I watched with unnatural fascination as Lexie reached for a silver scoop and began shoveling nuts into a small white bag. What kind of nuts, I couldn't tell. But I liked the way she moved and the way she smiled, not at me, but at the customer as she handed him the bag.
When the guy smiled back, I felt my own lips turn downward.
What wasthatabout?
I had no idea and didn't want to speculate. AllIknew was that I'd been lucky she'd quit her former job. She'd been a distraction that I hadn't needed, especially at the office.
Of course, she wasn't at the officenow.
I chewed onthisthought for less than a minute before coming to the natural conclusion. No matter where she worked, I would be keeping my distance.
To her, I was a monster. I knew this for a fact because that had been her nickname for me at the office.The Monster.
Oh, yeah.I knew about her little play on my last name, just like I knew that Lloyd Grampkin had hired Lexie fresh out of college and had made a good little lackey out of her – a loyal lackey who couldn’t see the forest through the trees.
If Lloyd was her hero – and I was pretty sure that he was – I was the villain who'd slain him just to be a dick.
With a scoff, I turned away, only to see the same brunette who'd barged past me not too long ago. Now she was moving in the opposite direction, headingintothe store instead of out.
This time, she wasn't alone. She was dragging some guy along behind her, holding his wrist in a death-grip as the two of them hurtled past me. The guy was tall and lanky with light brown hair and a sour expression on his narrow face.
Her husband?
That wasmyguess, not that it mattered. She and the guy had nothing to do with me.
Still, I had to laugh. The way it looked, he was going Christmas shopping whether he wanted to or not.
The poor bastard.
Some guys hated Christmas shopping. And hey, I wasn't a fan either. But I'd be a better sport than this guy. Maybe not withher. But with a girl like Lexie?
Maybe.
I gave a quick shake of my head. That last thought – it was the kind of thing that could get a guy into trouble.
Serious trouble.
And I had enough ofthatalready.
Like right now, I was having trouble keeping my eyes off Lexie. Meanwhile, the brunette and her husband were hurtling like a double bobsled toward the front counter.
When Lexie spotted them, her eyes widened, and she looked ready to bolt.
I stiffened.Something was wrong.
I didn't know what. But Ididknow one thing. Until things settled down, I wasn't going anywhere.
Chapter 8
Lexie
From behind the front counter, I felt my eyes widen with disbelief.
The woman – who apparently was no relation to Cole Henster – was back. This time, she'd brought along heractualbrother, unless she was dragging some other guy into the store.
I gave the guy a long nervous look. Judging from his expression, he wasn't any happier with this development thanIwas.
With growing unease, I watched as the two of them jostled their way through the crowd until they were standing directly in front of me at the main counter.
