Free Holding Out for a Hero by Stacey Joy Netzel Page A

as I accepted the book with a grudging “Thanks.” Baby or not, his brother dumped my breakfast and I had no time—
    Whoa, yummy .
    This guy was worth a double-take—I just had to be casual about it. Oh, yeah. Tall, dark and handsome. A pair of light blue eyes were all the more electrifying off-set by thick, sable lashes, elegantly arched eyebrows, and dark wavy hair to rival a certain McDreamy Seattle doctor on television. Yesterday’s stubble shadowed his strong jaw line.
    Mr. Apology stood a whole head taller than me, and he looked vaguely familiar. Did I know him? Had I met him before?
    Definitely no. I’d have had to have been in a coma to not remember meeting him . Especially with that voice.
    “Did you get everything?” he asked before I could figure out why his face teased my uncooperative memory. He dropped his gaze to inspect the sidewalk at our feet. He was so delicious, I stared in wide-eyed fascination until his attention rose to me again.
    I did a hasty scan of the cement and immediately declared, “Looks like it.”
    “Again, I’m sorry. Please let me buy you another coffee.”
    “Oh, that’s….no, I don’t have time.” I shook my head and broke eye contact before all my common sense flew off to La La Land. Too bad I couldn’t retain some poise and enjoy the view. “I’m already late.”
    “Then I’ll deliver it—where do you work?”
    “Um…” What? Was he serious? No one was that nice in this city. “You don’t have to do that.”
    “No one should have to go without their caffeine in the morning.”
    “We have some at the office.”
    “But I’ll bet it’s not half as good.”
    His charming, crooked grin made those blue eyes twinkle. He was absolutely right, our office coffee couldn’t hold a candle to the spilled taste buds party darkening the sidewalk at our feet.
    I opened my mouth to tell him my floor and office number when someone else in a hurry jostled me from behind. Just the reminder I needed—I was digging myself deeper by the minute. If some miracle put Mr. Walker in a good mood this morning, then it’d go ‘poof’ the moment he saw me mooning over some guy delivering coffee to my desk.
    Yes, I’d moon over the man. If he actually showed up. But he probably wouldn’t, so no sense setting myself up to cry over spilled Chai later. I forced a stiff smile and cursed my miserable luck this morning.
    “Really, it’s not necessary. I really have to go.”
    Really. Before I said really again.
    I brushed past him, past a gentleman who held open the door of a cab for the woman whose was stolen moments earlier, and glanced at my watch as I headed for my office building. Mr. Walker would not be happy with me. We’d just had a talk last month about my habitual tardiness. Well, he’d yelled, I’d cringed. Right now the words, “This is your last warning, Kelsie,” echoed relentlessly in my head.
    It hadn’t mattered to him that I routinely brought work home with me, so I knew it wouldn’t matter that I’d succeeded in being on time every single day since then, and it certainly wouldn’t matter my valid reason for being late today. Unless…my heart leapt with hope. He’d had a morning meeting scheduled, I just couldn’t remember for sure if it was today or tomorrow. I prayed for today.
    A co-worker breezed into the building ahead of me, rudely ignoring the universal courtesy of holding the door for the person behind her. With everything that’d happened, unfortunately I forgot the door had a heck of a rebound, and my reflex grab resulted in two broken nails. Lovely.
    God, please , don’t let this be one of those days. In the middle of my low frustrated groan, someone reached past me for the door.
    “I am very sorry about what happened.”
    German Chocolate Cake Voice. Seriously, it’s like he just poured the warm batter all over me. He stood close enough that his chest brushed my back. A delicious shiver ran up my spine and tingles erupted from his