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Chapter 1
Aaaand you’re a stalker.
An absolutely psychopathic stalker and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Who the hell moves across the country to be close to someone they’ve never met?
“This guy, that’s who,” Ben Morgan mumbled, gripping the door handle to the rustic bar in the small town of Citrus Pines. He took a deep breath, mulling over in his mind his completely ridiculous decision to uproot his entire life for someone he’d never met. Well, not in person anyway.
Would he recognize her right away? Would she be as amazing in person as she was online? Would he feel like shit when he met her boss that she was so freakingobsessedwith? Ben hoped like hell that his resting bastard face didn’t show when he met Taylor for their interview, that he could get through it politely and not screamyou sir, stole my girl!His stomach flipped as he realized he was about to come face to face with his competition for her affection. He released his death-grip on the handle and turned back to pace along the porch of The Rusty Bucket Inn.
What the hell were you thinking? Coming to a new town, trying to get a job in the bar where she works? You’ll be arrested within minutes. You can’t even pretend you don’t know her, the evidence is all over your computer…
He raked a hand through his dirty blond hair that had grown far too long. He didn’t think he was a psychopath, that may be open to discussion right now, but he had found a deep connection with someone and he couldn’t just ignore it. The only problem was, she lived halfway across the country and didn’t even know what he looked like, what his real name was, or that he had changed his whole life to meet her.
Ben had met Kayleigh in a forum for a group role playing game they were part of. They had been commenting on the same thread and while drama kicked off between the other players, he messaged Kayleigh separately to continue a more level-headed discussion. Her knowledge and the constructive way she illustrated her point, not to mention her strategic thinking, had drawn him in and after they had won the game based on their teamwork, they kept chatting.
Now he logged on every day just to speak to her and it was the highlight of his day. They talked about their lives, their work and unfortunately about Kayleigh’s crush on her boss. Every time she talked about Taylor’s adorable red curls, piercings and tattoos, Ben died a little inside. Ben didn’t have red hair, curly or straight. He didn’t have tattoos or piercings. Taylor was probably six foot a million and stacked with muscle. Ben wasn’t exactly short, but he didn’t quite hit the magical six feet mark. And muscles? Psh, what muscles? He was Captain Lean.
He also didn’t own his own business. In fact, he was a total failure.
He flunked out of med school, recently embarrassed his entire family at their annual end-of-summer cookout, before he hammered the final nail in thedisappointed parentscoffin when he abandoned his paramedic training. Following this absolute clusterfuck, he fled to Citrus Pines to be near the one person who understood him. The one person who never made him feel like a disappointment.
The way Kayleigh described the small town, it sounded charming, wholesome and accepting. He needed that after the last few years of pressure, anxiety and continual failure. He needed breathing space. He hadn’t moved herejustfor Kayleigh, he wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Live a life away from overwhelming expectations of a career he had no interest in. He also liked the idea of connecting with people more and being able to greet his neighbors every morning without them glaring at him suspiciously like people in the city did.
He hadn’t told Kayleigh what he’d done. She had no idea he’d packed up his life and moved. He didn’t want to scare her. He just wanted to spend time with her and see if she would accept him in real life the way she did online. Then he would break the news to her that he was GreenEyedKing96, and she would be horrified and never speak to him again. Yeah, then again maybe not. Maybe he shouldn’t tell her. Maybe he would just slowly start appearing online less and she would forget about GreenEyedKing96 and focus on real life Ben? No, that also didn’t feel right.
Either way, he was nearly late for his interview, and he needed to get his ass inside before he disappointed his potential new boss. He couldn’t handle letting anyone else down right now.
He took a deep breath but before he reached for the door, it swung open, rebounding off the building with abangand a man burst out. Ben glimpsed him for only a moment as the guy headed for the line of trees to the left of the bar, but Ben had time to spot the blood pouring from the guy’s nose.What the fuck?
“Help! I need some help in here!” A woman shouted. Ben ran inside the bar, the burst of adrenaline giving him that unparalleled high he loved so much. Once inside he glanced around the empty bar but couldn’t see a single soul. He headed towards the open door on the right and found a red-headed woman bent over another woman slumped on the floor.
“Oh my God, what happened?” His eyes took in the woman on the floor with blood coming from a wound on her head.
It’s her.
It’s Kayleigh.
He froze for a moment, gazing at the wonderful human that he’d been talking to for two years, finally in the flesh. Except right now, she was wounded. Her round cherub cheeks were pale, her light brown hair in disarray around her and her soft pink mouth pinched in pain.
“I need some ice, now!” The redhead snapped, jolting him back to the moment, and he ran off in search of ice. He headed down the corridor, found a door to the restrooms on one side and the kitchen on the other. He barged into the kitchen, his emergency responder-mode kicking in. He grabbed a metal bowl from the counter, shoved it under the faucet and filled it with cool water. While he waited for it to fill, he pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance. When they confirmed they were on their way, he switched off the stoves that were currently burning and locked the back door to the bar so no one could come in. He didn’t know what had happened, but it had to be something to do with the guy who had ran outside, and Ben didn’t want him sneaking in the back door. He grabbed some ice from the freezer and dumped it into the bowl, snagging a cloth and an empty bucket on his way back to the women.
“I’ve called an ambulance, locked up the back and turned off the stoves. We need to get her to stay awake. Keep talking to her until the ambulance arrives. And she’s probably concussed so hold this bucket in case she needs to be sick,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm, like his training had taught him. But it was tough not to panic when the injured party was someone you cared about. Ben dipped the cloth in the bowl and began gently dabbing at Kayleigh’s brow and cheeks, her delicate skin turning pearlescent under the water droplets trickling down.
“Ka- uh, what’s her name?” he asked, nearly revealing that he already knew exactly who this was.
“Kayleigh,” the redhead replied.
“Kayleigh? Pretty. Okay Kayleigh you need to wake up now,” he said, pulling Kayleigh back against his chest, resting her there. He noticed how tiny she seemed in his arms, so delicate.
“Who are you?” the redhead asked.
“I’m Ben Morgan. I’m here for my interview,” he said, meeting her gaze. She was a stunning woman, long red curls, green eyes a shade darker than his own. He turned back to Kayleigh and continued to dab her face. He talked to her, random words coming out of his mouth about the weather and asking what her favorite type of dog was, even though he already knew she loved Saint Bernards. He just needed to try and keep her awake. And keep his own panic at bay.Come on Ben, stay calm and just remember: be more E.P!
Kayleigh stirred a little, her eyes fluttering open, and he got a glimpse of them up close. Startling blue-gray in color, like wild seas on a stormy day. His heart kicked in his chest as he fell a little bit deeper in love with her.
How can you love someone you’ve never met?
