Oh, Keep Your Shirt On - Michelle Pennington Page 0,3

only a few seconds, the guy turned around and stared in my direction.

Bingo. There he was.

I stepped back even though there was no way Damien could see me. My eyes stayed glued to him, however, as he stood up and turned his whole body my way. Thanks to the well-lit yard, it was easy to see him, even from a distance, and as always, I couldn’t help but stare. The man was…way too good-looking.

He reminded me of an oak tree. Tall and graceful, but strong and rooted. His powerful, sloping shoulders blocked out the fire pit behind him, but the orange glow outlined his silhouette and turned his spiked blond hair to gold. Everything about the man would have been intimidating if I didn’t know all too well how boundlessly friendly he was.

Well, that and the fact that I didn’t let myself get intimidated—yes, I reminded myself of that fact. Maybe I had when I was a scrawny art nerd with no confidence back in high school, but now I was a scrawny art nerd who’d graduated from college and had learned to stop worrying what others thought of me. Mostly.

With a deep breath, I unlocked my patio door and slid it open, not bothering to shut it behind me as I stepped outside. As I walked across my patio, Damien said something to his friends and started toward me, his long, athletic stride eating up the distance quickly.

“Hey, Krista,” he called out to me as we moved closer. “How’s it going?”

And how did I respond to this truly delicious man? Did my pulse pick up? Most definitely. Did my heart flutter? Like a swarm of panicked butterflies.

But my mouth, unsurprisingly, had a mind of its own. “Which one of your genius friends drives a teal Jeep? They’re blocking my driveway.”

And that is the brilliant way I, Krista Bennett, talk to hot guys.

Chapter Two

After my epic start, I added sweetly, “Know anyone who might be Daddy’s Princess?”

Damien didn’t respond immediately but kept walking toward me until we met at the boundary line between his side of the yard and mine. We were close, only a few feet apart. From here I could make out the sable-colored stubble on his jaw and the crease between his brows as he turned back to look over his shoulder at his friends.

“Just about every girl here, but the Jeep is Jen’s. Sorry. I’ll get it moved.”

“Thanks.” I held out my keys to him.

His eyebrow shot up, and an amused smile flashed across his face. “Um…? I don’t think your keys will work on her Jeep.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh at his joke. “Really? Thanks for pointing that out. Since I had to park down the street, you get to move my car too.”

His smile glinted through the soft shadows on his face. “I guess that’s fair.”

“I’ll open my garage door for you,” I said, turning away despite the insidious urge I felt to stay right where I was.

I walked back inside, resolute but not without regret. Once a sheet of glass safely stood between me and my desire to go back to him, I hurried to the kitchen. Since I hadn’t turned on the lights, I could only see by the exterior light coming inside. Luckily, it was more than enough to help me navigate. I grabbed my cake and a fork, then stood by the glass door while I ate, looking to see if Damien was making any progress.

He stood by the hot tub talking to a girl with a big, messy bun, an adorable blue-and-white striped bikini, and the perfect figure to fill it out. She stood up, revealing her flat stomach and wide, feminine hips as well as her long, shapely legs as she climbed out of the hot tub. Damien handed her a towel and stayed talking to the others in the hot tub as she ran across the yard. It was weird that he didn’t even seem that interested in her. Of course, there were a half dozen other women around the yard, and they were just the ones I could see. Maybe he was dating someone else.

When the girl came back, she held her keys out to Damien and tilted her head in a flirtatious way that would only look stupid if I tried it. Jen was obviously into him. She watched him walk away and stared after him long enough to reveal her obsession. And honestly, despite how completely annoyed I was with