“Hello,” Kodi says. “Are you still there?”
“Yes. I—uh,” I stutter. “I have to go. Love you.” And without another word, I hang up the phone knowing I’ll explain everything to her later.
I can’t help but continue to stare at the beautiful species of a man working in his yard. Suddenly, I’m sweating. And it’s not like it’s one hundred degrees out. It’s cool enough for me to be wearing my lightweight Bluestone Lakes sweatshirt and a pair of biker shorts.
But to wear no shirt…
I hustle into the house, hoping he didn’t catch me staring the last few feet of our walk. I pace my living room before trying to find a window facing his yard to watch him some more. But none of them provide me with a good enough angle.
Who the hell am I right now?
Realization dawns on me that this man stood in my tiny living room and watched me freak out over a moose in nothing but a towel—and saw me naked.
I can totally creep on him shirtless. Right?
I scan the area, looking for something that will make me look busy outside. My eyes land on a feather duster I bought at the General Store and have yet to use. This is probably the most asinine thing, but it’s not like he can really see what I’m doing over here.
I make my way outside and start dusting the beaten wood on the railing as if there’s actually dust on it.
This is absolutely crazy.
I look in the direction of his house, and I still myself when I watch him rip out an entire bush next to his house with his bare hands. My mouth parts, watching the way the muscles in his arm morph with each move he makes. The ridges in his back flex when the bush is out of the ground while he walks it over the area of brush he has piled to remove.
Griffin is built like a brick wall.
Once he tosses the bush into the pile, he claps his handstogether to remove the dust before removing his baseball cap and wipes a sheen of sweat off his forehead. He shakes the hair out of his face before replacing it right where it was.
I can’t take my eyes off him as he reaches for a water bottle, throwing it back to take a long chug. I have to lean forward more just to really get a good view of this.
Why is that so hot?
I don’t realize how much my body is pressing into the railing until I hear wood breaking, and I’m tumbling headfirst into the bushes skirting the bottom of the deck.
“Ahh,” I squeal.
I lie on the ground, unmoving, with my hand over my face. I’m terrified I just brought attention to myself and now he’s going to know I was creeping on him.
I reluctantly turn to face his house and lock eyes with Griffin.
This is absolutely mortifying.
That’s when I see him move toward my house.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I attempt to move, but a pain in my knee causes me to move slower than I want to. I find enough energy to roll over on my stomach to make it look like I’m just casually resting in the yard. I’m clearly not thinking properly right now.
Did I hit my head that hard?
“You okay over there?” Griffin asks a few feet from my house, still walking full of swagger and hotness.
“Yep. Great,” I stammer, locking eyes with the grass in front of me. “Just checking out the grass. It’s really fine and green. Soft too.”
He comes to a stop next to me, and I fight the urge to look up at him.
Of course, my eyes betray me when they decide to turn up in his direction. They lock right on his bare chest. Painted with muscles that might as well smack me right in the face where I lie on the ground. My gaze trails down to the dips and curves of hisabdomen, where I finally get a close view of how built this man really is.
I avert my gaze to his face before drool forms in the corner of my lips. He raises a questioning eyebrow, stopping right next to where I lie.
