Page 3 of Small Town Sizzle

Do I know her?

She looks terrified, and then just as quickly, she starts glaring at me in a way that says she’s not the least bit sorry.

“Oh,” she says, her tone casual. “You were standing back there, so I thought—”

“You thought wrong,” I cut her off.

Her brows lift, and she finally lowers her phone, tucking it into the pocket of her leggings.

“Hey, Chuck, I have to go. I’m dealing with a jerk,” she says into the phone. She removes it from her ear before she looks back at me. “Wow, okay. Didn’t realize this had your name on it.”

My jaw tightens. “It’s not…”

“Aunt Maya! This guy…again?” the teenage boy asks in exasperation as he shakes his head and takes a step in between us protectively. His eyes are narrowed, and his chin is puffed out as if he’s ready to fight me.

Maya—I guess that’s her name—puts her hand on the boy’s arm.

“Alex, you and Jaz get your drinks or whatever you want. I can handle myself.”

“There’s nothing to handle,” I interject as I roll my eyes. “Could you pay attention to your surroundings a little better? I’ve been here five minutes, and you’ve run me over or pushed me out of your way three times between you and your dog.”

“What?” she laughs. “Exaggerate much?”

She waves the can in my face and gestures to my hand.

“It’s fine,” I hiss as I roll my eyes and turn away.

“No, if it were, you wouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s the last one; you can have it, and I’ll find something else.”

“No, I insist you take it.”

“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you, man,” she sighs as she rolls her eyes. “I am on a tight schedule. I’m sorry that I orbited into your uptight space today.”

She walks away and goes directly to the checkout line with the three kids.

The nerve of her. My uptight space? Her dog violated me, and she almost mowed me down when I came out of the bathroom.

I probably should wait until they leave so she doesn’t mow me down with her car.

“You could really benefit from some yoga or something,” she shoots back, her lips curving into the kind of smirk that makes me want to either argue with her all day or never speak to her again.

I stand there, staring at her back, trying to decide whether I’m more annoyed by her attitude or that I can’t stop looking at her. There’s something electric in the air between us, something sharp and unexpected. I don’t like it.

She’s infuriating.

Dang it, my head is pounding. That came out of nowhere. I rub the back of my head where it had slammed into my car. It is throbbing and tender. I close my eyes and exhale before I make my way to the front counter.

Every time I come back home to the United States, something bad happens. The last time, over a year ago, I caught my wife cheating on me. Came home six months ago to finalize the divorce. And not two hours after I stepped foot back on American soil for a planned break from work, I learned that my mother had passed in her sleep.

I’m already on edge from anger, shame, guilt, and a lot of grief as it is. This run-in with the beautiful redhead only hammers home that I need to get out of dodge as quickly as possible.

Chapter One

Maya

“Ican’t believe George ate through another harness,” my daughter, Jazlyn, says softly from the back seat.

George chuffs in response and plops his giant head in her lap as if his cuteness will get him off the hook.