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“I think they are talking about reading literature, not smut.”

Hannah’s face turned violet, and Blake was surprised to find her hazel eyes shooting daggers at him.

Holy shit, he’d pissed her off. He hadn’t meant to. He’d been teasing Hannah about her romance novels since the fi

rst time he’d seen a book poking out of her apron. Usually she just rolled her eyes and scolded him, but she was really mad.

“It is not smut. It is a beautiful love story. Maybe you should try reading one before you poke fun at me.”

She started to walk away, and he grabbed her wrist, the softness of her skin rubbing against his palm like a swatch of velvet. Damn, he’d never noticed that before.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk.” He tugged a little until she was standing next to the table. “Can you sit for a bit? I promise I won’t tease you about your books anymore.”

Her lips pursed. “I’ve got to work.”

He gave her a cajoling smile. “Come on, there is no one else here. Sit a spell. I’ve had a really bad morning, and I could use a little friendly conversation.”

HANNAH YORK COULDN’T shake the warm imprint of Blake’s palm on her wrist, no matter how irritated she was with him. Maybe it was the way his hazel eyes twinkled boyishly at her or the contrite smile on his tan, handsome face, but she couldn’t say no.

She sat down with a heavy sigh. “You really shouldn’t give people a hard time.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s a personality flaw.”

And here I’d almost convinced myself that you didn’t have any.

From the first time that Blake had set foot in Dale’s, she’d been drawn to him. Usually, she was pretty shy around men, and things with Blake had been no different. Only he hadn’t let it stay that way. He’d teased her, told her jokes and stories, and before long, she’d begun watching the door every morning she worked, waiting for him to walk through it and sit in her section. She’d never had a male friend before, and Blake was great, most of the time.

Sometimes he came in with a dark cloud hanging over him, and on days like that, she just tried to smile and listen. Occasionally, he would open up about stress at work, but she always thought there was more to it than that. There was a deep-seated anger and sadness in Blake beneath the friendly exterior, but she was too afraid to pry, usually.

Today, though, she was too irritated to worry about pissing him off. “So, what’s going on? Why are you in such a contrary mood?”

“Contrary, huh?” There was that smile again, liquefying her insides.

“I told you. Broadens the vocabulary.”

“Fine, next time I’m at Walmart, I’ll be sure and grab a copy of one of your . . . romance novels and see what’s what.”

“Just make sure it’s not erotic romance, or you’ll be in for more than you bargained for.”

Oh God, now he was giving her a searching look that made her cheeks warm. “How will I know it is erotic romance without reading it?”

Hannah cleared her throat, fighting back her embarrassment. “Usually, it will have an object on the cover, like a mask or pearls. Sometimes a couple . . . embracing.”

Ugh, I’m going to die.

“Maybe I’ll have you text me some suggestions.”

A zing of surprised pleasure zipped through her. In the eleven months that he’d been coming in, they’d never exchanged numbers. They talked about a lot of stuff in the mornings, but never outside of Dale’s.

“You’d have to give me your number,” she whispered.

“Order up!” Kenny called from the kitchen.

Hannah patted the table with a smile. “I’ll grab your food and get you some more coffee.”

She got up from the table before he could say anything, sweat breaking out all over her body. The last thing she wanted was to make Blake think she was into him, although it was obvious to everyone at Dale’s she was over the moon for him.

Of course, she didn’t really think he felt the same. If he did, he’d have made a move by now, right? She didn’t have a lot of experience dating, but the guys who had asked her out in the past hadn’t waited long to invite her to dinner or a movie.