A warm hand wrapped around my upper arm and gently pulled me to my feet, but my eyes still wouldn’t open.
“Hey,” the voice tried again. This time I had enough awareness to recognize that it was a man. Those warm hands had yet to let go of my arms.
I pried my eyes open, the movement as difficult as getting sand off wet feet, and gasped, stumbling backward once again.
“Whoa,” the guy repeated, his grip tightening. “Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”
The stranger had the most stunning hazel eyes I had ever seen, with dimples for days and perfectly tousled dark hair. He wore a simple dark-green henley shirt and blue jeans that clung to his muscular build.
“Um…I’m…err,” I stuttered, my eyes glued on his face, mind unable to form words. “Sunflower?”
“You’re…Sunflower?” he asked, cocking his head as the corners of his full lips twitched. “Is that your name?”
“Um…”
“There you are!” Maya burst through the stalks behind us and came to a halt. Her gaze roved over what must have been a very interesting scene. A random man holding me upright, my freshly dirt-stained jeans, and carefully curled hair all over the place. I probably looked like I had a fight with the ground and lost.
Maya crossed her arms with a sly smile. “I see you’ve already met.”
“What?” I tore myself from the guy’s grip, backing away like a cornered animal. “You…you’re…”
“Is she always this eloquent?” the man asked Maya with a smirk.
“Only when she’s flustered. Jameson, this is Elsie Feran, the other half to this photoshoot.”
When Maya told me the guy was attractive…the word did not do him justice. This guy could’ve been a model. Crap, he probablywasa model. And here I was in my frumpy—albeit carefully chosen—outfit, with sweat-slicked skin and dirt smeared all over me from my fall.
I was a walking disaster, and this stranger had a front row seat.
“What took you so long?” Maya asked him.
He took a step back, putting more space between us, and I gulped down precious air.
“The lot was full so I had to park on the other side of the field.” He ran his hand through his perfect hair exactly like a model would, and my knees may have wobbled.
Agh! Get a grip, Elsie! He’s just a boy!I gave him another once-over.Err, a man. Definitelynota boy.
Maya pulled off her backpack, rummaged through it, and handed me a small, pink towel. “Here, you have a bit of dirt on your cheek.”
Ears burning, I snatched it and turned away from them, wishing I could disappear. My hands strangled the non-existent life from the towel as I tried to keep my breathing calm.
This’ll be fun,Maya had said.
Yeah,sofun.
Another moment passed when a sudden warmth radiated into my back, a large shadow falling over me.
“Here, let me.” Those same callused fingers brushed my hands as Jameson took the towel. A blink later, he pressed the soft fabric to first my chin, then my cheek with the lightest of touches.
Were his eyes giving me third degree burns, or was my face spontaneously combusting?
Finally, his hand dropped, that dimple piercing his cheek as he said, “There, all better.”
“Great!” Maya said, far too loudly, clapping her hands together. “Come on, the light is perfect here.” She pushed a little further into the flowers, where the earth hadn’t been dented by my body, and stopped in a spot where the flowers were a little sparser. “This is it.” Her eyes glowed with excitement.
Jameson looked at me. “Shall we?”
I gestured for him to go first, not trusting myself to speak. When his back turned, I yanked on my shirt, trying desperately to dry the sweat beneath before he was forced to put his hands on me.
