Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Anya Cagle, one of the fifth-grade teachers, had been sure to mention in the teachers group text how we should all keep Christ in Christmas. Then, she had gone on to say how thankful she was for all the fellow teachers she worked with who were faithful to the church and loved the Lord. I was almost positive that I was the only teacher who did not attend a church, and she knew it. From day one, she hadn’t liked me, and I had no idea why.
AH! Here it was. Okay, first thing would be their paper on what they did that summer, what they were looking forward to in second grade, and a list of their favorite things. I would need those fancy stickers to decorate the page after all.
“Excuse me,” a deep voice said, and a tingle ran through my body from the thick drawl.
My head snapped up, and I turned toward the sound.
Holy guacamole. Was it warm in here? I had a sudden need to fan myself. My face felt hot. I was too young for menopause, but whew. What had God been thinking when he made this man?
Slate-gray eyes locked on mine, and a small curl to his lips had me ready to swoon. Just like in those books Marley—my stand-in mom—read, I was gonna crumple to the floor and sigh at any moment.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” he said, cutting his eyes to the stickers with summer themes I had been studying.
Thick black eyebrows lifted slightly, making his forehead wrinkle. Jesus, he even looked sexy while doing that. My gaze went to his messily-styled, ink-colored hair, and I wanted to run my fingers through it.
“I was wondering if you knew where I could find paint supplies. The aisles aren’t labeled, and I’m lost,” he said with a chuckle that I literally felt between my legs.
There was a flash of something silver on his tongue. Was that a tongue ring? It was. Oh my sweet goodness.
When a man such as this one walked into a Hobby Lobby, they should announce it over the intercom to prepare the women for this type of encounter. Because right now, I was struggling to find my words. He could have walked off a movie set. He was that gorgeous. Perfect. Not a flaw.
And here I stood, in my cutoff sweatpants; a tank top that might have a small ketchup stain from the burger I’d had for lunch, but was thankfully black, making the red spot hard to see; and flip-flops. I was wearing freaking flip-flops. Oh, and let’s not forget that my hair was in piggy-tails at the nape of my neck, as if I were the age of my students.
He was staring at me. Waiting on—OH!—me to respond. Crappity. I was making a complete fool of myself.
When I’d broken up with Alec, I had sworn off men for at least a year. It was almost a year, but the past eleven months had been so peaceful without him that I realized men might be more trouble than they were worth. That, of course, was before I had laid eyes on the Adonis who was still waiting on me to speak.
I cleared my throat and smiled, trying not to appear like a creepy, stalker-prone psycho. “Oh. Yes, um…” I glanced past him.
Where he needed to be was on the other side of the store. I could point, but he would likely still not find it. Hobby Lobby wasn’t for knowing where you were going. They wanted you to wander, get lost, buy things you didn’t need. It was a great sales plan. Worked ninety percent of the time, I’d say.
“It’s a bit hard to explain,” I replied, looking back at him. “Let me show you.”
With his chiseled jaw and deep-tanned skin and those light eyes, he gave me a full smile, which caused my heart to flutter.
“I’d really appreciate that,” he said.
And I would really appreciate getting to look at you longer.
“It’s no problem,” I replied. I motioned back behind him as I gripped the handle on my shopping cart. “Um, I’ll lead the way once I get this thing out of the narrow space here.”
When he turned to walk in that direction, I was gifted with the view of the best ass I’d ever seen in my life. Levi’s should pay him for wearing those jeans. Seriously, he shouldn’t have to buy clothing. Brands should send him free items to display on that body of his. It would sell millions. Women everywhere would buy whatever he had on for the men in their lives.
While his back was to me, I fanned myself quickly with the pack of stickers, then tossed them into the cart before following him. I’d thought my ex had an incredible butt, but even with all Alec’s training, this man had him beat, hands down. Not even a close second.