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Chapter 3
Lia was busy scrubbing the coolers when she heard voices outside. Assuming Wayne was chatting with one of his friends before coming in to work, she headed toward the front of the store. Sundays were usually slow and it was the best time to stock the shelves and get the cleaning done. Wayne was a good worker, but he needed supervision. If she didn’t give him specific directions, he’d spend the next three hours staring at his phone.
When the teenager stepped into the store, however, it wasn’t a friend with him. It was a mysterious stranger.
The sort of mysterious stranger who belonged on a movie screen, not in an aging family store in the middle of Wisconsin.
Lia sucked in a sharp breath, her gaze roaming over the dark hair that fell to the man’s broad shoulders. Usually she disliked long hair on men, but his was thick and glossy, framing his starkly chiseled features in a way that only emphasized his male beauty. He had high cheekbones and a proud nose that might have been broken in the past. It was his eyes, however, that made her feel as if the air was being squeezed from her lungs.
They were pure silver. The precise shade of mercury. And probably just as lethal. The thought was still whispering through the back of her mind when she heard Wayne ask the stranger about his interest in the skeleton. Her odd fascination was shattered and with a muttered curse, she hurried toward the counter.
She didn’t know who the man was or why he was interested in the skeleton, but she wasn’t going to allow him to abuse Wayne’s innocent trust in people.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, coming to a halt directly in front of the man.
It was at that point she noticed the stranger was a good six or seven inches taller than her, with hard-packed muscles that were visible beneath his soft leather jacket. That was also when she noticed the tattoos that crawled up the side of his neck. A shiver raced through Lia. She told herself it was only natural to be afraid. This stranger could easily break her in half. But deep inside, she knew it wasn’t fear that was prickling down her spine. It was . . .
Nope. She wasn’t going to finish the thought. Instead, she turned to study her employee with raised brows.
“Wayne?”
“Hey, Ms. Porter.” A wide grin split the teenager’s face. He nodded toward the stranger. “Look who’s in town. Can you believe it?”
Lia hesitated. Was she supposed to recognize the man? “Is he a relative?”
“I wish.” Wayne sent her a chiding glance, clearly disappointed in her less-than-insightful guess. “This is Kaden Vaughn. The best motorcycle stuntman of all time.”
Stuntman. That fit the stranger. He looked like the daredevil type. “Oh.”
Wayne rolled his eyes. “Don’t you remember his TV show?Do or Die?
Lia avoided the question by turning to stretch out her hand. “I’m Lia Porter.”
The man’s lips twitched, the silver eyes silently telling her that he was well aware she didn’t have the faintest clue who he or his seemingly famous TV show were.
“Kaden.” He firmly gripped her hand.
A jolt of electric pleasure zapped through Lia. His fingers were chilled from the frigid winter air, but that didn’t keep them from scorching her skin. Crap. Lia yanked her hand away and took an instinctive step back, battling against Kaden’s magnetic charisma.
“Kaden saw my picture of the skeleton,” Wayne intruded into her deranged musings. “I told you it was gonna go viral.”
Lia narrowed her eyes. “What does the picture of a skeleton have to do with a motorcycle stuntman?”
“That’s what I just asked,” Wayne admitted, visibly bubbling with joy at meeting a real-life celebrity.
The boy would clearly say or do anything to impress this man.
Lia stepped between Wayne and Kaden, facing the teenager. “I drove over to Grange yesterday to restock our canned goods.” It was a routine she’d started years ago. Delivery to the small town cost a fortune. It saved money for her to drive to the food wholesale warehouse and pick up the merchandise. Not the most exciting way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t like she had anything better to do. “Would you mind getting them out of my vehicle and putting them in the storage room?”
Wayne scrunched his face into a disappointed expression. “Now?”
“Yes, please. Then you can start sweeping.”
“Okay.” Heaving a deep, dramatic sigh, Wayne glanced toward Kaden. “I’ll be around if you have any more questions.”
“Good to know,” the man assured him.
Dragging his feet, Wayne plodded his way between the aisles and out of the main section of the store. Still, Lia waited until she heard the back door slam before she turned to send her companion a suspicious frown.
