Isabella wandered through the aisle of the Capitol Hill Bookstore’s Health and Wellness section, praying that she wouldn’t bump into anyone she knew. Her lame disguise of being dressed head to toe in black—complete with a black duster raincoat, black oversize sunglasses and black fedora hat only seemed to draw more attention to her.
“Relax, relax,” she mumbled and searched crammed bookshelves for the list of books Keri instructed her to buy.
A salesperson popped out of nowhere and asked, “Can I help you, ma’am?”
Isabella gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin before whirling around and physically blocking the bookshelf to prevent him from noticing the titles she was looking at. “Uh, no. I, huh, am just looking around.” She beamed a nervous smile.
The employee stared at her with his eyebrows gathered at the center of his forehead. “All right. Well, just let me know if you need anything.” He crept backward away from her like he was afraid to turn his back on a crazy person.
It wasn’t until she was alone in the aisle again that she expelled the air burning in her lungs. “All right. Just grab the books and get out of here,” she coached, snatching books like a wild hurricane.
Her arms full, Isabella performed a sort of walk/run from the back of the bookstore up to the cashier counter. The only problem was there was a long line snaking around a gold post labyrinth. She lowered her head and mumbled a curse.
The giant in front of her turned around. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
Isabella’s knees nearly folded at the incredibly sexy baritone rumbling from above her, but no way was she going to glance up so he could get a better view of the books in her arms. Instead, she pretended like he hadn’t spoken to her.
Sure enough, at her silence, he turned back around.
She chanced a peek over the rim of her dark sunglasses only to be startled by the sheer size of the man’s broad shoulders and Texas-sized back that narrowed into a trim waist. For a fleeting moment, she wished he wasn’t wearing the long leather coat; she had a sneaking suspicion that the man probably had a nice butt.
Isabella’s cheeks heated at the idea.
“Next in line,” the bored, robotic cashier called out and everyone in line took a small step forward.
When Isabella stepped to where the potential hunk previously stood, she caught a whiff of the most seductive male cologne she had ever smelled in her life. It was so heavenly. She closed her eyes and imagined floating on a cloud. She drew in a deep breath and was unaware that her feet were moving on their own accord.
That is until she smacked into the Goliath’s back. “Oh.” Her eyes sprung open and her arms tightened on the books she nearly dropped. “Sorry,” she mumbled, casting her eyes downward again.
A long silence, and then, “Not a problem.”
Good God, she could listen to this man talk all night.
“Next, please.”
The line crept forward.
Isabella’s gaze returned to the man’s backside and then slowly traveled down to the man’s large feet. What had Keri said a man’s shoe size represented? Surely not…oh, my. She struggled to gulp down the rising lump in her throat. Not to mention, it felt as if someone had shut off the air conditioner.
Guilt pricked her conscience. Why on earth was she salivating over a faceless stranger when she was newly engaged to one of D.C.’s most prominent bachelors? She laughed at herself and shook off the effects of Mr. Tall, Dark, and undoubtedly Handsome’s hypnotic cologne and waited patiently for her turn at the cashier counter—which turned out to be another humiliating experience altogether.
“Did you find everything you were looking for?” the cashier asked, fluttering an amused smile at Isabella once she started reading and scanning the titles.
“Yes. Yes, I did,” Isabella said and fumbled for her credit card from her purse.
One book the clerk picked up caused Isabella to turn a bright red. “Uhm,” the clerk said. “You’re going to love this one. My husband and I have the audio book.”
“I’m sort of in a hurry,” Isabella whispered.
“Oh. Of course.” The woman turned off her friendly persona and quickly scanned the rest of the books. “Do you have a member discount card?”
Isabella’s mystery man departed from the cashier next to her with a departing, “Have a good evening.” And Isabella caught a quick glance at the man’s handsome good looks.
The two cashiers and Isabella followed his departure with slack jaws and dreamy expressions. It wasn’t until he disappeared out the glass door and into the gray afternoon that they were finally freed from the spell he’d cast.
“Oooh, girl. If I wasn’t married,” Isabella’s cashier said to her colleague. “I’d jumped his bones right here at the counter.”
“Shoot. Didn’t you hear how he was flirting with me? I think he likes big girls.”
Isabella cleared her throat.
Her cashier’s face turned stony. “Your total is $98.54.”
Isabella handed over her credit card and rushed through the remaining transaction. As she grabbed her bag, she caught the cashier’s whispered words to her colleagues. “Now that’s an uptight one. No wonder she needed those books.”
The women giggled and then shouted, “Next in line!”
Humiliated, Isabella forced one foot in front of the other and slipped out of the bookstore.
“Stop, thief! He snatched my purse,” a woman screamed.
Isabella barely had time to glance up before a lanky teenager plowed into her like a defensive linebacker. She was swept off her feet in an instant and when slammed backwards onto the concrete, every ounce of air rushed out of her lungs.
“Hey, let go of me,” a boy squeaked somewhere near.
“I don’t think so, buddy,” came that familiar, sexy baritone.
Isabella opened her eyes, but quickly closed them again because of the light drizzle splattering against her face.
“Over there, officer,” a hysterical woman cried.
Isabella groaned as she sat up. Everything ached—muscles and bones she had long forgotten about.
“All right. We got him. Thanks for your help, sir.”
“Don’t mention it,” sexy baritone said.
“Ma’am, are you all right?”
The voice was now directly above her and it had the same effect on her as it did in the crowded bookstore.
“Ma’am?”
Isabella opened her eyes to see a giant hand extended toward her. Her gaze slowly climbed upward until she stared into a face that wiped all thoughts of her fiancé from her mind.
Chapter 4
Derrick grew increasingly concerned about the dazed woman on the wet concrete. She made no attempt to get up so he wondered whether she’d broken anything in that nasty fall. “Maybe I should get you to the hospital,” he said. “You don’t look too good.”
“Huh? What? Oh.” She blinked and shook her head. “I’m all right.”
He didn’t believe that for a second.
“Oh, God,” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with horror as she glanced around at the books scattered around her. She frantically started snatching them up.
“Here. Let me help you,” Derrick said.
“No!