liked both of her sisters’ messages and then put her phone down next to her key ring on the table between her deck chairs. She figured she wouldn’t be hearing from Audrey tonight. It was her and Josh’s last night on their pre-wedding honeymoon. They were busy boning. Or at least, she hoped that’s what was going on.
She took a sip of wine and was just starting to relax when she heard pounding footsteps coming up the driveway. All of her senses went on high alert. Who in the hell was running up her driveway?
She stood up, grabbed the bottle opener on her key ring and put it between her fingers, like she’d been shown to do with keys in a self-defense class she’d taken. She lifted her arm and was ready to strike. No hesitation. That’s what she’d been taught. If you hesitate, you die.
Which she’d always thought was a little bit much.
Her heart was pounding wildly when a shirtless man came into view. Not just any shirtless man. It was a gladiator.
* * *
As Glenn ranup the driveway he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a shiny metal object. He turned his head and saw that Vivien was standing on the corner of the deck with her arm raised up and what looked like a wine bottle opener primed to be used as a weapon.
“You scared the shit out of me!” she said as she lowered her arm and the weapon and clutched at her chest with the other hand.
“What were you going to do with that?”
“Stab you in the eye,” she said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
Glenn stared at her, wondering if she actually believed that if he had been someone who wanted to cause her harm a wine opener would be able to stop him. Then he thought about what would happen when he left in a few months. She lived in this house all alone. Sure, Hope Falls was a quiet small town, and his cousin lived next door, but if someone wanted to hurt Vivien, would they have any idea?
“You need a dog,” he blurted out.
She blinked several times at him with a blank expression on her face. “What?”
“For protection. You need a dog.”
He braced himself for her to tell him it was none of his business, because, well, it wasn’t. But instead, the corners of her lips turned up. “Are you worried about me?”
“You’re single. You live alone. You need a dog.”
She lifted her hand to her forehead and saluted him. “Yes, sir. Any other orders you’d like to give me?”
Yes, bend over and spread your legs.
Fuck. Why did everything she say cause X-rated thoughts to populate in his head?
He shook his head. “Sorry. Have a good night.”
“Do you want to sit?” she asked as he turned to go. “I can pour you a glass? Or grab you a beer?”
No. Go home, he told himself, the last thing you need is to spend time on a porch with Vivien looking like the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen in your life.
His eyes dropped down and that’s when he noticed her bare feet. Her toes were painted a bright blue tonight and he had the oddest urge to kiss each one of them. Never in his life had Glenn had a foot fetish, but even Vivien’s toes made him think dirty thoughts.
One drink. He would have one drink.
He lifted his head and accepted her invitation. “A beer sounds great.”
She smiled and his entire world narrowed to a pinpoint. All he saw was her. Those eyes. Those lips. He could stare at her face every second for the rest of his life and it still wouldn’t be enough time.
“Be right back.”
She turned and ran inside. Glenn lowered down onto one of the Adirondack chairs and leaned his forearms on his knees. He’d left his uncle and aunt’s house right after dinner to avoid being setup. Then he’d come home and not been able to get Vivien out of his head so he’d gone on a run to try and clear his head and now he was about to have a drink with her.
What the fuck was he doing?
