Surrender

Chapter Twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

When I burst through the door of the book store I slam right into Beck. He grabs me around the waist to steady me and smiles a big toothy grin. Standing this close I can see every line and indent of his face.

“Sorry.” I say in an awkward sort of way, very aware of his hands on my body.

He shrugs, still smiling. “No problem.” He says in a suave voice. I need to watch out for him, he’s devilishly charming.

“Uh…you can let go of me now.” He give me a confused look.

“Your hands…” I say pushing away from him slightly. He looks down and a look of realization spreads across his features.

“Oh!” He moves me a few inches away from him and lets go, his hands dropping loosely at his sides. “There you go.” He chuckles. I move around him and take my place behind the desk, hoisting myself up onto the stool. He comes over and leans against the desk like he did before, blowing air through his full lips.

“I told Nora about the 5:00 thing.” He says placing his palms face down on the desk.

“What did she say?” I ask.

“She didn’t. She just sort of nodded and then went out for a little while.” I look down at his hands, his fingers are so long. I quickly look away and fiddle with a pen. If Nora went out, then why did she call? Probably to see if I was back yet. My stomach growls loudly and look at him, my eyes wide, completely embarrassed. I don’t know why I’ve been neglecting to eat lately.

“I ordered lunch.” He says, holding back a smile.

“Really?” I say eagerly, my mouth watering at the mere idea of food. He comes behind the desk and pulls out a brown bag from inside the drawer next to me. He pulls out a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a sparkling water.

I bite my lip and eye the food longingly. “You’re a saint Beck Matthews.” I unwrap the sandwich and start eating, taking huge bites. He leans against the desk and watches me, small chuckles escaping his lips.

“And you are a very mysterious woman, Rae Whitman.” I swallow hard. We’re flirting again. I turn away from him slightly and open the chips, popping a few into my mouth.

“I’m not mysterious.” I say through a mouthful of Dorito’s. He opens the water and hands it to me, giving me a strange look.

“I beg to differ. Anyone who answers a phone call one minute and is running out the door the next is in fact, a very mysterious person. Of course that’s just my opinion.” His voice is so hypnotizing you can’t help but look at him as he speaks. I already know that he is going to be a very dangerous factor in my life.

“We just met, I think there should be some sort of mystery between two strangers.” I say, finishing off the sandwich.