Page 2 of Romancing the Rumrunner
The little bell over the shop door tinkled and Jessie looked up to greet her new customer. She froze, struck momentarily goofy at the sight of the man in her doorway. She’d heard the expression “tall, dark, and handsome” before but had never seen a man who embodied it so completely.
She leaned on her broom mid-sweep to look up at the man through her lashes.
His broad shoulders nearly filled the narrow doorway, his suit jacket fitting a little too tightly across his biceps. The suit itself was good quality but had obviously seen better days. He took off his hat and the sunlight gleaming through the glass highlighted the slight shades of brown in his black hair. And those deep, chocolate brown eyes…well, if he wasn’t just the bee’s knees, she didn’t know who was.
His full lips twitched into a smile and he cleared his throat. “Excuse me, are you open?”
“Oh!” Jessie said, startled back into awareness. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten about the broom and when she straightened, taking her weight off the handle, the bristles flung tiny bits of dust and debris straight into the man’s face.
He gasped and stumbled back, brushing at his face.
“Oh, horsefeathers!” All the blood rushed to Jessie’s cheeks and she slapped her hand over her mouth, mortified she’d let that slip. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
The man blinked frantically, his eyes watering. “I think I’ve gotten a bit of something in my eye.”
“Here.” Jessie grabbed his arm and led him to a stool behind the counter. “Let me see.”
The man straddled the stool and tilted his face up for Jessie to see. There wasn’t much space behind the counter and in order for her to get close enough to look in his eye she had to stand between his legs. A position that made her cursed cheeks flame even hotter. Her father had always teased her about her penchant for blushing. Could read her emotions in her cheeks, he’d said. He’d affectionately called her “Rosie” from the first moment he’d seen her blush. He’d thought it was sweet. Jessie despised it.
She gave herself a mental slap and tried to pull it together. She’d probably blinded the poor man and all she could think about was how the muscled leg encased in his smart pinstriped suit was brushing against her thighs. It had been a while since she’d been this close to any man, let alone one handsome enough to make her sigh at the very sight of him.
She forced her attention to his eye, tilting his head farther up to the light. She pried his lid open and stared straight into his deep brown iris. The color reminded her of a bar of dark chocolate she’d once seen melted on the pavement outside…all silky smooth and utterly decadent.
“Do you see anything?” he asked.
Oh. Right.“Hang on. Yep, I think there is a little bit of something here…” She carefully swiped at the corner of his eye and removed the speck of dirt that clung there.
The man rubbed at his eye and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m so sorry about that. I feel terrible. You must let me make it up to you. The chops are divine today. How about one on the house? It’s the least I can do.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said, standing and coming around to the front of the counter. “I would like the chops. Two of them, actually. But I’m more than happy to pay for them.”
“No, really, I insist,” Jessie said, quickly wrapping up the best cuts she had available. “I won’t take a dime.”
“Well, then.” He took the meat and his smile had the heat flaming in Jessie’s face again. “If you won’t let me pay for these, at least tell me your name.”
“Jessica. Jessica Harlan.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Harlan. I’m Tony Solomon.”
“It’s Miss Harlan. The shop belonged to my father before he died.”
His brows rose faintly. “I’m sorry for his passing. You run it on your own now?”
Jessie nodded, more warily this time. She didn’t like to impart too much personal information.
“Well, I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things. A friend recommended I come and I couldn’t resist.”
Jessie flushed with pleasure. She took great pride in the shop and was pleased that her customers were happy enough that they spread the word. “Thank you, Mr. Solomon.”
“Please, call me Tony.”
She smiled. “Well, Tony, is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Yes, actually,” he said, leaning casually against the counter, his eyes quickly glancing about the shop before coming back to rest on her. “I was wondering if the trout was fresh tonight.”
Jessie stiffened and looked Tony over again. He had the question mostly right, but he’d gotten the fish wrong. And no penny. Only one other person had ever come into her shop obviously seeking information without knowing about the penny. And that person had turned out to be working for the Feds. Which meant someone may have put Mr. Solomon up to asking. It was a cryin’ shame. He was one tall drink of water, and then some, and it disappointed Jessie to no end to discover he might be nothing more than a cop, or worse, some stool pigeon who worked for them.
