Blinking against the bright sky, I wondered for a moment if the car had hit me, killed me, and now I was in heaven.

Because the most beautiful man I’d ever seen was staring down at me.

Four

I blinked rapidly, thinking the image before me would disappear, a mirage from the fall . . . but it didn’t.

The man lowered to his haunches in front of me, reaching out to get a hold of the dog without removing his gaze from mine. His warm dark brown eyes wandered over my face, his expression seeming to waver between awe and concern. “Are you okay?” he repeated.

The question drew my attention to his mouth. A somewhat scruffy beard surrounded compelling lips, the bottom full in comparison to the top. My mother would call it a Harrison Ford mouth. I’d call it a Matt Davis mouth.

Oh my God, how long had I been staring at his mouth?

“We need to get you off this road.” He nodded encouragingly. “Are you okay to move? Or is my dog in danger of being sued?” That devastating mouth of his curled at the corners to let me know he was teasing.

Realizing I was staring at him like a moron, I glanced back at his dog. “I can move.”

“Are you hurt?” The stranger stood, pulling the Great Dane into his side with one hand, while he held out the other to me.

Still a little dazed, I reached for the proffered hand. Strong fingers curled around mine, and as he pulled me gently to my feet, his calloused palm rubbed against my softer one. A shiver skated down my spine, and I felt a little breathless. On my feet, I was startled to realize the man was a good few inches taller than me, the powerful breadth of his shoulders making his height seem even more substantial.

He grinned at me, a flash of white teeth, before he said, “We could stay here but Shadow might have to rescue us next. He’s acting like a wild thing, so I’m not sure he’s a good bet as a hero today. Unlike some people.”

I realized he had an accent like Milly. Although they both sounded a lot like Penny, the defining character of their accent—the “yuh” instead of “you,” the dropped g’s, and the abrupt final syllables—was less pronounced and easier to understand than Penny’s.

“Shadow, heel,” the man said, his tone sharp with demand. Then he tugged on my hand and led me across the road, with Shadow following closely.

Once on the sidewalk, I opened my mouth to thank the man, when a new voice stopped me. “Roane, is she okay?”

The man’s gaze moved beyond me, and I turned to see Milly from The Anchor standing at the top of the hill, her eyebrows knitted in concern. A group of people at her back were watching curiously.