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“I— umm…”

He continued eating, casually crunching away. I remained at a loss for words. Eventually he brought one hand to his spiked, dirty-blond hair and scratched his head.

“Hang on a second.”

He disappeared through an archway, into the cozy-looking home. I was still looking after him, watching him go, when someone else stepped into the doorway from another part of the house.

“Hi, can I help you?”

Oh my God it washim!The object of my quest. The center of my recent universe. And yes, the most recently unwitting subject of some of my more far-flung fantasies.

I’d pictured this same handsome face countless times in my mind. And now he was actually standing before me, in the flesh. Leaning against one beautiful, well-built arm as he regarded me with an iron jaw and a curious, mischievous smirk.

“Yes?”

“H—Hi,” I eventually choked. “I… umm…”

It was a living nightmare — the one time in my entire existence I was actually at a loss for words. I’d spent my entire adult life giving high-pressure sales pitches before large gatherings while internally scoffing at people who had a fear of public speaking. Right now however, I understood each one of them fully and completely.

“You’re trying to sell me something, aren’t you?”

The man arched an eyebrow, then crossed two powerful arms over his massive chest. The muscles flexed as he moved, surging to life beneath his tanned skin.

Fuckkkkk.

My helplessness was amplified by his mere presence. Yet somewhere in the back of my mind, I fell even deeper in love.

“Alright,” he smiled, and his smile was radiant. “Go on. I’ll listen.”

Shifting in the doorway, he cleared his perfectly-formed throat.

“I’m probably not going tobuyanything,” he advised, “but since you drove all the way out here, you might as well practice your script on me.”

His face wasn’t just handsome, it was kind as well. And his voice! It was even deeper than I’d imagined, but not rough or gravelly in any way. In fact, it was quite smooth and pleasing. Just like he was.

“You’re Devyn Bishop,” I finally managed to say.

The man’s whole expression changed. He was more guarded, more suspicious, as he looked me up and down.

“Maybe.”

“No, not maybe,” I countered. “You’re definitely him.”

I put out my hand, which felt a little silly. Almost like Iwastrying to sell him something.

“I’m Juliana Emerson.”

Those cornflower blue eyes studied me for another moment, then a big, calloused hand closed over mine.

“Nice to meet you, Juliana.”

Oh my God, we weretouching.Actually touching! Electricity flowed through me like we’d completed a circuit. We were flesh to flesh now, skin to skin. I still couldn’t believe it.

“So if you’re not selling me anything,” he went on, “what is it you actually want?”

“The truth?” I asked.

“Always.”