Page 107

With all the confidence I could muster, I swung my purse over my shoulder and headed for the crosswalk. When the little guy turned white, I took a deep breath and sauntered across the street, ready to take on the rest of my day.
A blaring horn jerked me out of my pleasant thoughts, nearly scaring the crap out of me. I turned and faced the car that was coming right at me. I could see the old man waving, trying to get me to move out of the way, but my feet were rooted in place as I felt my impending doom.
Suddenly, I was knocked away from the car and to the ground, landing hard on my side. I was so shaken that I couldn’t even move. I just stared at the pavement, taking in all the tiny specks of black that I’d never bothered to look at that closely before. Mostly because I’d never laid on a blacktop and studied what it looked like this close to my face.
“Are you okay? Ma’am?”
I was rolled over, and for just a second, I couldn’t see the face that was staring down at me. The sun shone brightly to the right of his head, blinding me from seeing the man who rescued me. He cocked his head to the side and that’s when I saw his beautiful face. I sucked in a breath as I took in his features. Short black hair, brown eyes, a slightly crooked nose, and a five o’clock shadow that I could already feel under my fingertips.
As my eyes trailed down further, I watched his Adam’s apple jerk as he swallowed, and the hollow of his throat dip just above the white t-shirt he wore under his navy uniform.
His fireman’s uniform.
Holy. Shit.
“Ma’am?”
“Uh…”
Yep, that’s all I could say. Words and thoughts left my brain. I was basically a horny pile of mush on the pavement. He wasn’t quite Dash, but then Dash didn’t want to be with me. So, why shouldn’t I be with this man? My eyes flicked to his left hand and noted the lack of a ring. That didn’t mean he didn’t have a girlfriend, but it meant I had a chance.
The man brought a walkie talkie to his mouth and began spouting orders about an ambulance, yet I still couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth and say another word. Not when he started checking my reflexes or when he shined his light in my eyes. I just stared up at him, mesmerized by his beautiful face.
Maybe I had hit my head. Maybe this was one of those out-of-body experiences where I was looking down on myself, yelling at myself to get up and do something. Just like inGhost!
Except in Ghost, Patrick Swayze was dying.
I could be dying. I haven’t said anything in a full minute. Hell, it might be longer at this point.
You’re just too busy staring into his eyes.
Yeah, when my brain starts working, I’m definitely not going to tell him that.
Then you’d better come up with something to say that doesn’t involve you telling him how beautiful he is.
Not that I would have much luck anyway. Hell, I was in a bath curtain when I met Dash and that didn’t work on him. Why does that stuff work for other women, but not for me?
Well, I’m not a genius, but it could have something to do with the fact that you have to actually open your mouth in order for a man to know you exist.
He knows I exist! I’m laying on the ground beneath him! Is that his?—
It’s his work belt, moron. Do you really think he’d get a woody just from laying on top of you?
It happens in the movies!
You’re not in the movies. You’re in LaLa Land, talking to yourself! Face it, if you want this man, you have to open your mouth and say something!
“Mm-uh-huh,” I said, drawing his attention.
Wow, that was a great opening line.
“Ma’am, what did you say?”
“Hemm…uh…k.”
“I think she’s having a stroke! Where’s that ambulance?” he shouted.
Suddenly, my eyes unglued themselves from his face and I noticed I had quite the crowd gathered around me. Too many people. Oh, God. They were all staring at me. I was laying on the ground, perfectly fine aside from the fact that I had a gorgeous man on top of me, and I hadn’t moved in…I had no clue how long! This was so bad.