Fighting For Hope (Worth the Fight #1) - Olivia T. Turner Page 0,9

seeing her.

She looks even more stunning than I remember. I suck in a sharp breath as I watch her standing in front of the coffee shop.

Her hands are all fidgety and she’s shifting her weight from foot to foot as she looks around the busy sidewalk.

A low growl rumbles out of my throat when I see a businessman walking a little too close to her as he passes by. I don’t want anyone touching what’s mine. He looks back at her, taking his time looking her up and down and my blood boils as I watch.

I head for her and make sure to slam my shoulder into the man’s chest as I pass him. He turns to say something, but when he sees who’s glaring back at him, he drops his eyes and hurries away.

This is not the time for a fight. It’s time to make this sweet girl fall in love with me.

I’ve never been good at that, but with Hope, I don’t know… it just feels like it’s meant to be.

It feels like fate.

“You look gorgeous,” I tell her as I look her up and down. She’s wearing the same jeans as last night and an old-looking faded red shirt that looks amazing on her. Anything would look incredible on this girl.

She nervously plays with her blonde hair and smiles while blushing shyly. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if this was the right place.”

I think about what I would have done if she hadn’t shown up. An image of me going from cafe to cafe, kicking down doors and shouting her name comes to mind.

I’m already crazy for this girl. Utterly obsessed.

“You seem like you’re new in town,” I tell her. My hands are aching by my sides. I just want to touch her and it kills me that I can’t. Not yet anyway.

“Do I make it that obvious?”

“Well, you did show up at Papa Pain’s backyard brawl, which was a dead giveaway. What were you doing there?”

“That was my brother’s genius idea,” she says. “What were you doing there?”

I grin. “Just having some fun.”

Her sexy lips part and my heart stops when I get a glimpse of her tongue. “You think that getting punched in the face is fun?”

I shrug. “It beats sitting in an office. Let’s go in and get something to drink and eat. I’m starving.”

I catch a whiff of her intoxicating scent as I reach behind her and open the door. She smiles at me as she walks into the cafe.

My heated possessive eyes are already darting around the inside of the cafe, searching for anyone who’s daring to stare at what’s mine. I don’t want any other men to look at her. Not until I’ve fully claimed her as my own. It’s something a caveman would do, but no one has ever accused me of being civilized before.

We’re both a little awkward and shy as we wait in line. I want to talk to her but I don’t want any of the nosy people around us to hear. Finally, it’s our turn at the counter. I order a coffee and a couple of sandwiches. Hope just orders water from the tap.

“Take something,” I tell her. “It’s on me.”

I know she doesn’t have a lot of money. I can tell.

I’m not a rich man either, but I have enough to take care of her. I spend the winters driving a snowplow and the summers training every minute I can.

“I’m fine,” she says with a nervous smile. “I ate before coming.”

She’s lying. I can see the hunger in her eyes.

When it’s clear that she’s not going to take anything, I order four different sandwiches, an extra coffee, a soda, and a couple of salads.

I carry the full tray of food to an empty table in the corner where we can sit by ourselves and have some privacy.

“Are you hungry?” she asks with a laugh as she eyes the food.

“Take whatever you like,” I say as I push some food in front of her. “You’re my guest.”

“Thank you,” she whispers as she picks up a sandwich and starts taking ravenous bites of it. I just watch her as her chin moves up and down while she chews. I could watch this girl forever.

“So, what do you do?” I ask her.

She pushes up her big glasses and looks at me. “What do you mean?”

“School? Work?”

Her cheeks start to turn red as her eyes drop down to the half-finished sandwich. “Oh, right. I’m a… looking for a job.”

“Doing