Page 68 of Elijah

It was my turn to roll my eyes, wondering why I’d even bothered asking and got up to go to the bar where I ordered a sweet for each of us. Picking up two more glasses of wine, I turned to go back to Rachel and bumped into a rock-hard body. I managed to hold on to the glasses, and keep my purse tucked under my arm, but lost a fair amount of the wine down the shirt of the tall, dark haired man standing in front of me.

“God, I’m so sorry,” I gasped. “I didn’t see you there.”

Blue eyes twinkled as his lips broke into a grin.

“Hey, it’s my bad,” the man replied. “I shouldn’t have been standing right behind you. Let me get you a couple more.”

I shook my head. “Honestly, it’s fine. I spilled it on you, I should be the one buying you a drink.”

“Nope, no way,” he replied, shaking his own head and reaching for the two glasses. “I insist.”

“Really, it’s not necessary.”

“It really is,” he protested, looking down at me with soft eyes. “Please, I want to.”

I sighed and gave the glasses to him with a thin-lipped smile. “Okay, thank you. They’re both Pinot Grigio.

I handed him the glasses and then waited, awkwardly looking around the pub, trying to catch Rachel’s attention, who was now messing with her mobile. Finally, the guy turned back to me and handed me two full glasses of wine.

“There you go.”

“Thank you, although it really wasn’t necessary.”

“Like I said, I wanted to.” He ran a hand through his hair and blew out his cheeks. “I’ve had a crap morning so doing a good deed might wipe out any bad vibes that are following me around.”

I smiled, noticing how blue and bright his eyes were. “Well I hope your day improves.”

“It has already,” he replied. “I’m Leon, by the way.”

“Amy. Nice to meet you.” I nodded down to the drinks I was holding. “I’d shake your hand but…”

“Yeah, I can see how that’s a problem. It was lovely to meet you Amy and enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You too and hopefully the afternoon is better than the morning.”

“Well I almost killed my boss, so it can’t get any worse.”

I must have looked horrified, because he held his hands up, palms facing me, in surrender.

“No, nothing like that. It was an accident. I was backing my car into a space on the staff car park, this morning, and didn’t realise he was behind my car.”

“Well,” I said with a grin. “I’d say that was all his fault. He shouldn’t have been standing there.”

“Yeah, but maybe I should have looked in the rear-view mirror. Hence why I’m here, treating him to lunch.” He nodded toward a large, balding man, talking on his phone at a table close to mine and Rachel’s.

“But it was an accident.”

“Yeah, but I also sat on his sandwiches during our team meeting.” He shrugged, his blue eyes twinkled even brighter, making my stomach do a little flip.

Feeling a little weird, I cleared my throat. “Well, I’d better get back to my friend.”

“Yeah, I need to order lunch before I get fired. Great meeting you Amy.”

I turned to leave and had only taken a couple of steps, when I heard Leon call my name. I turned back to see him looking a little tentative, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t suppose I could have your number, could I? Maybe we could go out for a drink, or…” He winced. “Maybe not?”

He looked nervous and unsure, the total opposite of Maxwell Tanner earlier. I wasn’t sure what to say, but then I thought of Elijah and Mia walking through town, holding hands and smiling.

“That’d be lovely,” I replied, feeling heat on my cheeks.

Leon grinned and with his phone in his hand, took a step toward me, giving me a smile that made my heart beat a little faster.