Colton was quiet, and when I peered up at him from beneath my lashes, I found his head tilted to the side as if he was trying to figure me out. He wasn’t alone. I was trying to figure myself out as well.

“Did I do something to upset you?” he asked and I shook my head in reply.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, Colton. I am just on my way to meet my sister.”

“You know,” he began, crossing his arms across his chest and the image of my hand gripping his bicep popped into my head. God, I loved his arms. “I thought we had a good time that night.”

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face. “We did, Colton. I did. I’m just. . .” Chuckling, I dramatically dropped my hand from my hair and let it fall back to my hips, my palm slapping against the denim. “I don’t know what I am.”

Taking a step toward me, Colton grabbed my free hand and held it in his. I should care that people passing by could see it. I should care that in this small town, Colton was making a huge statement. And I should care that anyone walking around us could snap a picture and cause issues for both of us. But I didn’t. All I could focus on was how good my hand felt in his. How my body immediately lit up when he was close. How my heart raced as he smiled down at me.

I was an explosive field of emotions that I had no way of handling at the moment.

“Well, I know that you’re a beautiful woman that bewitched me the first moment I laid eyes on you. And I know that you completely rocked my world the other night. And I know that you have me under your spell.”

Were hockey players supposed to be poetic? Because that man just spoke to me like a freaking Hallmark card and the words have never been sweeter or more seductive. My heart was a pile of gooey mush at the moment while my brain and girly bits wanted him to take me against the brick wall of the building we stood beside.

“You think I’m beautiful?” I asked him because clearly, my brain decided to mimic my heart and turn into mush as well.

“That’s all you got from that?” I nodded, unable to think coherently as he smirked. “I’ve missed you. I was hoping you’d come back to the house to see what the crew has started working on. They found some neat stuff in a crawlspace in the attic.”

That got my attention.

“Yeah? Do you think any of it is from my family?”

“I’m not sure. Some of it’s just newspaper clippings and things like that, but there is probably more in the walls.”

“Wow.”

“Are you ignoring the part where I said I’ve missed you?”

“No. I just don’t know what to say to that.”

Sliding his hand up my arm, he snaked it around to cup the side of my neck and face in his palm. “Can I tell you something else?” he said, changing the subject.

“Okay,” I responded, trying not to gasp as his fingers tightened their grip. Colton leaned closer to me as if he was about to disclose his deepest and darkest secret.

“I want to fuck you again. All I’ve been able to think about is the way your pussy clenched around my cock. I need more of you.”

“Colton,” I moaned just as he released me.

How the man looked so composed was anyone’s guess because I was barely able to stand at the moment.

“I’m going to pick you up tonight to take you somewhere.”

Blinking up at him, I asked, surprised, “Like a date?”

“Something like that. So be a good girl and be ready.”

“Ready for what?” I questioned as he walked past me, heading back toward the hardware store.

“Anything,” he called out from over his shoulder.

I wasn’t sure how long I stood staring in the direction he departed, but it wasn’t until my phone buzzed in my purse that I realized I’d been in the same spot for a while. Gratefully, Alex’s message shook me out of my stupor.

“Hey, sorry that I’m late,” I called out as I stepped through the back door of the bar where Alex was getting ready for the day. When there was no response, I called out her name.

“Back here,” I heard her shout from the kitchen area.

“Hey,” I said as I set my stuff on the desk in the corner.

Alex turned to face me while holding a notebook and pen. “Wow. You look like you just had sex.”

“What?” I said in alarm, my body jerking to attention at her observation. Frantically, I looked around the kitchen until I found something that resembled a mirror and took in my appearance.

My hair was a bit messy, but no more than normal, and my cheeks were red. It was the eyes that gave any inclination of the lustful moment I’d just experienced with Colton.

“Oh, do tell,” Alex egged on as she continued her inventory.

“I didn’t have sex, Alex. . . today.”

The sound of her notebook clattering to the floor had me spinning on my heel to face my sister.

“Today? Are you saying you had sex recently?”

“Maybe.”

She stepped up to me, holding my shoulders in a grip that was sure to leave bruises as she looked me over from top to bottom.

“I’m sorry, you had sex with Colton Crawford and you’re just now telling me?”

Shrugging off her hands, I made my way back over to the desk in the corner near the kitchen’s entrance.

“Who said it was with Colton?” I responded casually.

“Well, if it had been anyone else, the news would have spread like wildfire. You were always the girl the guys in school had bets on banging. Was it good? I bet he’s amazing in bed.”

Turning to face her with my lukewarm tea in hand, I replied, “Wait, let’s back up a sec. There were bets on taking my virginity?”

“I don’t know if that was the full extent of it, but yeah. The guys in school were determined to land you.”

“And everyone wonders why I never wanted to move back.”

“Hey, no one succeeded because you’re tough as nails. I’m assuming douchebag in New York had the pleasure of popping your cherry. Probably a good thing too, because Colton looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing between the sheets.”

“He really does,” I murmured and then smacked a hand over my mouth. “Shit.”