Samhain Publishing

A shiver went down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck rose. Alicia glanced around the room, feeling someone watching her. It was him. She had no idea who he was, only that he’d arrived with Patrick and Shannon. He had to be some friend of the O’Rourke family, but she’d never laid eyes on him before.

He wasn’t the type of man a woman would forget.

Rugged was the first word that sprang to mind. There was a coiled strength, a restless energy about the man that drew her attention immediately.

His blond hair was short in the back, longer on top. It swept away from his face, revealing a crooked nose, full lips, a high forehead and intense eyes. She’d seen him standing next to Patrick earlier and guessed that he was around six feet tall, maybe a bit less, but he was strong. Wide shoulders and a broad chest, tapered down into a trim waist. He was wearing a deep blue shirt and gray sports coat that fit him to perfection.

Unlike the other men in the room, he was wearing jeans instead of dress pants. They clung to his butt and muscular thighs like a second skin. She’d noticed both when she was waiting in line at the buffet table earlier.

Not wanting to appear too interested, she arched her brow in silent question. He didn’t smile, but she caught the flair of interest in his eyes and the slightest curve of his lips.
Oh, he was a handsome devil. It would be easy to fall under his sensual spell. And that wouldn’t do. Why not? a voice in her head demanded. She hadn’t been looking for a one-night stand, but the perfect opportunity for one was being laid in front of her. She hadn’t noticed a ring earlier, so he wasn’t married. Or likely wasn’t. She’d check that for certain before she did anything.

She stilled her thoughts. Ohmigod. She was contemplating a one-night stand with a complete stranger. Was she out of her mind?

No, the voice of reason in her head stated. Obviously, he was a friend of Patrick and Shannon’s. And as Patrick was the sheriff of Jamesville, it stood to reason that this man wasn’t a criminal. If he was here for the wedding, he’d probably leave tomorrow or the next day. There was no doubt that she was physically attracted to him, if the throbbing ache between her thighs was any indication.

In short, he was perfect.

He glanced at his watch and she knew he was thinking about leaving. He seemed on edge and had pushed his beer away from him. This was her one and only chance. She could let it slip away or she could grab it.

Alicia was on her feet before she even made the decision. Her mind might be questioning her actions, but her body knew what it wanted.

He straightened in his seat and then stood as she approached. His lips curved up in a sexy smile that made goose bumps break out on her skin. It was a smile of promise, of anticipation.

“Are you married?” She couldn’t believe she was asking that of a perfect stranger.

“No. You?” His deep voice skated over the nerve-endings in her body, making her tingle.
She shook her head and the heat level in his eyes kicked up another notch. Much more and she wouldn’t need to wear her coat home even though it was the first of March and there was snow on the ground.

She reached out her hand and he took it, his larger, stronger one closing over hers briefly before releasing it. “Come with me.” Her voice was thick with invitation. There was no doubting what she was asking.

Without question, he followed her from the room, his hand heavy and warm at the small of her back.

“Are you okay?” A low, male voice startled her out of her daydreams of the past. Linda whirled around, hand on her chest, heart pounding.

He stood just behind her. Watching. Waiting.

She had no idea how long he’d been there. It should have been impossible for a man his size to sneak up on her. At six-and-a-half feet tall, Levi Mann took up a lot of space. His body was massive, but it was all solid muscle. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man.

He was wearing his usual uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. The faded denim clung to his thick thighs like a second skin. The soft cotton of the shirt molded to his biceps and chest, leaving little to the imagination.

And she had imagined him. A lot.

Lying in bed late at night, Linda had wondered more than once what it would feel like to touch all that sculpted muscle. She knew what it looked like. Levi had helped her with much of the renovation work on the building, as well as the painting, often removing his shirt while he worked. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d stopped painting just to stare at him while he was working. Levi gave new meaning to the phrase abs of steel. His tanned flesh looked as though it was pulled tight over slabs of muscle.

And the man was just as potent from behind. He had wide shoulders that tapered down to his thick waist, the muscles making a perfect V. His butt was first class all the way.

“Linda?” The way he said her name gave her shivers. “Are you okay?”

Oh, God. She was standing here like a ninny, staring at him again. “I’m fine.” She shook herself and dropped the letter in the garbage. “Just thinking about things.” That was vague enough for him to drop it. In her experience, most men were just as happy to avoid lengthy, in-depth discussions with females.

