Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“Are you okay?” the man asked, scrambling to his feet and crouching down beside me.
Dark hair. Blue eyes. My heart pounded as I stared at Holt Sellers, too dazed for a second to even speak. The boy I’d had a secret crush on as a teen had grown into an even more handsome man, his shoulders wider and his voice deeper. Even the little worry line between his brows made this more mature version of Holt sexier in a way that terrified me.
“Shea?”
My embarrassment skyrocketed at his recognition of me. I’d always felt awkward around Holt, and it didn’t get any more awkward than slamming a blueberry-sauce-topped cheesecake into a guy wearing a white shirt and having him show concern for me instead of anger.
“Holt, I’m so sorry. I was in a huge hurry and I didn’t look around the corner.”
He put a hand out to help me up, but I scrambled to my feet on my own, too mortified to take his hand. When I got to my feet, he was giving me a look that was a mix of concern and amusement, the corners of his eyes tipping up in a smile even though the worry line was still there.
“I always thought I looked better in blue anyway,” he said.
The sound of a little giggle made me turn, and I saw two children standing nearby. One of them was Spencer, the boy I’d already met, and the other was a little girl with long brown curls and Holt’s blue eyes.
The girl was laughing while Spencer looked like he wanted to laugh but knew he shouldn’t.
“Shawn!” Nina called to a passing bellboy. “Can you get this cart?”
Shawn took over pushing the cart and Nina turned to me.
“I’m going to get this delivered and then I’ll come help clean up,” she said.
I waved her on and glanced down at my apron, which had blueberry sauce smeared on it. Most of the cheesecake and its sauce had ended up on Holt.
“We’ll get your clothes into the laundry right away,” I said, the words spilling out of me in a rush. “And if it’s ruined, of course, we’ll replace it.”
“I’m not worried about the shirt. Are you okay?”
Physically, I was fine, but I was definitely not okay. I didn’t know if my heart was racing because I’d made such a fool of myself or because my former crush was three feet away from me, looking like an absolute eleven.
Under normal circumstances, I would have called for maintenance to clean up the mess and continued with the dessert delivery.
But I couldn’t. All I could do was stand there and look at him.
I’d woken up this morning a fully functioning adult with a full vocabulary, but Holt Sellers had turned me back into a tongue-tied teenager.
CHAPTER FIVE
Holt
Where was the shy girl with braces and a flat chest? The beautiful woman standing before me looked nothing like Ryan Grady’s kid sister. Even covered by an apron, Shea was unmistakably curvy in all the right places, her caramel eyes framed with thick dark lashes.
Thank Christ, no one but me knew her embarrassed flush was making me hot. I hadn’t been with a woman in a very long time. Hadn’t even thought about being with one until this moment.
“I’m fine,” Shea said, smiling. “And again, I’m so sorry. I should have paid closer attention.”
A maintenance man tipped his cap at us as he rolled up his mop cart.
“Sorry about this, Lenny,” Shea said. “It was entirely my fault.”
“It’s not a big deal, it’s just a deal,” he said warmly. “I’ll have this cleaned up in a jiff.”
We stepped aside so Lenny could work and Shea gave me another apologetic look.
“I’ll send someone from housekeeping to pick up your laundry right away,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it. They’re doing all of our laundry anyway. This shirt can wait until the regular laundry day.”
“Are you sure?”
Fuck the shirt. This was the first time since Andrea that I’d felt a real attraction to a woman. Something that wasn’t just a passing, two-second attraction, anyway. I glanced at Shea’s ring finger and was relieved to find it empty.
Checking to see if she was married? What the hell was I thinking? This was Grady’s sister and the kids and I had just gotten into town a couple of days ago. My plan was to focus entirely on getting the kids settled here, finishing our new home and building the new arena.
“Yeah,” I said, Marley sliding her hand into mine. “Shea, this is my daughter Marley and my son Spencer.”
When she smiled, my determination to stick to the plan wavered. Damn, she was beautiful.
“Spencer and I met in the dining hall,” she said. “And Marley, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Marley turned her face toward me, too shy to respond.
“I hear you guys are with us for a while,” Shea said.