Hunks: Opposites Attract (11 page)

Losers...they deserved to be tossed to the curb way before she decided to finally do it. Shauntie and even Emerald had warned her about Robert, Nico and even Walker but she’d been too stubborn to listen.

One look at Brian and Sapphire knew he wouldn’t leave her waiting for anything. He would know how to make a woman feel
good.
Instead of being tossed to the curb by a woman, Brian probably did most of the tossing himself. Something about him screamed he could be the ‘love them and leave them’ type of guy.

Sapphire dragged herself away from her inner thoughts. “You know that I could ask you the same question,” she said, clearly surprised that Brian had asked her that question right out of the gate. “You’re a good-looking man. I’m positive you have a girlfriend waiting for you back in town.”

“Hey, if you don’t want to go first I can do it. I’m not scared of the question,” Brian said. “I’m at a crossroads about my career. I want to take it in a different direction. I wasn’t able to make a clear decision about it at home, so Nash encouraged me to come out here to clear my head.”

What kind of career change did Brian want to make? If he stopped being a mailman then what were his plans? Sapphire thought about asking the question, but decided it wasn’t any of her business. She wasn’t overly nosy like Emerald and had to know everything about everyone.

“Really, I thought you were out here hiding from an ex-girlfriend or a current one.”

Brian took his eyes off the road and caught her eyes with his. “I’m not like that. I would never hide from a woman. If I wasn’t interested in her anymore, I would be up front with her. Why keep stringing someone along? It isn’t fair to me or her. I feel sorry for you if something like that has happened to you, but stop putting me into the same category as one of your ex-boyfriends. I’m not them and I never will be.”

Brian’s astonishment was obviously genuine and she regretted her jibe at him. “I apologize,” she said. “I don’t know why I said that to you.” She knew why but she wasn’t about to admit it to him.

Turning off the highway, Brian continued to drive in the direction of the grocery store. “I’m not offended, just astonished you’re so critical of relationships. I mean you didn’t seem like you would be so judgmental to me.”

Was she really judgmental? No, it wasn’t possible. She always got to know a person before she made any kind of assumption about them. In any case, at least she thought she did. Honestly, Emerald thought she was too easy-going sometimes.

“I wouldn’t call myself pessimistic, but I will admit to a few bad experiences with guys in my past. What woman hasn’t dated some losers?” Sapphire spoke with as reasonable a voice as she could manage.

What gave Brian the right to try to get inside her head like this? He was still a guy she barely knew. He better take a step back or she might have to tell him where is fine looking ass could go.

“I think a man could tell you the same thing. I’ve also dated some women who weren’t completely honest with me or pretended to be into me for other reasons. I think everyone in the world has a case of the ex story. But, I chose not to harbor on it too long. What good will it do for you anyway? The person you’re wasting all of your energy on has moved on and you’re still giving them all of your time. So, did you come out here because of a guy? Did he do something to upset you?”

“No, I came out here to get some work done,” Sapphire answered.

She didn’t give Brian anymore than that because she wasn’t sure how he would react to her having a personal blog. Some people weren’t into the internet as much as others and he might think her hobby was too wild for him.

“I thought you were a doctor from when I delivered your mail. Aren’t you a dentist? I didn’t think a dentist would have work to bring home with them especially during the holidays,” Brian said as he turned right at the corner.

“I shouldn’t have called it work,” Sapphire corrected. “I need time alone to work on my pastime, but I wasn’t getting anything done back at home. There was too much going on around me and I couldn’t think, so Shauntie gave me the keys to the cottage and you know the rest.”

Sapphire felt at ease talking to Brian. She was by no means blind to his attraction in the close quarters of the truck; however, something in his manner soothed her making it easy for her to open up to him. She never came this close to telling another person about her blog outside of Emerald and Shauntie.

“Were you able to get anything done with your hobby last night?” Brian asked as he pulled inside of the grocery store parking lot.

