up, pulling the bike with me.
“Are you all right?” a male voice asked.
He hurried across the street, looking both ways for traffic as he did so. Up close, the different shades of caramel and sand in his hair were visible, making him more of a dark blond than I had thought.
He stopped a few feet away, reaching his hand out but not touching me.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
“Y-Yeah,” I stammered.
My left knee throbbed a bit from where it had hit the pavement, but I already looked like a big enough doofus for losing control of the bike. I wasn’t going to draw my embarrassment out further by complaining about injuries.
Think, a small part of my brain commanded the rest of my mind. Come up with a good excuse for crashing.
I couldn’t, though. All I could focus on was the face in front of me. The light stubble dotting the square jaw. The hint of a dimple in the chin. The way the most perfect lips ever stretched into a slow smile.
“You sure?” he asked.
I nodded heartily. “Yeah, totally. I was just… looking at this bird in the tree up there.” I nodded over my shoulder and forced a laugh. “It’s so silly.”
He bent down and started pushing the spilled recycling into the bin. “I’m glad you’re all right. And I’m sure Mrs. Henderson appreciates you trying to take care of her recycling for her, but the truck will be here in an hour or so.”
I laughed at his joke. “Oh, darn. I was hoping to get my good deed for the day out of the way,” I cracked.
He righted the recycling bin and looked at me. From the way his eyes were trained on my face, I could tell he was already interested in me. Casually, I flipped my hair over my right shoulder.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” I murmured in a soft voice.
He smiled. “I’ve never seen you around.”
“I’m visiting my aunt and uncle.”
“Ah. For how long?”
I quickly ran over possible answers in my head, finally deciding that the truth would actually benefit me in this case. “It’s undetermined. I’m just taking a little break from city life.”
His face lit up even more. “Which city?”
“L.A.” I cocked my hip and leaned the bike against it. My knee still ached, but I was determined to not let a trace of pain show on my face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, extending his hand. “I didn’t introduce myself. Luke Anderson.”
“Grace Wells.” I took his palm and instantly gave his handshake a rating of a ten. Warm and strong. Hopefully, he was like that in every regard.
“I can show you around some time, if you like.”
I tried not to reveal just how excited the prospect made me, only allowing a cool smile to surface on my face. “That would be nice, Luke Anderson.”
He grinned again. “All right, Grace Wells.” He glanced down at his wristwatch. “Unfortunately, I have to run. But let’s meet up soon?”
“Sounds great.”
“You know where I live, obviously.”
I lightly giggled. “Obviously.”
“Stop by tomorrow morning? Around ten?”
I did a mental cartwheel. “I’ll be here.”
He started walking backwards across the street, not even bothering to look for traffic this time. “See you then.”
I waved. “Bye.”
He climbed into his SUV, and I hopped back on my bike to continue down the sidewalk. My knee protested, but I pushed through the pain.
I bit my bottom lip as I pedaled, trying to keep the giant smile at bay until I was safely out of Luke’s vision. I couldn’t wait to text Rainy and let her know about my good fortune.
So I was still stuck in the middle of nowhere for an undetermined amount of time. But it looked like an opportunity had arisen for me to have some fun while in exile. After all, what could make any bad situation better than a hot guy to hook up with?
First official summer fling of my life, here I come.
C HAPTER F IVE
Grace
I didn’t go downtown. Instead, I circled around the block and headed right back for the house. I had less than a day to get ready
“Are you all right?” a male voice asked.
He hurried across the street, looking both ways for traffic as he did so. Up close, the different shades of caramel and sand in his hair were visible, making him more of a dark blond than I had thought.
He stopped a few feet away, reaching his hand out but not touching me.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
“Y-Yeah,” I stammered.
My left knee throbbed a bit from where it had hit the pavement, but I already looked like a big enough doofus for losing control of the bike. I wasn’t going to draw my embarrassment out further by complaining about injuries.
Think, a small part of my brain commanded the rest of my mind. Come up with a good excuse for crashing.
I couldn’t, though. All I could focus on was the face in front of me. The light stubble dotting the square jaw. The hint of a dimple in the chin. The way the most perfect lips ever stretched into a slow smile.
“You sure?” he asked.
I nodded heartily. “Yeah, totally. I was just… looking at this bird in the tree up there.” I nodded over my shoulder and forced a laugh. “It’s so silly.”
He bent down and started pushing the spilled recycling into the bin. “I’m glad you’re all right. And I’m sure Mrs. Henderson appreciates you trying to take care of her recycling for her, but the truck will be here in an hour or so.”
I laughed at his joke. “Oh, darn. I was hoping to get my good deed for the day out of the way,” I cracked.
He righted the recycling bin and looked at me. From the way his eyes were trained on my face, I could tell he was already interested in me. Casually, I flipped my hair over my right shoulder.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” I murmured in a soft voice.
He smiled. “I’ve never seen you around.”
“I’m visiting my aunt and uncle.”
“Ah. For how long?”
I quickly ran over possible answers in my head, finally deciding that the truth would actually benefit me in this case. “It’s undetermined. I’m just taking a little break from city life.”
His face lit up even more. “Which city?”
“L.A.” I cocked my hip and leaned the bike against it. My knee still ached, but I was determined to not let a trace of pain show on my face.
“I’m sorry,” he said, extending his hand. “I didn’t introduce myself. Luke Anderson.”
“Grace Wells.” I took his palm and instantly gave his handshake a rating of a ten. Warm and strong. Hopefully, he was like that in every regard.
“I can show you around some time, if you like.”
I tried not to reveal just how excited the prospect made me, only allowing a cool smile to surface on my face. “That would be nice, Luke Anderson.”
He grinned again. “All right, Grace Wells.” He glanced down at his wristwatch. “Unfortunately, I have to run. But let’s meet up soon?”
“Sounds great.”
“You know where I live, obviously.”
I lightly giggled. “Obviously.”
“Stop by tomorrow morning? Around ten?”
I did a mental cartwheel. “I’ll be here.”
He started walking backwards across the street, not even bothering to look for traffic this time. “See you then.”
I waved. “Bye.”
He climbed into his SUV, and I hopped back on my bike to continue down the sidewalk. My knee protested, but I pushed through the pain.
I bit my bottom lip as I pedaled, trying to keep the giant smile at bay until I was safely out of Luke’s vision. I couldn’t wait to text Rainy and let her know about my good fortune.
So I was still stuck in the middle of nowhere for an undetermined amount of time. But it looked like an opportunity had arisen for me to have some fun while in exile. After all, what could make any bad situation better than a hot guy to hook up with?
First official summer fling of my life, here I come.
C HAPTER F IVE
Grace
I didn’t go downtown. Instead, I circled around the block and headed right back for the house. I had less than a day to get ready
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