Dearly Beloved (12 page)

“Well…hello there.”

Rori jumped and whirled to face the speaker, then had to contend with a knot right in her throat. That’s why she opened her mouth and her jaw dropped. At least, that’s what she told herself. It had nothing to do with the vision of man standing at her side looking down at her. Nothing.

The lump in her throat got more troublesome as it thumped along with her increasing heart rate. That was ridiculous. She’d seen handsome men before. The campus was littered with them, and every avenue of entertainment bombarded you with them. Not to mention nearly every ad for men’s cologne and underwear. Gorgeous men were everywhere. She’d just never met one in the flesh…and yet here he was. Solid. Real. Looking like he came out of a fantasy. He was tall. Neck-craning tall. Dark, too. Lengthy black hair framed a perfect jaw, nose, lips…eyes. The black trench coat and black slacks just added to the overall impression. The guy was dark, and he was way over-the-top handsome, as if saving that for dessert.

“You shouldn’t be out.”

Rori didn’t answer. She wasn’t certain she could. Her mouth hadn’t closed, and she didn’t think her voice functioned. She wasn’t even sure she could swallow, but tried, and the effort choked. That made him step closer, taking him to touching distance. The proximity jumbled her thoughts into mush. She wondered if he knew.

This was beyond stupid. And it was stopping. Right now. Rori stepped back a corresponding distance. He didn’t move from watching her. Expecting what? Conversation? If that’s what he wanted, it might be easier if she didn’t look at him while attempting it. And that was more absurdity. She didn’t make banal conversation. She wasn’t the talkative type. It was better to keep to one word answers. Her upbringing had taught the benefits of that. But if she didn’t think of something witty and interesting to reply - and soon – she’d forever regret it. She had a gorgeous male standing right in front of her waiting a reply, while a stray lock of shiny black hair moved slightly with every flick of the extremely long, black lash-line it was caught on, and she was tongue-tied. Great.

“Not tonight. And not alone.”

“Why?”

Her voice worked. It was a croak of sound. She cleared her throat and suffered what might actually be a blush. She hadn’t had that reaction since…she couldn’t remember. Long enough in her past it was buried, and well before the parade of foster homes she’d endured.

He smiled, showing just a glimpse of white teeth, and putting a dimple into place on one cheek. That was too much. Mother Nature had been too heavy-handed with this guy’s attributes. Not only was he spectacularly handsome, but he had a killer grin, too? Rori could tell. She didn’t need further demonstration.

“All sorts of things could happen.”

“Like what?”

“You could get accosted by a stranger.”

“Really?” Rori tried for a sarcastic air. It didn’t work. She sounded breathless and young even to her own ears. She also felt more chilled than before and wrapped her shawl tighter. It probably looked as gauche and awkward as it felt.

“You’re cold.”

“N-no.” The word trembled.

“Allow me.”

Without one word of intent, and little time, he whirled the coat off and had it about her shoulders, where it reached to the sidewalk beneath her. Rori knew that part. She was looking at the cement and trying to remember to breathe at the same time. The coat was silk lined and expensive. It smelled of leather and of male. Him. She took small breaths infused with the scent, and wondered why every blink of her eyes had a prism of color about it.

“Better?”

She couldn’t even nod.