Luann McLane - Moonlight Kiss

He was tall with brown hair kissed by the sun and just shy of needing a trim. A white cotton T-shirt tucked into jeans showcased his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. He walked slowly while looking down at his phone, and Addison wanted to but just couldn’t look away. Sexy stubble shadowed a firm jaw and when he licked his bottom lip while reading, Addison felt as if she needed to fan her face. Both Aiden and Garret were handsome men, but this guy had a rugged edge instead of glossy perfection and damn if she didn’t find it sexy as hell.

The waitress behind the counter greeted him. “Well, hey there. If it isn’t Reid Greenfield! Long time, no see, Sugar Pie. What brings you back to Cricket Creek? Family visit?”

Addison watched Reid swing one long leg over the stool and sit a very fine butt down on the red vinyl.

“Hi, Myra. Sure is good to see you too. Yeah, I’m here to help out on the farm for a while,” he answered in a soft Southern drawl that slid down Addison’s spine like smooth Southern Comfort. “I’d like a glass of your sweet tea, if you don’t mind, while I look over the menu.”

“Your sweet, sexy self can have anything your little ole heart desires,” Myra answered with a sassy sway of her hips.

“Is she really flirting with him?” Addison felt an odd stab of jealousy. “She’s got to be old enough to be his mother,” Addison grumbled, but kept her eyes on Reid.

Mia chuckled. “Oh, that’s Myra for you. She’s got that free-spirit, hippie thing going on like Uncle Paul and pretty much says whatever she wants. Even though she turned the restaurant over to her niece, Jessica, she still works from time to time, ever since Jess and Ty had a baby. She’s a trip, for sure, but she’s happily married to Owen Lawson, the groundskeeper at the baseball stadium and father-in-law to Noah Falcon, the hometown hero who built the stadium. As a matter of fact, Myra hired me as a waitress when I first arrived in town.”

“You were a waitress?” Addison asked absently. Most of her brain was still focused on Reid.

“For, like, a minute, until I caused a fight that landed Cam in jail. I actually jumped on the back of a guy and pulled his ears until he cried uncle.”

“That’s nice,” Addison said, but then blinked and finally tore her gaze from Reid. “Wait. What did you just say?”

Mia laughed. “It’s a long story that I’ll save for later. It gets better if I have a martini or two. Hey, speaking of martinis, we should go to Sully’s Tavern later and have a couple after I show you around. Stay with me tonight and we can walk from my place. We have a lot to discuss!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Addison agreed with a grin. It was difficult not to get pulled in by Mia’s enthusiasm.

“Maybe Reid over there will show up and pull you onto the dance floor and do a little two-steppin’.”

“I’m guessing that’s nothing like Dubstepping.”

Mia laughed. “No, thank goodness. And let me tell you, I’d rather be dancing the night away at Sully’s than any amped-up big-city nightclub.”

Addison would never have guessed that her globe-hopping cousin would have settled down in a small town. After taking another sneak peek at Reid she slipped the forgotten spoonful of soup into her mouth. While eating her lunch, she listened to her cousin chatter away about Cricket Creek, but snuck glances at Reid when Mia wasn’t looking. She didn’t even want to, but every time she heard his whiskey-smooth voice she felt compelled to glance his way.

“Still checking him out?” Mia asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Addison felt heat creep into her cheeks. “I was . . . um checking out the desserts.”

“I think indulging in something decadent and delicious is just what you need, Addison. I suggest you go for it.”

Jump from the frying pan into the fire? “Tempting, I’ll admit, but, no, thank you.” She told herself not to look Reid’s way again and gave Mia her full attention.

After paying the bill they lingered over coffee, taking notes and brainstorming until Mia looked at her watch. “Wow, it’s getting late. I’d better call Maggie and arrange a showing. Are you ready to head over and take a look?”

“Sure,” Addison said. The more they’d chatted, the more the idea started taking root in her brain. She would discuss the venture with her mother but Addison was starting to really get excited. “I can’t wait to see it.”

Just as they both stood up, Mia’s phone rang. “Oh, it’s my boss,” Mia said. “I’ll have to take this.”

“No problem. We can go in my car. I’ll head out and open the windows or maybe put the top down.”

“Oh, that sounds fun! It’s such a nice day.” Mia nodded. “I won’t be long.”