Levi stared at her, his golden-brown eyes sending a shiver down her spine. He had a way of watching a person that made you think he could see all the way to your soul. Then he blinked and the moment passed. “Excited about this morning?”

She ignored the fact that his shoulder-length hair was down this morning, making him look even sexier. Usually, he kept it tied back while he worked. And there was no doubt about it. Levi was a man of action. If not for him, she’d still be working on the building instead of opening the doors on her new business.

“Excited and scared.” She laughed and motioned to the coffee pot, which had just finished perking. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.”

Turning her back to him, she struggled to regain her composure. He was one hot guy, no doubt about it, but she wasn’t looking for that kind of complication in her life right now.

Not that he’d come on to her in any way since she’d hired him. The arrangement they’d worked out helped them both. When she’d bought the building that housed Past Promises, it had needed a lot of sweat and elbow grease to make it livable. Which wasn’t a problem. Linda wasn’t afraid of hard labor.

The building was almost a hundred years old, three stories high and built of brick. The main floor was the retail space, but some time in the nineteen-seventies someone had converted the two upper floors into apartments. Linda had revamped the top floor for her own use. She hadn’t planned on renting out the second floor apartment until Jonah Sutter had approached her about Levi.

Jonah was married to Amanda Barrington, Amanda Sutter now, a friend of Linda’s from Vermont who had also relocated to Jamesville. Jonah had introduced her to Levi, who was looking for a place to stay and was willing to work in exchange for rent. It had saved her a bundle on the renovations. Levi could do the work of three men and there wasn’t much, if anything, he couldn’t do.

Cyndi and Shamus O’Rourke, more friends who lived in Jamesville, had pitched in to help her as well. Shamus was a partner in B & O Construction, a local contracting company, so he’d given her great advice and a good price on work when she’d needed it done.

Jonah had done his part as well, using his skill as an electrician to upgrade all the electrical work in the building. Not for the first time, she was thankful for her new friends and glad she’d made the move. The contrast between her friends and her family made her stomach ache.

It was no good to question why her parents and brother couldn’t just be happy for her. They were what they were, but she was through trying to please them.

She finished pouring the coffee into a paper cup and handed it to Levi. From past experience, she knew he took his black. Over the past few months of working together she’d gotten to know him fairly well. Or as well as anyone knew him. Levi was incredibly self-contained, keeping to himself when he wasn’t working. But she’d like to think they’d become friends, of a sort.

“Thanks.” Their fingers grazed as he took the coffee from her. Heat shot down her arm and her breasts tingled.

She dropped her hand and rubbed it up and down the fine wool of her dress pants. It was distressing how quickly her body reacted to Levi. It had been that way from the first moment she’d met him. All the man had to do was walk in the room and she felt her body temperature rise. She had to control herself. Levi was a friend, nothing more.

She didn’t know his entire story, but she knew he’d been in the army with Jonah—Special Forces. He’d left the military and had come to Jamesville to help Jonah about six months ago and had stayed. She figured he was entitled to take some time to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Besides which, he was the perfect tenant. He was quiet and he’d done more than enough work to pay for at least six more months’ rent. She had no idea how long he was staying and hadn’t worked up the courage to ask. The last thing she wanted to do was make him think she wanted him gone.

“I think you’ve got your first customers waiting outside.” Levi’s quiet voice broke the silence between them. She looked at him and he canted his head toward the door. Sure enough, through the huge display window beside the front door, she could see Cyndi, Shamus, Amanda and Jonah waiting to get inside. All her friends had come to her opening.

Smiling, she let all thoughts of her family and her sexual feelings for Levi slip away. Plenty of time to deal with them later. Or not. Taking a deep breath, she strode across the store and unlocked the door. “Welcome to Past Promises.”

Levi set his coffee on the counter the minute Linda’s back was turned. Whatever was in that letter had upset her. He’d stood in the shadows watching her for several minutes before he’d spoken. He’d seen the way she unconsciously placed her hand over her stomach, the way her shoulders had hunched forward.

He didn’t like it.

Reaching down, he plucked the letter out of the garbage and stuffed it in his back pocket. He’d read it later and decide if there was anything he could do to help her.

Some might consider it an invasion of privacy, but not Levi. He had skills that most people didn’t and if he could use them to help someone he cared for then that’s what he should do. Besides which, she’d thrown it in the trash without even tearing it up or shredding it. That made it fair game in his mind.