“Why do you want to know?” Sapphire asked. “Do you want someone to talk to tonight? Did you get lonely all by yourself?” she teased as Brian found a parking spot.

“What if I did get lonely? Are you volunteering to keep me company?” he flirted back, liking the banter between him and Sapphire. “I mean I wouldn’t have minded you next to me on the couch while I watched television. Will you come downstairs tonight or will you still hide out in your room?”

Brian wasn’t used to a girl coming back at him so quick witted. Most girls found his humor off putting, but it had a different effect on Sapphire because she actually seemed to like it.

“Let’s see how our trip goes and if you’re good, I’ll think about keeping you company tonight in the family room. However, I get to pick the movie,” Sapphire said.

Reaching for the door handle, she started to get out but Brian stopped her by touching her on the elbow. She looked over her shoulder and found him watching her intensely.

“I don’t want to watch a chick movie,” he complained. “Nothing like that Bridesmaids movie or one of those Ashton’s movies. I hate those stupid things.”

Men! Why did they always assume a woman wanted to watch a chick click? She wasn’t and never would be the chick flick female. She loved action or horror. Even Shauntie couldn’t beg her into seeing one of the romantic ones. Why did Brian believe she would put him through one of them?

“Brian, I never mentioned wanting to see any kind of date night movie because I’m interesting in seeing if Shauntie has the newest Jason Statham movie on DVD. He’s so hot!”

“So you think Jason Statham is attractive?” He wondered what women saw in him. The actor wasn’t all that great in his opinion.

Sapphire moved her arm away from Brian and opened the car door. “Jason is more than attractive. He’s sexy as hell. I love his accent. Now come on. Let’s get some extra groceries for that endless appetite of yours.” She got out of the car closing the door behind her.

Sitting inside the truck, Brian stared after Sapphire noticing how her hair blew around her shoulders as she went towards the store’s entrance. He had to find a way to make Sapphire see she didn’t have to lust after some actor when he was right under the same roof as her.

Brian was more determined than ever to find a way to win Sapphire over. He’d spent day after day staring at her inside her office wishing for a moment or two alone with her. Now that he had it he wasn’t going to blow it. Things had to change and soon or his chance to win Sapphire over would be gone before he knew it.

Chapter Fifteen

What else could he possibly need
, Sapphire wondered as she continued to walk next to Brian in the grocery store? They’d already been here close to forty-five minutes and she was ready to go. She had things to do back home. She wasn’t used to wasting this much time shopping for food.

“Are you about ready to leave?” Sapphire asked, stopping next to him in the cereal aisle. This trip was taking a lot longer than she thought it would in the beginning. Who knew Brian would love strolling through the aisles like he had all the time in the world?

Grabbing a box of Frosted Flakes off the shelf, Brian tossed it into the cart and then faced her. “Are you always this impatient?” he asked, leaning on the handle of the basket. “Relax and enjoy being out of the cottage. Nothing back there is going to be gone by the time we get back.”

Crossing her arms over her breasts, Sapphire glared at Brian. She wasn’t a restless person. She knew how to relax; Brian just hadn’t seen that side of her yet.

“You don’t know me well enough to tell me that I’m impatient.”

Moving away from their shopping cart, Brian came towards her stopping close enough that she could feel the pull from his lean, muscular body. “You’re right. I don’t know you that well yet; however, if you stop trying to hide from me or pick a fight with me anytime I’m around you I might actually learn more about the woman behind the gorgeous face.

“How dare you!” Sapphire snapped.

“How dare I what?” Brian countered. “Tell you the truth? Come on, I’m not being over the top or hard on you. I used to see you watching me when I came to your office. I even heard you talking about me once with one of your co-workers. Are you really trying to tell me you aren’t attracted to me?”

Sapphire couldn’t believe it. Brian had known all along she was checking him out. Why hadn’t he ever approached her? He could have made a move instead of having her think he wasn’t interested in going out on a date with her? The nerve of him. Who did he think he was?

