“Have I mentioned I’m thinking about becoming the
neighborhood cat lady?” she said to Nina just as the bell
over the front door chimed again. She finished cleaning
up after the last order, not looking at Nina. But her
friend’s silence made her curious.
A glance at Nina’s smirk had her groaning inside, because
trouble was sure to follow.
“Hey, Foley,” Nina said with way too much pleasure. “How
are you?”
“Lookin’ good, Nina. How’s Matt?”
“He’s great. And if he’s smart, he’s done all his
Christmas shopping by now. Not like last year’s fiasco.”
The deep chuckle went straight through Cyn…and had her
bristling at her reaction.
“I, ah, I’m here to apologize to your friend, actually.”
Cyn took that as her cue to turn around. Hell. Foley
Sanders looked even better under the bright lights of the
shop. She tried to pretend she wasn’t studying him as
intently as he studied her.
But damn, where the hell had he come from? He topped her
own grand six feet by a few inches, and even despite his
jacket, she couldn’t detect any body fat on the man. He
had broad shoulders and—as she vividly recalled from
eyeballing him at the garage—huge, tattooed arms.
Short black hair framed a handsome face. Rough and manly.
He had a five-o’clock shadow, and that rumpled hair look
that on her would have appeared messy but on him shouted
“sexy.” Bright gray eyes watched her with caution,
showing he had a measure of intelligence under all that
muscle and ink.
She steeled herself not to get taken in by so much
manliness. Neighborhood cat lady, remember? Besides, his
cars are littering the parking lot! Men suck. He’s
probably only into skinny chicks anyway.
That made her feel better, imagining his intolerance for
real women.
But real women can be any size. Plump or stick thin, fat
or slender, tall or… Shut up, Cyn! This isn’t time for a
life lesson. Deal with Conan, and love your gender later.
“Yes?” she said with an icy politeness that had Nina
trying to bite back a grin.
“I’m sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot.” He
smiled, but she wasn’t buying the charm. “I’m Foley
Sanders.” He held out a hand.
Nina stepped on her foot, and she jerked toward Foley
before realizing it. She glared at Nina before reminding
herself to be a professional. She’d dealt with
overwhelming men before and would no doubt again. So she
held out her hand and pasted a smile on her face. “Cyn
Nichols.”
He blinked. “You’re related to Matt?”
“Yes, is there a problem with that?” She didn’t even have
to pretend to be tired of that question. Matt was so
handsome and in shape and popular. What tree had they
shaken her out of?
“Not at all.” His grin broadened. “I just hadn’t realized
Matt had such a hot sister.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Before I somehow piss you off again, I’m here to get the
cars,” he said in a hurry. “Dale, our new guy, must have
parked them in the wrong spot. Apparently our agreement
was with the sewing place next door, not your parking
lot. And I’m sorry I never answered your calls. I
misplaced my phone again.” He gave her a disarming smile
that—damn it—worked.
She felt herself blushing. “Oh. Sorry if I came on a
little strong.” A little? Even she knew she’d been over-
the-top bitchy. “It’s just that we had some complaints
from customers, and I couldn’t understand why no one had
gotten back to me.” She still didn’t understand that.
What professional these days ever parted with his or her
cell phone? But he’d made amends, so she could forgive
him the lapse. “So you’ll move the cars?”
He held up a ring of tagged keys. “Right away, Ms.
Nichols.”
“How do you know I’m not a Mrs.?” she asked, annoyed with
the assumption. Was she so unattractive and ungainly she
couldn’t land a man?
He had the gall to wink and nodded to her hand. “No ring.
Trust me. First thing I checked…after that dress. That’s
a really, really nice dress you’re wearing.” He let out a
small sigh and left before she could think of something
to say.
Like I’m sorry for being so damn defensive about my size.
It’s not you, it’s me. But then, it’s guys like you who
made me this way. Well, you and my mother.
Thoughts of her mother scared her straight. She’d told
herself time and time again to stop letting Ella Nichols
dictate her feelings about herself. She just needed to
follow her own advice.
“Ahem.”
Knowing she had to face the inevitable, she looked at the
smug woman standing next to her and groaned at Nina’s
wide smile.
“You and Foley Sanders. Oh my God, will you guys have the
best-looking, tallest babies or what?”