Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 145(@200wpm)___ 116(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
He stepped closer as I struggled with sticking my key into the lock while holding two overly full bags. “Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“Whatever Violet needs, I have it covered.”
My head swung up at the deep voice, and I was stunned by who I found walking toward us. If I had asked my favorite client to write the description of my fantasy guy, she couldn't have done any better than the man standing in front of me. He looked as though he had come to life from the pages of a motorcycle club romance book.
Except for the fact that he was a ginger because I didn't often run into book boyfriends with red hair. I would definitely need to search them out from now on, though, because he was sexier than any man had the right to be.
He was tall and muscular in a way that made me think he earned his build outside of the gym. His hair was a deep red, and his close-cropped beard was the same color. His blue eyes reminded me of the ocean when I took a snorkeling trip in the Bahamas. With his short sleeve shirt under his Hounds of Hellfire cut, I could see most of the full sleeve of black ink on his left arm.
I’d never seen him in the building before…and he was definitely someone I’d remember. That was probably because I hadn’t done a great job of getting to know my neighbors since I tended to rush through the lobby in my attempts to avoid Jeff.
But that didn’t stop me from going along with him when he tugged both bags out of my arms and flashed me a sexy smile. “Sorry it took me so long to park the car, baby.”
“Who the hell are you?” Jeff demanded, glaring at the guy.
He turned to my neighbor, juggling the bags so he was holding them in one arm while he slid the other behind my back to pull me against his side. “I’m her boyfriend, Echo.”
“Violet doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Jeff argued, his eyes going wide.
Echo quirked a brow. “Not sure why you think you’re close enough to my girl to be in the loop on what’s going on in her life.”
“I keep an eye out for her. Make sure she’s safe.” Jeff puffed out his chest. “And I’ve never seen you around here before.”
“Unless you’re watching her twenty-four seven, then you’re bound to miss shit. Like me being in her life.” Echo shrugged. “Appreciate you looking out for my girl, but I have her covered from here. You can consider yourself relieved of duty.”
I shoved the key in the lock and yanked open the door before Jeff had the chance to reply. Then I tugged Echo into my apartment and slammed the door shut behind us. Turning to the sexy biker, I pressed a trembling hand against my chest. “Thank you so much for stepping in like that. Jeff was being even pushier than usual. I’m not sure how I would’ve convinced him that I didn’t need help getting my door unlocked while trying to juggle my groceries. And the last thing I want is him inside my apartment.”
“Happy to help.” His lips curved into a grin as he shifted one of the bags to his free arm. “Where do you want ’em?”
“Oh, um…just in the kitchen.” I was about to offer to take them from Echo when I glanced at the door and realized that if I rushed him out of my apartment, Jeff would get suspicious about him being my boyfriend. “Thanks.”
I followed him through the living room, relieved I’d cleaned this morning before heading out to run errands. Since I spent most of my time at home, the place usually looked very well lived in, but I had put most of the clutter away.
Echo’s biceps flexed as he placed the bags on the island and started to pull out the items I’d purchased. “You don’t need to do that. I have it.”
He stepped to the side, making room for me in the narrow space between the island and the stove and fridge. His focus remained on me while I emptied the bags and put everything away. “You a good baker?”
“I like to think so.”
My cheeks heated at the timing of him being in my apartment. Of course it had to happen when I did my quarterly restock of my baking supplies. A lot of people would’ve said something snide about how I didn’t need to eat stuff with the sugar, chocolate chips, and butter I’d bought. But Echo’s blue eyes heated as his gaze traveled down my curves.
“You know how to make brownies?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yup, but I’m a purist when it comes to them. They have to be fudgy, without anything extra like nuts, chocolate chips, or frosting.”