Never Too Hot (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #3)(19)
Author: Bella Andre

Using every spare ounce of willpower she possessed, she shook his hand, then said, “See you around,” and breezedpast him up the stairs to the women’s clothing department.

Grabbing a random sweater off the nearest rack, she rushed into a changing room, pulled the door closed, and satdown on the floor, utterly dazed. Her heart was still racing and when she looked up into the mirror, she saw thather cheeks were flushed a bright pink. Thankfully, it wasn’t an unflattering look, but she was certain that despiteher cool good-bye, Andrew knew exactly how big of a crush she had on him.

Which was why she was going to stay in this dressing room until she could be absolutely certain that he wasgone.

After several minutes had passed, a knock came at the door. “Excuse me, miss, are you all right in there?”

Isabel quickly stood up, ran her hands over her hair and opened the door. “Yes, thanks.” Holding up the sweater,she said, “I’m afraid this doesn’t look quite right on me, however.”

Handing the sales clerk the sweater, Isabel saw for the first time that it was embroidered with eight leapingreindeers, Santa Claus beaming from the center. It was a sweater even her grandmother wouldn’t be caught dead in.

Again, a quick exit seemed best. Deciding to try on the flip-flops another day, she left the store and wasrunning back across the street to get her bike when the first drops of rain started falling. A loud clap of thundercame next and she knew she’d better look for cover. Too embarrassed to go back into the store, she headed for thecovered boathouse at the end of the public dock. She’d wait out the storm there.

Sitting down on the painted wooden planks, she leaned against a wall and looked out at the whitecaps blowingacross the lake, the hard rain leaving momentary divots across the surface of the water. She breathed in the freshmountain air, the sweet smell of the rain, and finally relaxed again.

A part of her wanted to replay, to savor, her encounter with Andrew. But another part of her wished she couldforget it entirely. Best case, he simply thought of her as a little girl. Worst case, he would laugh with hisfriends about the huge crush she had on him.

Curling her knees up to her chin, she wrapped her hands around her legs and sighed. No wonder why singers werealways going on about love hurting. It did. It really did.

Especially when it was wholly and completely unrequited.

“Mind if I join you?”

The low voice startled her and she spun her head around with a gasp.

Andrew’s smile was warm, maybe even a little apologetic. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.” He held out an ice-cream cone. “Maybe I can make it up to you with this?”

His hair was all wet and there was rain dripping down his cheeks. Isabel couldn’t hold back the huge smile thattook over her face. How could she, when every one of her dreams was coming true? But as she took the dripping icecream, sudden shyness tied her tongue again, making it impossible to speak.

“Nice place to wait out a thunderstorm,” he said as he sat down beside her, kicking his long, tanned legs out infront of him.

She licked her ice cream and nodded, still too unsure of herself to say a word. Why, she wondered, had he soughther out? Was it because he felt sorry for her, the red-faced girl from the store whose world he’d totally rockedjust by speaking to her? Or, could there be another reason?

Was there some slim chance that he actually liked her too?

“So,” he said casually, “what grade are you going into next year?”

She swallowed a bite of her vanilla cone so fast it went straight to her forehead and she winced at the suddenice-cream headache. “Eleventh.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, but he was so good-looking all itdid was make her head spin. Turning her gaze back to the water, she asked, “What about you?”

“I’ll be starting NYU in the fall.”

She didn’t live far from campus. “Congratulations,” she said. “That’s a great school.” Screwing up her nervesome more, she asked, “Do you know what you want to study?”

“Industrial engineering. But not for buildings. For boats. I’m going to build a boat and sail around the world.”

She found herself nodding, smiling at him. “Oh, I love to sail. There’s nothing like it.”

He looked into her eyes. “Sounds like we’d make a pretty good team, doesn’t it?”

Midlick, she almost dropped her cone. She’d had a crush on him for so long, she knew she was reading volumesinto everything he said.

But he was looking at her so intently, she didn’t know what to think, until he said, “You’ve got a little icecream right here,” and then his fingers were on her cheek and he was brushing at her skin, and her entire bodyerupted in goose bumps at his touch.

She felt her mouth drop open just in time to clamp it shut.

Not only had he talked to her, but he’d touched her.

And then, just as quickly as the storm began, it ended. Soon, the sun was shining off the water, steam risingfrom the lake’s surface.

“Looks like it’s safe to head home now,” he said as he stood up. Helping her up, he asked, “Can I give you aride back home?”

She pointed to her bike, sad to have to turn down the best offer she’d ever had.

“It’ll fit in my trunk, no problem.”

Walking together to get her bike from the front of the Blue Mountain Diner, she followed him to an amazing-looking classic car.

He opened the trunk, trying to sound nonchalant. “I fixed it up myself. Wanted to have it ready by summer.”

Easily lifting her bike up, he slid it into the huge trunk, then walked around to the passenger side of the carand opened the door for her.

“You’re my first passenger.”

Beyond thrilled, Isabel slid onto the cool leather seats, tightly clasping her hands on her lap so they wouldn’tgive her nerves away by shaking. But instead of getting in behind the wheel, Andrew leaned into the car and found acrank beside the backseat. Moments later, the roof was coming down.

Sensing his pride, she said, “Wow. What a car!”

Again, he smiled at her, the pleasure in his green eyes taking her breath away. “I’m glad you like it. And I’mglad you’re the one helping me christen it.”

For the first time since running into him on the steps of the general store, she forgot to be nervous. How couldshe be scared when he was looking at her that way, like she was the most beautiful girl in the world? No one hadever looked at her like that before. It was beyond thrilling.

Andrew pulled out and as they slowly drove down Main Street, she noticed more than one person admiring his car.

As they took the lakeside road out of town toward their cabins, she pulled out her ponytail and closed her eyes asthe wind rushed through her hair. She’d never been so happy. Never felt so alive.