Page 4 of A Tempting Seduction

“Ford Larson, is that you?”

I turned to see Mrs. Henderson from the bank, but before I could respond, chaos erupted behind me. A high school girl with a tiny white dog on a retractable leash was running forward and then the dog somehow managed to wrap the leash around my legs like a lasso. The dog, no bigger than a guinea pig with delusions of grandeur, yapped excitedly while its owner tried to untangle the mess.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!” The girl grabbed the leash and yanked. “Bad girl. Bad girl. Godiva, come back here this instant.”

I tried to step backward to give her room to work, but the leash tightened around my ankles like some kind of trap. The dog darted between my boots, and I found myself doing an awkward dance to avoid crushing the little furball.

“No, sweetheart,” I told the girl, reaching down to help before she trussed me up like a Thanksgiving turkey. “Let me just⁠—”

She yanked the leash again, only this time she did it with two hands with all her might.

My feet tangled.

My arms windmilled.

And that was all she wrote.

I went down like a felled tree, landing squarely on my rear with a thud that rattled the floorboards. The impact sent a jolt up my spine and knocked the wind clean out of my lungs.

Everything went so silent you could hear a pin drop, then the entire coffee shop erupted in applause.

Figured.

“Well, that's one way to make an entrance,” Florence called out, not bothering to hide her grin. “I've seen more graceful elephants at the circus.”

Bernie folded his newspaper with deliberate precision and adjusted his glasses. “Son, I've watched construction workers for forty years, and that's the finest example of a controlled building collapse that I’ve ever seen.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as laughter continued to ripple through the crowd. It was at that point that the tiny dog planted itself on my chest. I waited for her to lift a hind leg and take a piss, but at last my luck was changing and the little dust bunny began licking my face.

“Mister, I’m so sorry. Godiva, come here.” Somehow, as if by magic, the girl was able to untangle the leash and I was finally free. Then Godiva was in the girl’s arms and they shot out of the coffee shop.

“Are you all right?”

The voice came from behind the counter, low and musical, filled with concern. I looked up and every coherent thought in my head evaporated.

Red hair, the color of autumn leaves, tumbled over her shoulders in waves that caught the morning light streaming through the windows. Green eyes studied my face with genuine worry, and when she bit her lower lip, a dimple appeared in her left cheek that made my chest tighten.

This had to be Ruby Miller.

And I'd just made a complete fool of myself in front of her.

“I...” My voice came out as a croak.

Ruby's eyes widened with distress. She glanced at the line of customers, then back at me sprawled on the floor like roadkill.

“Jordan, take the counter,” she called over her shoulder.

“But the espresso machine's acting up again,” a male voice whined from behind the industrial coffee equipment.

“No, it’s not. You just have to baby it,” Ruby said as she hurried around the counter, her curves moving beneath a flannel shirt that hung almost to her knees. Dang, I really wished I could get a look at what she had hidden underneath that shirt.

She dropped to her knees beside me, leaning over to check for injuries, and suddenly I had a perfect view down the front of her shirt. Creamy white skin disappeared into a black tank top that cradled breasts that could stop traffic in three counties. Definitely more than a handful for most men but perfect for me.

Freckles dusted her chest like cinnamon on whipped cream, and the scent of vanilla and coffee beans surrounded me.

“Can you move everything?” she asked, her face inches from mine. “Any pain in your neck or back?”

Those green eyes studied me, and I realized I'd been staring like I’d never seen a woman before. My brain finally kicked back online.