of her.
“I meant the coffee,” he mumbled, and rubbed his hands over his face.
“I know what you meant,” she said, still trying not to smile. She poured the coffee and set it down in front of him. “So, the other day you said you have a crew. Is that for construction?”
He nodded and wrapped his hand around his coffee. “Commercial. We’re putting up that new shopping center down on Mountain View and Hayden.”
“Oh, I know right where that is. I pass it every day on my morning run.”
“You run by a construction site every morning? Have you lost your mind?”
“Hah.” She gave him a delectable grin. “It’s early. Barely anyone is even there.”
“Do me a favor. Take another route.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I’m obviously feeling a little protective of you after today. I’d fire anyone who even looked your way.”
What the hell was he saying? The words were just rolling out of his big mouth. He couldn’t help but imagine what she wore while she ran: short shorts, a small workout bra, with or without a top … he really didn’t want her running by that site.
She closed her mouth and pursed her pink lips, the smile completely gone. “So, if it’s your crew, does that mean you’re the guy in charge?”
“I’m one of them, I guess. I have one guy above me and he sits around in the trailer all day.”
“Does that bother you?” she asked, seeming genuinely curious.
Charlie shook his head and laughed. “Mike’s a good guy, even though I want to strangle him right now. He’s been kind of a stand-in father for me most of my life.”
“Stand-in? Where’s your real father?” She stopped and covered her mouth. “That was so rude. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” His chest expanded at the sight of her red cheeks and sweet apology. “My father passed away of cancer when I was sixteen. Mike was his best friend and kind of stepped in for my mom, brothers, sister, and me.”
“That’s great that you had someone,” she said, and put her elbows on the counter, resting her chin in her hand. “My father left my mother when I was little and he hasn’t been back since.”
Charlie frowned. “I’m sorry. If it helps, that’s not a father. Or a man, for that matter.”
“His loss, right?” Lucy moved to the register to take another customer’s order. She bent down to pull out a cinnamon roll from the case and Charlie watched as the man she was waiting on snuck a look at her ass. He could hardly blame him, but he still wanted to punch the guy.
She smiled as the customer left and returned to her spot in front of Charlie. “Do you smell that?” she asked suddenly, and looked from side to side.
Charlie froze and sniffed the air. “Is something burning?” As soon as the words left his mouth, the fire alarm sounded from the kitchen with a loud, insistent beep.
“The muffins!” she yelled, and raced through the double doors to the left of the counter.
Charlie watched her run away. But as soon as he saw the black smoke billowing from the doors she had just run through, he leapt up and took off in her direction. He found her just as she grabbed a towel, pulled the oven door open, and pulled out the pan, which was on fire.
“Oh no!” she screamed, and tossed the pan onto the stainless steel counter. She began fanning the muffins to try and put the fire out, but all that did was feed the flames. She jumped back and landed directly in Charlie’s arms.
“It’s okay,” he reassured. With Lucy snug at his side, Charlie grabbed the spray hose from the sink and brought it over. He doused the blaze with water until the muffins were nothing but steaming carbon.
When the fire was out, they both looked up at the ceiling. The alarm continued to sound above them, but Charlie grabbed the towel from Lucy’s hand and fanned the air below it until the obnoxious sound came to an end.
When all was finally quiet, he looked down at her and
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