Ouch! She bumped into something hard, nose-first, and pulled up short. That was a knee. Male, covered in denim. And it smarted. She grabbed the bridge of her nose, which was stinging bad enough to make her eyes water.
Lose something? a smooth voice asked from overhead.
Oh. My. God. She knew that voice. Oh, how she ever knew that voice. It was dark and smooth and deep and she hadnt heard it in fifteen years. It had gained a more mature resonance, but beyond that, the voice hadnt changed one iota.
I asked you a question, miss. Did you lose something? the voice repeated impatiently.
Her mind? Her dignity? Definitely her pride.
She forced her gaze up along the muscular thighs, past the bulge that was going to make her blush fiercely if she dwelled on it, past the lean, hard waist beneath a black T-shirt, up a chest broad enough to give a girl heart palpitations, and on to a square, strong jaw sporting a sexy hint of stubble. But
there was no way her gaze was going one millimeter higher than that. She was not looking Finn Colton in the eye. Not after hed caught her fleeing the hardware store on her hands and knees.
Uh, found it, she mumbled, brandishing the hapless gasket lamely.
Rachel? the voice asked in surprise.
Her gaze snapped up to his in reflex, damn it. She started to look away but was captured by the expression in his green-on-brown gaze. What was he so surprised at? That she was crawling around on the floor of the hardware store? Or maybe that she still lived in this two-bit town? Or that she looked like hell in ratty jeans and a worse T-shirt and had on no makeup and her hair half coming out of a sloppy ponytail? Or maybe he was just stunned that shed dared to breathe the same air as he, even after all these years. She hadnt been good enough for him then; she surely wasnt good enough for him now.
Her gaze narrowed. She had to admit Finn looked good. More than good. Great. Successful. Self-assured. The boy had become a man.
For just one heartbeat, they looked at each other. Really looked at each other. She thought she spotted something in his gaze. Longing, maybe. Or perhaps regret. But as quickly as it flashed into his eyes that unnamable expression blinked out, replaced by hard disdain.
Ahh. That was more like it. The Finn Colton she knew and loathed. Finn, she said coldly. Youre standing in my way. I was just leaving.
With a sardonic flourish of his hand, he stepped aside and waved her past. Jerk. Watching him warily out of the corner of her eye, she took a step. She noted that his jaw muscles were rippling and abruptly recalled it as a signal that he was angry about something. All the Coltons had tempers. They just hung on to them with varying degrees of success. Finn was one of the calmer ones. Usually. He looked about ready to blow right now, though.
Hugging the opposite side of the aisle, she gave him as wide a berth as possible as she eased past. She made it to the cash register and looked up only to realize that just about everyone in the store was staring at her and Finn. Yup, men were as bad as women when it came to gossip.
She had to get out of there. Give them as little fodder for the rumor mill as possible. She was finally starting to get her life together, she had a new job, and she didnt need some new scandal to blow everything out of the water when she was just getting back on her feet. She fumbled in her purse for her wallet and frantically dug out a ten-dollar bill. The clerk took about a week and a half to ring up her purchase and commence looking for a small plastic bag to put her pitiful gasket in.
She snatched it up off the counter, mumbling, I dont need a bag, and rushed toward the exit. But, of course, she couldnt get out of there without one last bit of humiliation.
Miss! Miss! You forgot your change!
Her face had to be actually on fire by now. She was positive she felt flames rising off her cheeks. She turned around in chagrin and took the change the kid held out to her.
Dont you want your receipt? Youll need it if you have to return that
She couldnt take any more. She fled.
She didnt stop until she was safely locked inside her car, where she could have a nervous breakdown in peace. She rested her forehead against the top of the steering wheel and let the humiliation wash over her. Of all the ways to meet Finn Colton again. Shed pictured it a thousand times in her head, and not once had it ever included being caught crawling out of the hardware store in a failed effort to dodge him.
Knuckles rapped on her window and she jumped violently. She looked up and, of course, it was him. Reluctantly, she cracked the window open an inch.
If youre going to faint, you should lie down. Elevate your feet. But dont operate a motor vehicle until any light-headedness has passed.
He might be a doctor, but that didnt mean he needed to lecture her on driving safety. Sheesh. He didnt even bother to ask if she was feeling all right! She snapped, Why, Im feeling fine, thank you. It was so kind of you to ask. I think Ill be going now. And a lovely day to you, too.