Cole gives me a lingering smile, pausing just long enough for his cologne to serenade me one final time. Then, after my insides are nice and melted, he turns casually on his heel and exits Fletcher’s.

CHAPTER TWO

PALMER

Val whistles through her teeth. “Wow.”

“Wow” is right.

My gaze stays affixed to the door for longer than I care to admit. Cole’s unexpected handsomeness has made me sweat. I paw at the counter until I find the napkins. I pull one out of the dispenser and wipe my palms.

Why couldn’t I have been casually cool?

“He was okay,” I say, tearing my eyes from the door and swiveling around to face Val.

She snorts. “Right.”

“What? He was altogether forgettable.”

“What are you talking about?” she asks. “He was not forgettable, and he had a very definite thing for you. Will you stop it?”

Jacinda walks by and stuffs a twenty-dollar bill in Val’s waist apron. “And he was an excellent tipper.”

“Stay out of this, Jacinda,” I say.

Her laugh is light and airy as she enters the kitchen.

Val holds her arms out to her sides. “Are you that oblivious? Did you not sense the pheromones in here?”

Yes. “No. I sense a heavy dose of friend failure since you didn’t save me a beef manhattan.”

She rolls her eyes. “Only you would focus on beef and mashed potatoes when a whole freaking snack just walked out of here with your phone number.”

The reminder makes my tummy somersault again. But I don’t give in. That would only encourage Val.

“Of course I would. I’ve eaten chicken nuggets and macaroni for a week. I’m hungry.”

She tries to keep a straight face. Her lips curl toward the ceiling a little more with each second that passes.

“It’s not funny,” I say, laughing. “You don’t even know the life I live.”

She smirks. “I know you’re going to be living a life of missed opportunities if you don’t answer the phone when he calls.”

I hate it when she’s right. And she is right this time. I feel it deep in my bones—the parts of my bones that haven’t been touched by a man like that in way too long.

“Regardless of the life I’ll lead when I send him to voice mail, I can’t do it, Val.”

“And why the hell not?”

My body screams in agreement with her. I ignore them both.

“Why?” I ask, repeating her question. “Because . . . because you’re taking tai chi classes for the hell of it on Thursday nights, and I’ve never done that.”

She blinks at me. “Say what?”

I sigh.

“What does my tai chi class have to do with you not answering Cole’s phone call?” she asks, like I’ve officially lost my mind.

And maybe I have.

Cole Beck is the man I would create if God handed me modeling clay and said, Go for it: create the man of your dreams, and I will make him into reality. Tall, lean body. Perfect smile. A heavy dose of wit with a hint of naughtiness that promises a good time in bed.