Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
I bet I look like some Frankenstein monster throwing heavy things around. She must be terrified.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice is breathy.
I realize I’m still wearing my stupid sunglasses. Dammit. I swipe them off my face. “Hi, Jocelyn, I was just here for some—”
“Cat food? I love it when Sylvester stares out the front window at me. He seems like the sweetest little guy.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, cat food. Right.” I reach over and grab a 50-pound bag and toss it over my shoulder. “Yep.”
She does this thing with her legs, sort of like she’s pressing her thighs together, and she runs a hand through her hair and nibbles her lip. Does she have to pee?
I try not to stare at her nipples, but they’re so hard I can see them through her form-fitting sweater. Damn, I want to know what those feel like. The more I try not to look directly at them, the more I think about them. Fuck.
I reach over and grab another bag of cat food. “Storm’s coming, you know. Gotta make sure Sylvester has plenty.”
She leans against the shelves, her cheeks growing even pinker as she licks her lips.
What’s wrong with her? If I hurt her, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t stand the thought of it. “You aren’t hurt, right? I didn’t hurt you, did I, when I knocked over all that stuff?”
“I’m fine,” she says brightly. “It’s just, um, just hot in here, you know.” She fans herself with her hand. “Well, I better be going. I need some things to build some … um—” Her gaze travels down my body.
God, she must be terrified of me.
“Need some big, thick, hairy—”
“Hairy?”
She blinks. “What? No, I mean.” She laughs in a high-pitched sort of way. “No, I meant some big pieces of wood.” She swallows hard. “Pine. Yes. Need some pine to make some things. For orders. Lots of orders. Christmas is almost here. So I just, you know, I have a long, long, thick, you know, thick list.” She does the thing with her thighs again.
“You sure you’re okay?” I step toward her.
“Must be going. See you back at home!” With that, she turns and hurries off, her perfect ass making my mouth water.
Fuck. I scared her off. Me and my big dumb body and my big stupid hands and my goddamn thick everything. Of course she’s terrified. I almost knocked a ton of oats over on her. She’s smart to run away from me.
I trudge to the register and buy the cat food that’ll last Sylvester all the way through the next calendar year. That’s okay. This is his favorite brand. He won’t complain.
I peek around the store, trying to get another glimpse of Jocelyn, but I don’t see her. She’s probably hiding from me, waiting for me to leave so she can feel safe.
“Receipt, Mac?” Emily hands me the little rectangle of paper.
“Thanks.” I take it and notice it’s got something written at the top. “This a stock number or something? I don’t think I’ll need to reorder anytime soon.” I pat the big stack of cat food on my shoulder.
She puts her hand on her hip and flips her hair. “Not a stock number. It’s my number.”
“Like your employee number? You shouldn’t give that out, Emily. That’s dangerous. What if someone, I don’t know, used it to try and impersonate you or something?”
She gives me the same look I’ve gotten plenty of times in my life. The you big dummy look. I’ve never liked it, but I’ve gotten used to it. After all, I’m pretty damn huge, and I don’t always think the same way as other people. I’ve always been that way, as if I look at everything differently, through a different set of glasses. People don’t understand it. The only person I’ve ever met who’s never looked at me that way is Jocelyn, and now I’ve probably scared her off forever. My heart sinks at the thought.
“Just take it.” Emily gives me a long up and down look.
“Okay.” I pocket the receipt and hurry away from Emily’s weird stares. Once I get the cat food loaded into my car, I get in and wait.
It’s only a few minutes before Jocelyn pops out, some supplies in her arms. Just seeing her makes me feel better about the weird moment with Emily. Maybe Jocelyn’s afraid of me, but she doesn’t think I’m an idiot. At least, I don’t think she does. That’s a win.
And with Jocelyn, I’ll take the wins as they come. Hopefully, one day, I’ll get the biggest win of all—her love. But I don’t dare to hope that big.
After all, something like that would take a Christmas miracle.
4
JOCELYN
“I’m not fixing this mailbox,” I mumble to myself as I stare at the parts I bought from the hardware store. He can go get his own mailbox materials and do it himself. I mean, he is the one that broke it to begin with. I’m sure the pretty girl at the hardware store would be all for helping him find whatever he needs. He can call her right up since he has her phone number now.