“Tell me why you always found a way to leave anytime you saw me coming towards you?” she questioned. Sapphire couldn’t wait to hear what Brian would tell her. This better be good or she would give him a good piece of her mind.

Instead of answering her, Brian spun away from her and went back over to their grocery cart. He grabbed a couple of more items off the shelf behind him and tossed them into the basket before walking away from her.

“Hey, aren’t you going to answer my question?” Sapphire questioned as she followed behind him.

Stopping by the end of the aisle, Brian turned around to look at her again. “I’ve already told you a secret about me. So, it’s up to you to take the next step. I want you to confess something to me about you. I can’t be the only one opening up now, can I? What would that accomplish? I still wouldn’t know anything about you and you would have the upper hand over me.”

Pivoting, he continued on around the corner leaving Sapphire standing alone in the aisle. The first thought that came into her head was why would she ever think about opening up to a man she barely knew?

She started after Brian to tell him the same exact thing until Shauntie’s voice unexpectedly popped into her head.

Stop over thinking everything in your life and live in the moment more. Let go. What do you have to lose?

A part of her wanted to disagree with her inner voice, but it was right. Seeing Brian the other day brought all of her buried emotions to the surface. Brian had caught her attention from the second he walked into her dental practice wearing those sexy blue shorts, way before Emerald ever brought up her hunks challenge.

For weeks, Sapphire battled back and forth in her mind how she would ask him out on a date. She wanted something more imaginative than a cup of coffee or a quick lunch date. All of her other relationships went like that and not
one
of them ended up going the distance the way she envisioned them doing.

The failure with her old boyfriends could have been her fault because she liked having her boundaries too much. Brian was pushing her to leave her well beloved comfort zone and find a way to open up more to him, something that was hard for her to do with anyone besides Emerald or Shauntie, but she would take one step forward and she how it worked out for her.

Posting daily to her blog was so much easier for Sapphire to do than sitting down and telling Brian something about herself. With the internet, she was a faceless person with a laptop writing topics to her loyal followers. The only insight they got was the information she supplied to them. Yet, Brian would be able to see her body language and inquire why she was reacting the way she was.

Year after year, she dated man after man in the same high paced profession as her because it was expected of her to do so, but in all honestly a white collar man wasn’t who turned her on. She was drawn...she
loved
men who used their hands and were covered in sweat and dirt after a hard day at work. Brian might not fit the image most women had of a hunky worker, but he still fit it for her.

She never missed any kind of home improvement programs where a hot guy worked with his hands. She thought he was hotter than Jason Statham. If she’d gotten a wish for the sexy man she wanted in her life, Brian would match the vision in her head.

So, why wouldn’t she allow herself to see where things could go with Brian? What happened at Shauntie’s cottage would stay at Shauntie’s cottage. Who would be the wiser? Brian hinted that he wanted to know about her and she would let him get a glimpse of what made Dr. Sapphire Rhodes tick.

Squaring her shoulders, Sapphire hurried around the corner to catch up with Brian. She wouldn’t let anything worry her or bring her down while she was waiting to ring in the New Year.

Chapter Sixteen

“Alright, I’ll take you up on it.”

Turning away from the frozen pizza case, Brian found Sapphire standing behind him. His eyes wandered over her body pausing at her blue jeans admitting how the denim showed off her long legs.

A good pair of legs on a woman always got his blood racing and Sapphire’s legs were the best he had ever laid eyes on. Back at the cereal aisle while she was checking out a box of Fiber Plus cereal, he had taken a second to check her out instead of shopping for a sugary breakfast food.

Sapphire’s hips tapered into long, shapely legs making her slim waist seem even smaller. He wouldn’t think of her as skinny but a woman with curves in all the right places. Her black, thick rich hair hanging long and straight over her shoulders only made her entire package more appealing to him.

Brian almost reached out and touched it until he snatched his hand back. Sapphire was tough and she might not take too kindly to him touching her like that. Something in her personality soothed the restlessness in him. He was powerless to resist his body from stepping onto that road toward unchartered territory.