Zari Davis flees Dallas after witnessing her fiancee cheating, with no clear plan on where she's going. After flipping her Volkswagon Beetle, she wakes up convinced that the cute guy that's been reading raunchy novels aloud while she slept is actual...
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P L A Y L I S T
By the Sounding Sea - Alesana
A strong gust blew the door closed on Gabriel's truck. What started out as a mild autumn day had turned into blustering winds with a twenty-degree drop in temperature. Thank God it held off until after work, but only in the south would you need your air conditioning and heater in the same day.
Gabriel kept a firm grip on the pizza box as he headed inside with three things on his mind. Eat. Hot shower. Early bedtime. But when he opened the door, his mind detoured down a different road. Soft music played. Candles flickered in the dim light. And temptation stood before him dressed in ragged jeans and an off-the-shoulder pale pink sweater trimmed with fringe. Holy fuck.
He barely had time to set the box on the counter before she rushed forward, pulled him into a hug, and rested her head against his chest. "I'm glad you're home." Mechanically, his arms wound around her, feeling her softness aligned with him, her hair tickling his nose. She smelled like his shampoo, but it suited her. He preferred it on her.
She backed away and gazed up at him, then ran her palm down his cheek. "You look exhausted. Why don't you sit down and I'll bring you a beer."
He didn't argue the surrealistic feeling of feeling like he'd just stepped in a 1950s comedy where he was The Man and she was the pinup housewife slash Genie. Instead, he wordlessly headed that direction and collapsed onto a chair. Within a minute, she was back with a drink in hand and a plate of pizza balanced on her forearm. She set both on the floor, then knelt to one side and placed her fingers on his boot laces.
"Hey, I can do that," he scowled. She was the one who'd just got home from the hospital, he should be waiting on her, not the other way around. "Get some pizza and join me."
She ignored him. "Elena and I had a big lunch, so I'm not really hungry. Let me take your boots off first. It'll make you feel better."
He tried to remove his foot from her grasp, to little avail. Even with one hand, she was strong. He had a feeling even before the accident, no one would sway Zari Davis from anything she set her mind to. "No doubt, but I better warn you, my feet aren't going to smell like roses."
She giggled and damn how he loved the sound. Crazy how something so simple could lift his spirits, but it did—every time.
"That's okay."
He cleared his throat. "I think your entire family will be here this weekend, so you should plan to spend time with them. Maybe that will be the catalyst to recover your memories."
She slipped the first boot from his foot and started on the other. "A few hours ago, Matthew basically said the same thing. You two aren't ganging up on me, are you?"
