Carrying her! And he wasn't complaining that she was fat and heavy, or grunting from the strain of it. She'd jokingly asked Taylor to carry her over the threshold when they had moved in together and he had laughed, then asked her if she was trying to give him a hernia.
Later that night, Taylor had agreed to do it only if she bought him a forklift for it.
And yet here this total stranger carried her with ease down the street. For the first time in her life, she almost felt petite.
But she wasn't that delusional. Bride McTierney hadn't been petite since she was six months old.
He opened her door, stepped inside, then closed it with his boot heel.
Without breaking stride, he took her to the tall stool behind her register. He sat her down with care, then untucked his white T-shirt and used the end of it to blot her eyes.
"Ow!" she said as he almost poked her right eye out. It was a good thing she didn't wear contacts or she'd be blind.
He looked contrite. "Sorry."
"No," she said, looking up at him through her tears.
"I'm the one who needs to apologize. I didn't mean to have a nervous breakdown on you."
"Is that what this is?"
Was he serious? He definitely appeared so.
She drew in a ragged breath and wiped her eyes with her hands. "No, this is me being stupid. I'm so sorry."
He offered her a small, seductive grin. "It's okay. Really. I think."
Bride stared at him in disbelief. Why was this man in her store being so kind to her? It didn't make sense.
Was this a dream?
Trying to regain some of her dignity, she pulled his credit slip from the register box. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "Why are you giving me this?"
"Oh, come on. No one buys a necklace this expensive for a complete stranger."
Again he didn't take it. Instead, he reached inside the bag and took out the box. She watched as he unwrapped it, then placed the choker around her neck again. The contrast between his hot hands and the cool beads made her shiver.
He laced his fingers through the tendrils of her hair while gazing at her like she was some delectable dessert that he was dying to taste.
No one had ever given her such a hot look before. It wasn't natural for a man this handsome to look at her like that.
"It belongs on you. No other woman could do it justice."
Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back before he called the psycho ward on her. The heat of his hand against her neck was searing. "What? Did you lose a bet or something?"
"No."
"Then why are you being so nice to me?"
He cocked his head as if puzzled by her question. "Do I need a reason?"
"Yes."
Vane was completely baffled. Humans needed a reason to be nice to each other? No wonder his kind avoided them.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "I didn't know there were rules for giving gifts or for trying to make someone feel better. You looked so sad as I walked by that I only wanted to make you smile."
He took a deep breath and handed her the credit slip. "Keep the necklace, please. It looks good on you, and I have no one else to give it to. I'm sure my brother wouldn't want it. He'd probably shove it someplace real uncomfortable if I gave it to him. And if he didn't, that would scare me even more."