Free It's About Time (Hunt Family #5) by Brooke St. James

before my next appointment, and I figured this way I might miss them when they left. It was the cowardly thing to do, but that's just how torn up I was at the sight of him. Sometimes you just have to know your limits, and this was one of those times where I had to run away from something lest I explode.
    I took off my apron and stashed it across the arm of my chair before heading to the reception area. "I'm going to grab some espresso," I said
    I knew if I said "a cup of coffee" Amanda would suggest that I brew a pot in the break room, so I went ahead and specified that I wanted espresso.
    "Can I get ten bucks out of my tips for today?" I asked since I wasn't planning on going to the back to get my purse.
    Amanda handed me ten-dollar-bill, which I stashed in my back pocket before heading out the door and down the block to the coffee shop. I felt a bit like it I was in a surreal dream state, and I hadn't even talked to him. It was crazy that we were even in the same town. I walked slowly towards the coffee shop because my thoughts alone were enough to leave me breathless.
    I thought of Garret, and what a good guy he was, and how lucky I was to have him. I told myself the electricity I felt when Evan walked into the room was lust and not love, and that I was best just staying as far away from him as possible.
    I knew the guy working behind the counter at the coffee shop, and I sat at the bar and talked to him while I drank my coffee. I had been there for about twenty minutes, and was about to reluctantly excuse myself to go back to work, when the door chimed, and I glanced at the person walking in.
    It was Evan, and he was alone. His hair was pulled back, and he was wearing jeans and a vintage T-shirt. I scanned him from the ground up before making eye contact with him. I was frozen in place, helpless to do anything but sit there and watch him approach. My stomach was tied in a thousand knots, and I wondered if I could speak if spoken to.
    "Are you off for the day?" he asked as he walked toward me smiling.
    "Huh? I mean, no. I'm, I was just heading back for my last appointment. It's a corrective color, so I figured I should grab some coffee," I said, giggling nervously at the cheesy stylist humor. I had swiveled as I was speaking and was now sitting on the very edge of the bar stool, poised to get up and head for the door. "It was good seeing you," I said, assuming we had just bumped into each other by accident. I turned to look over my shoulder. "Bye Alex," I called to the barista.
    "Bye Bells," he said.
    "Bells?" Evan said, with a smile aimed at me.
    Somehow, he was standing much closer now. He was only a couple of feet away, and the proximity was overwhelming. I could smell him, for goodness sake.
    "Annabel," I said. "But I'll answer to pretty much any variation of 'Bell' since most people just shorten it without asking." I was rambling and my voice sounded funny to my own ears, but at least I was speaking English. My heart was just about to beat out of my chest as he stood there looking at me.

 
    Chapter 9
     
     
    There was a distinct sensation of warm and cold air hitting me at the same time as I stood in the coffee shop face-to-face with Evan. Honest to goodness, it was as if there were vents blowing gusts of warm and cold air onto my face. I begged myself to get a hold on my nerves and just behave like a normal person, but my body didn't want to listen. My heart was beating so rapidly that it felt like my ears were humming. Evan's hair was pulled back the way it always was in that carefree way that made him seem perfectly masculine. I glanced to the side and cleared my throat.
    "It was good seeing you," I said with a smile when I glanced back at him.
    "Where are you going?" he asked, pulling back to stare at me when it was obvious that I wanted to step around him.
    I motioned to the door with a casual smile. "I had already finished my coffee. I was just headed back to the salon."
    "How long does it take you to finish