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Chapter One

Mia Weldrick could think of a hundred better ways to spend a Saturdaybreakfast at the diner across the street froazillion unread books gathering dust on her shelf

But she wasn’t doing any of those things Nope, because she was too busy trying to find the cell phone she’d accidentally buried in Tom and Sarah Smith’s tulip bed yesterday

"Oh, for the love of Hey-zeus," she grumbled to herself "Where are you, motherfucker?"

She desperately hoped her little brother Danny hadn’t gone back to sleep after she’d roused hi her phone in precisely twentyto flip the fk out if she lost all her contacts Unlike smarter and more practical people, she didn’t have a backup list of passwords and phone nu was in her phone, which h, Mia scooted over a few inches and lowered her head to the yellow tulips A sweet flowery scent filled her nose, but no sound reached her ears

Well, except for the loud throat clearing that suddenly echoed from behind her

She swiveled her head and instantly spotted the source of the noise He was obviously To by the rolled-up newspaper in his hand and the serious case of bedhead he was sporting

"Everything okay, sugar?" he called out

Oh boy He had a Southern drawl That upped his hotness factor by a uy was a perfect ten Messy light-brown hair, whiskey-colored eyes, a chiseled jawline And his body wasn’t a pain to look at either--it was s encased in faded blue deni out of a wrinkled white wifebeater

"Not really," she called in response "Hey, you ar?"

He raised his dark eyebrows "Beg your pardon?"

"Come over here and help me listen"

The duh She knew she sounded like a total wacko, but she really could use his help She had just a little over an hour to find her phone, go hohtail it over to the sandwich shop where she worked on the weekends

"Can I ask e’re listening to?" her dark-haired stranger inquired when he reached her

Mia tilted her head back in order to aze "Jeez Louise," she blurted out "You’re ridiculously tall"

Her stranger grinned "Maybe you’re just ridiculously short"

"I’ to sweat, so she pulled off her baseball cap and shoved a strand of damp hair off her face "How tall are you?" she asked curiously

"Six-five"