Roasting Up Love (Insta Love Shy Girl Romance 6)

I couldn’t help hoping that his office was gigantic, because the thought of being in a tiny room with him was altering my heartbeat. It was hard to tell if this was normal. I’d spent my life being nervous around men, so the way my body wanted to launch itself at him was unexpected. Distracting.

Sipping my coffee, I tried to think of all of the things that made people calm from a book I read years ago. I placed my palm on the wood of the table, trying to feel grounded. I smelled the amazing coffee, and the fragrance of roasting beans that floated through the whole shop. I went through the layouts again, reviewing the things that I wanted to say.

Naturally, the second Dave appeared in front of me, I felt tingly again. His perfect teeth flashed as he grinned. “Ready?”

“Sure.”

He picked up my coffee for me, and I grabbed my things, following him behind the counter and down a tiny hall to a large back room that was filled with coffee processing machinery. At the side was a very small office, and Dave pushed everything to the side of the desk to make room for my laptop.

As he pulled a chair right beside him, I sat down, brushing against his shoulder. Never in my life would I have guessed that such an innocent touch would send fire shooting through me, but suddenly I was far too aware of my inner thighs.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus, and showed him what I had so far. He seemed amused by my use of other coffee shop photos, with the words, “This is a placeholder, your photos will be better” ghosted across them.

“Valerie, this is exactly what I wanted,” he said, turning to smile at me.

I scrolled to show him the ordering page just as he reached out to do it himself, his hand brushing mine. Another touch that flashed straight through my entire body. As he pulled his hand away, he deliberately trailed his fingertips along the side of my hand, turning to brush my inner wrist.

A shudder ran through me that he must have noticed. But I wasn’t pulling away. Without even thinking, my body pressed closer to his, shoulder to shoulder. Glancing up, his eyes were flashing with amusement.

“This ordering page will take a little time to program,” I said quickly, “And I’ll need your full product list, with the three things you’d like to feature at the top.”

“I’ll get that to you this afternoon,” he said smoothly. He leaned into the laptop again, gripping the back of my chair so that his arm was almost around me.

It felt like he was very subtly testing my reaction to see if I was into him. Was this normal? I didn’t know what to do. I really liked him, but my body kept taking over. I wasn’t in control. My shoulder leaned in until I was nearly snuggling against his chest. I couldn’t stop myself.

“I love your sense of color,” he said gently. “You’ve kept everything fun while maintaining the earthy feeling.”

I had to physically restrain myself from leaning toward him any more. My body was screaming at me to let loose and touch him. It was positively carnal, and the intensity actually made me nervous. And excited. And hopeful. The swirling mess of emotions and feelings surging through me was a bit too much to take all at once.

CHAPTER FOUR

* Dave *

“I’m really impressed. You’ve obviously done more research and work than I could have imagined.” The way a slight blush snuck across her cheek was adorable, but also a warning.

“Valerie, please look at me for a moment.”

Those soulful eyes looked up at me in surprise. “Yes?”

“Does it embarrass you when someone tells you that you’re a wonderful designer?”

Her eyes dropped immediately. “Um. We could go over the links for the–”

I took her hands in mine, turning her toward me, away from the screen. “Hey, if you want me to stop, just say the word stop. I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. But you’re incredibly talented. Intuitive. Detailed. And I think you’re amazing.”

“Um, thank you,” she whispered.

Her hands were fluttering slightly in mine, but she seemed to like it. Leaning closer, I said, “Now that

this is almost done, I don’t want to just be your client.” She looked up at me, curious. “I want to take you out on a date,” I said gently. “Would you like that?”

“Oh. Um,” she paused, and I swear my heart slowed down while waiting for her quiet answer. “Sure.” Then I saw her shoulder twitch as she leaned closer. Her pupils were wide. I wasn’t imagining her reaction. She was as aroused and nearly breathless as I was.

“Listen,” I said as softly as I could, leaning in more. I was invading her space now, a tiny note of vanilla surrounding her. “I know that I’m a big, loud guy. You’re obviously a shy little thing. We’ll work it out, but for the moment, may I kiss you before I go crazy?”

Pulling her hands slightly, she leaned toward me, her eyes wide. Thankfully, she didn’t seem afraid of me, just a bit nervous. Then I saw the tip of her tongue nervously dart out to wet the center of her bottom lip.

I dropped her hands, sliding mine around her back. She didn’t flinch, leaning in more and then I felt the absolute bliss of her lips against mine. It was like being hit with a wave of every sweet moment on earth. The energy between us practically sizzled, and feeling how much she could sense it drove me wild.