The Sun in My Eyes

1 Blinded

You know that feeling when you step from a dark place into the sun, and the light is so white-bright-hot that your eyes ache and you're blinded? Where you panic for just a moment, afraid you'll never see that sun again?

That was what it was like seeing her for the first time.

Bobby shifted in his spot and stared, willing his eyes not to water from her brightness.

Caroline, the husky-voiced host of the show, held a pink card and read off the girl's basic information. Lili. Twenty-four. From...somewhere. He missed the city completely. A charity officer for The Fostering Project. Personal motto: No act of kindness is ever wasted.

She was an absolute stunner. Skin like warm bronze, luminous brown eyes, and a full plush mouth. The tilt of her nose gave her a bit of a mischievous look, as did the curly hair pulled into two purposefully messy buns. She was curvaceous and strong, her arms muscled, and she had those full swishy hips he loved. The kind a lad could grab hold of.

Five men, or rather boys, as the producers insisted they call themselves, stood eagerly before her, including himself. There was a lot of throat clearing and stance-adjusting to show off their bulging muscles. Lili stepped toward the queue and smiled like a pageant queen, though her hands were tangled together, anxiously kneading each other like bread dough.

She went down the line, sizing them up. Gary stepped forward and greeted her, giving her a cheeky grin. The stoic Noah gave her nothing but his name and she whispered hello in response, earning the first genuine human reaction Bobby had seen from him as he gave a small smile and winked at her. Rocco smoldered and hit on her without shame. Ibrahim handed her a painful line about golf tournaments, but she laughed anyhow, a sound that jingled in tune with the coin ankle bracelet she wore.

Finally she stopped in front of him. Their eyes locked and her Vaseline smile wavered. She blinked rapidly, as if she wasn't sure what she was looking at. That didn't seem a good sign. But the longer she looked at him, the more blinded he felt. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't just because she was gorgeous. He'd met some beautiful birds in his life, maybe a few who were even more stunning on paper, but no one had knocked him sideways like this.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what he'd say, which wasn't all that unusual. He lived by the philosophy that regrets were for tomorrow. Or at least for thirty seconds after he'd said something that made him sound like an absolute numpty.

"Hey gorgeous," he said. "Ya saved the best till last. I'm like the sweet dessert at the end of a main course of beefcake." Had he really just said the word beefcake?

Her pageant smile broke open, spilling a wave of laughter at his feet. The sweet sound was worth looking like an idiot.

"Are you saying you're sweeter than all these other guys?" It was the first time she'd spoken more than a word. He didn't know where she was from, but her accent was just on the edge of Scouse. Hints of Gaelic and Welsh gave her sing-song sound that warmed him more than the sun beating down on his dreads.

"Maybe you should pick me and find out," he said.

"Hmm. Maybe." She tucked a wayward strand of curly hair behind her ear and bit the center of her lower lip as she stepped back and surveyed her options.

Despite making her laugh he didn't love his chances. The guys had done the usual overly firm handshakes, bragging, and once-overs when they'd arrived, and he already knew he didn't measure up. Despite being 5 ft 11 in (and a half, the half was important), he was shorter than everyone except Gary. And Gary was an enormous, smiley crane operator with tattoos. A real lad's lad. Noah was tall, at least 6 ft 3 in, heavily muscled...and a librarian? Carrying books must have been more work than anyone knew. And Rocco. Ugh. The guy lived in a van and looked like walking body odor, but he had long curls and a lilting Irish accent, the kind that made women wet and wanting, unlike Bobby's own Glaswegian burr, which tended to bewilder rather than seduce the English. Then there was Ibrahim, who was almost as tall as Noah, and had more muscles in his abdomen than Bobby would ever have in his whole body.