3. Chapter 3

three

Will

M y mind went blank while staring at the hot man smiling at me, and I forgot where I was for a moment. His toothy grin was directed at me and my brain short-circuited at the attention as I took him in.

Everything about the younger man was put together. He had a full but manicured red beard and thick, strawberry-blond hair. His gray eyes were enhanced with deep laugh lines at the corners, despite not looking like he could be older than thirty. The dark suit he wore was fitted perfectly to his broad shoulders and he had a legit pocket square. Who used pocket squares anymore?

Even his teeth were straight and white, with only one eye-tooth out of place. I liked that he had one tiny blemish to combat the otherwise polished man’s appearance.

“Sir?” He prompted, and it felt wrong for him to call me the title.

His entire countenance read as dominant, and I was decidedly not. It still sometimes shocked me that I was accepted as a man on sight, and I knew it was only from being respectful, which brought me back to the present.

“Um, no. I mean, yeah,” I stammered, plunking the gifts for my niece and nephew on the counter. “Just these.”

He rang them up and I finally read the shiny metal name tag on his suit jacket.

Nathan Meyer, Store Manager

Store Manager…And he jumped in to ring me up? Was I in trouble? Crap, maybe he saw me leave a note for Santa. He probably wanted to pull me aside and explain the notes were for children.

“I can donate more,” I offered, and Nathan raised a brow. Somehow, this tiny move conveyed his question and I continued explaining myself. “For the tree. I can donate more. I didn’t mean to be a bother.”

“No bother at all,” Nathan’s brows furrowed in concentration as he licked his lips. I couldn’t help tracking the movement, distracted until he spoke again. “The tree is for anyone, even if they don’t make a donation.”

“Oh. Okay.”

If he wasn’t mad at me about the tree, then why did the manager need to ring me up? I was not cut out for crowded department stores with children yelling and crying. Or sexy men smiling at me and being nice for no apparent reason. My nerves were fried.

“These are great choices,” Nathan’s reassuring smile eased some of the tension in my shoulders and I handed my card to him to pay. “For your kids?”

“Oh, no, definitely not. No kids for me, just my brother’s,” I shrugged and accepted the reusable bag he offered with the store’s logo. There was a five dollar price tag and I hadn’t asked for one, planning to carry the toys to my car. “I didn’t pay for this.”

“No, we have some to give out so you don’t have to pay the bag fee,” Nathan grinned conspiratorially, and I felt like he was giving me special treatment.

The idea had my cheeks warming, and a buzzing feeling emanating from my chest. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Nathan handed my card back and gestured toward the tree, “Plus, you were kind enough to donate to a good cause.”

Since I didn’t see them giving out bags by the tree, I had to assume he was being nice to me especially, which was weird after thinking I’d been in trouble, but also distracting.

No one ever treated me special.

“Sir, I can take over for you,” a short woman with black hair and big eyes spoke up from beside Nathan, and I was startled to realize we were probably holding the line up. He turned to her and I made my escape.

Just because a man smiles at you and gives you a free bag, it doesn’t mean anything , my brain provides unhelpfully.

A family crosses my path toward the escalator and I stop short in front of a shelf with teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Some are characters from movies and cartoons I recognize, while others are just animals. There was something about the basic brown bear with his red bow that had me thinking back to my note.

“You want to bring one of these home with you?” Nathan’s voice at my elbow startled me into turning and bumping straight into him.

Nathan placed both hands on my upper arms to steady me, and I could feel the warmth of his skin through my clothing. He had a couple inches on me, and I could hear myself panting as if I’d just run a sprint. His spicy cologne fills my senses and I bite back a moan.

“You alright?” Nathan asked and blinked back to the presence.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I nodded, not wanting to separate from his touch but he dropped his hands immediately. “Sorry, you scared me.”

“Sure it wasn’t one of those teddy bears?” Nathan asked and I could see from the twinkle in his eyes he was teasing me.

Grinning back, I replied, “Don’t think it was a bear, sir.”

Nathan licked his lips and I watched his eyes dilate. Was I flirting with him? More importantly, was he into it? That couldn’t be the case.

Sexy younger men didn’t flirt with me unless they wanted me to top them or be their sugar Daddy. I was comfortable, but certainly not in a place where I could support another person financially. And I hated topping. Not just the motions of it, but also the decision making.

Nathan Meyer didn’t seem like he needed a man to take charge. No, the way he caught me when I wobbled and stood firm gave me the impression he was used to being in charge. His job likely demanded it. He was taller than me, broader shoulders, but I had at least ten years and fifty pounds on him.

But I shouldn’t stereotype. Size, age, career, and personality didn’t determine a person’s role.

Who was I kidding, anyway? I was reading way too much into the man’s actions. Nathan likely just wanted me to buy more things and leave a good review.

“Not the bear, then,” Nathan replied, reminding me I had flirted with a man so far out of my league, we were playing different sports. I needed to get out of there before I made an even bigger fool of myself. Before I could make my excuses, Nathan spoke again, “Let me walk you out in case anything else jumps out at you.”

“The purses known for hostility?” I quipped, not sure where I got the confidence.

“We’ve had so many complaints,” Nathan came right back with his own jokes and gestured to the escalator. “Best to make sure you’re safe.”

We were back to him making me smile and feel special. I wasn’t going to turn down more time with him.

“If you insist.”