Wait For Me

1. Valentina

Chapter One

Valentina

Rounding the corner in the hallway, I ran smack into a wall. A wall that turned out to be a person. With two boxes cradled in my arms and a pile of mail on top of that, everything tumbled to the floor. Flustered, I looked straight up into the dark green gaze of Lucas Cole. If he even noticed I’d just dumped mail all over the floor, he didn’t show it.

But that was nothing unusual. Neither was the fact my pulse lunged and my body got hot all over. Lucas had that effect on me, and probably most women. He took that whole tall, dark, and broody thing to heart.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out. “Let me just get all this …”

My words trailed off because the bad luck of literally running into him only amped up my flustered state and left me breathless. I leaned over to scoop up the mail and bumped my head into his forearm. Dear God. Since when were forearms that hard?

“No worries,” Lucas replied as he handed me the mail he had already gathered.

My fingers brushed his as I took it, causing a zing of electricity to race up my arm. Before I could formulate a response, he leaned over and picked up the two small packages. As he handed them over, my brain fired off a thought.

“Oh, one of these is yours,” I said, my words coming out rushed.

Juggling the mail and the boxes, I gave him one box. Lucas took it, hooking it in the bend of his elbow. “Thanks. See you around.”

With a brief nod, he continued down the hallway. I remained frozen, waiting until I heard his footsteps recede. At the sound of the door closing behind him, I sagged against the wall. Of all the people to run into, it had to be Lucas.

Lucas worked at Stolen Hearts Lodge like me. He was also the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on. I could hardly be near him without my body going haywire, as evidenced by this brief encounter. I knew without a doubt that Lucas was waaaaay out of my league.

After several deep breaths, I carried on, dropping off the mail in the office and heading to my cabin.

Climbing the steps, I turned to look behind me. The setting sun cast the mountains in shadow. I didn’t linger long, not with the small box in my hands. I’d gotten so frazzled seeing Lucas that I forgot about my own mail until I was almost here.

I let myself into my small cabin. This was the first place I’d lived away from my family, so it was ridiculously awesome for me. With only one bedroom, one bathroom, and a pretty view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it was tiny, but I loved it. Like loved it, loved it.

I set the small square box on my dresser. As I held the thin blade of my pocketknife over it, my eyes landed on the label. My heartbeat lunged, and my belly spun in a nervous flip. I was expecting a package, but this was not it. For those of us who worked at Stolen Hearts Lodge, all mail came addressed to the lodge, so it was important to pay attention to the return address. Much too late, I noticed this box had the name of a construction supply company on the return address label.

There was only one other person who had received a package in the mail today. Lucas. I’d handed him the wrong one.

“Oh, s**t!”

I clapped my hand over my mouth. I didn’t know if I’d ever get over that habit. Despite my parents’ best efforts, my mouth had a mind of its own. The issue of having the wrong box was worthy of more than one oh s**t, though.

“f**k, f**k, fuck.”

If only I could apply that word to something beyond a curse. My complete lack of in that area was part of my problem right now. I just gave Lucas Cole a box with …

There was a sharp knock on my door. Startled, I dropped the pocketknife, jumping at the sound of it clattering to the floor. As I leaned over to pick it up, my elbow collided with the corner of the Bible my mother had mailed to me the other day. Like I needed a Bible. The plump book thudded to the floor just as another knock sounded.

My heart was pounding wildly, and I was already about to melt from embarrassment even though I didn’t know who was at the door. Not for sure. Ignoring the small mess I’d made on the floor, I squared my shoulders and turned and strode to the door, curling my hand around the knob.

No need to freak out. It’s probably not him. On the heels of a deep breath, I opened it and found myself staring into Lucas’s green gaze for the second time in an hour.

Shit, f**k, hell, damn.

That was technically only three swear words, and all of them stayed in my brain. You know, like a silent vowel except the entire word was silent. Hell was a place, so it didn’t count as a swear. Or so I’d convinced myself at some point during my childhood.

Lucas stood there with an opened box in his hands.

Oh. My. God.

He’d opened the box.

I had the worst luck. Or maybe it was the most embarrassing luck. Was it too much to ask that I have a little dignity around the one man who tended to leave me feeling all swoony and ridiculous?

My eyes, because they were naughty and ignored my mind, meandered over Lucas, taking in his bold features—a strong nose, angled cheekbones, a square jaw with a dark trimmed beard, and sensual lips. Okay, his face was too much. Throw in his to-die-for body—all rangy muscle—and well, I thought God had been a bit too generous in the looks department with Lucas. Just sayin’.

Lucas stared at me quietly, his gaze scanning my face. My cheeks heated the moment I saw his lips quirk with a hint of a smile.

“I think this belongs to you,” he said, his voice like sweet sorghum, sliding over me with its slow drawl.

My face was on fire. Hell, it wasn’t just my face. I was on fire.

“Um, are you sure?” I hedged.

“The address was for the lodge, but it has your name on the receipt in the box,” he replied smoothly, losing the battle against his smile.

Not fair! The first time I got to see Lucas smile and it was all because I was an i***t.

“Oh,” I replied brilliantly.

He held the box forward, and my eyes—still disobeying me—dropped to look in the box at the hot pink vibrator. It wasn’t even hidden. Encased in clear hard plastic, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it jumped out of the box and said hello to me, so bold was its presence.

I swallowed and looked back up at Lucas. I couldn’t think, much less speak. I now understood how clichés came to be. I was quite certain I might actually die of embarrassment. I was hot all over, my pulse had taken off like a rocket—not joking, it could’ve propelled me into space—and I felt lightheaded.

Lucas’s voice came to me from a distance. “Valentina? Are you okay?”

Nope. Definitely not okay. Everything blurred, and my legs felt wobbly. Then, I fell over.

I seriously fainted in front of Lucas hot-as-sin Cole while he held a box with the vibrator I ordered in his hands.