Addison hitched her purse over her shoulder and started toward the exit. She glanced out the front window to admire the quaint view, and when she turned toward the door she ran smack into someone so hard that the lid popped off of his to-go cup, splashing tea down the front of his white T-shirt. It was Reid. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Addison immediately felt heat in her cheeks. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She quickly grabbed some paper napkins from a table and handed them to him even though touching his chest held some serious appeal. “Sorry,” she repeated with a wince.

“Totally my fault,” Reid said as he looked down and dabbed at the brown splotches. Addison could see the outline of his pectoral muscles through the white cotton and wished she were doing the job for him. She inhaled sharply and caught the spicy masculine scent of his aftershave. “I was reading a text message, or I would have seen you coming.” When he looked up and smiled at her, Addison noticed a cute dimple in his cheek. Up close she could see that his eyes were a very dark blue and for an embarrassing moment she simply stared at him, feeling warm and sort of befuddled. Living in LA, Addison was no stranger to handsome men, but she’d never had this sort of reaction to a perfect stranger. He held up the phone to show her the message. “Apparently picking up cupcakes is something I needed to be reminded of three times.”

When she noticed the message was from a woman Addison felt her stomach drop. Silly . . . why should she care if he had a girlfriend?

“After you.” Reid gestured toward the door, deftly tossing the wet napkins in the trash can a few feet away.

“Thank you.” When he held the door open for her Addison felt another unexpected little thrill at passing so close to him. When they were outside she knew she should keep walking to her car, but for some reason she lingered, searching for something else to say. Nice to meet you? Have a nice day? Hope your shirt doesn’t stain? But before she could open her mouth his phone dinged, indicating another text message.

“I remember the cupcakes, Sara,” Reid grumbled, reminding Addison that the message had been from a woman.

“Sorry again.” Suddenly feeling foolish, Addison started walking toward the parking lot.

Reid looked up, and to Addison’s surprise he fell in step beside her. “Make that four times my sister has reminded me.” He held up four fingers and sighed. “She runs an educational program for kids on our farm, and someone is having a birthday.” He chuckled. “And I am probably boring you to death with information you don’t want to know.”

Oh . . . his sister! Addison felt a little surge of joy and gave him a grin. “Did you text her back?”

“The first two times. Now it’s just redundant,” he grumbled good-naturedly as they walked toward the parking lot. “So, are you in town for a visit?”

“I thought I was, but my cousin Mia wants me to open a bridal boutique and plan weddings. Oddly enough, I’m actually considering it.”

“Are you kidding me? You might be the answer to my prayers.”

“Oh . . .” Addison said, and another stab of disappointment came from out of nowhere. “So, you’re getting married?” Addison asked with false brightness as she dug inside her purse in search of her car keys. She suddenly wished Mia would hurry up, before she made a complete fool of herself. What in the world was she doing giving personal information to a stranger? What was up with getting flustered over a guy she didn’t even know—especially since she had sworn off guys, anyway?

And where in the world were her keys?

“UM . . .” REID BEGAN, BUT JUDGING BY THE SUDDEN frown on her pretty face he was quickly wearing out his welcome. Instead of introducing himself, Reid decided he should probably take a hike before she pulled mace out of the big purse she was frantically digging around in. Odd, but Reid usually avoided small talk and now he remembered why. After glancing back toward Wine and Diner, she stopped in back of a sweet red Mustang convertible with California plates. Taking in the details, he now noticed her designer bag and that she’d slipped a pair of Gucci sunglasses over her big brown eyes. And although she was casually dressed in jeans and a lightweight lavender sweater, her watch looked expensive and she wore a diamond tennis bracelet that glittered in the sunshine. Great . . . She probably really wasn’t interested in talking to a country boy like him, anyway. Feeling foolish followed by a little bit irritated, he took a step backward. “Um, I should get going. Good luck with, you know . . . everything.”

She glanced up and flipped her shiny black hair over her shoulder. She was really pretty, and Reid found himself wondering about her family heritage.

“So, when is the wedding?”

Wait . . . huh? “Wedding? What wedding?”

“Your wedding.” She pushed her sunglasses up higher on her nose and waited for his answer. “Isn’t that why I’m the answer to your prayers?” She tilted her head slightly and the breeze played with her hair, making it caress her face.