Five Minute Man: A Contemporary Love Story Read Online Free PDF

“I like coffee.”
    Relief flooded through him. Suddenly he felt as nervous as a kid. “Would you like to have some? With me? Now?” Great , he winced inwardly. Way to sound overeager, dumbass .
    Her eyes softened just a little around the edges, her smile was kind. “No,” she said, dashing his hopes for a few thankfully brief seconds. “I have to go home and let my dog out. But how about later, maybe around seven? Ground Zero?”
    “Seven’s good,” he said, pleased with her choice. Ground Zero was a nice, clean, well-lit little place with great coffee and a casual, cozy atmosphere. It was the perfect place for a first date. Not that this was a date. More of a pre-date interview. If things went well, they’d see.
    “Shall we meet there?”
    Holly nodded.  “Sounds good. See you then.”
    Only after watching her drive away did he finally let out the breath he’d been holding. So far, so good, but he refused to get his hopes up just yet. He’d been disappointed too many times. Further analysis would be relegated until later that night.

Chapter 7
 
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    “S o Brandon’s your nephew, huh?” Holly asked, sipping her hazelnut cream. She refused to get her hopes up. So far, Adam was the perfect gentlemen. Besides stopping earlier to change her tire -which earned him quite a few points – he’d asked her out for coffee and was fine with meeting here. He’d been waiting in the parking lot when she’d arrived five minutes early, and held the door open for her. Once inside, he’d asked her what she wanted, then took care of ordering and paying.
    She was glad that she’d taken a little extra time with her appearance, choosing form-fitting faded Levi’s that made her butt look good and a soft, forest green sweater that accented her eyes. Especially since he looked so ruggedly handsome in his jeans and white button-down with the collar open at the very top and his sleeves folded back to reveal corded forearms.
    Sitting across from him now, she was glad, too, that she’d chosen the corner booth, because the muted lighting accentuated the sun-bleached caramel highlights in his silky chestnut hair and made her fingers itch to run through it. Two hands on the cup kept her from doing just that. “Bet he’s a handful.”
    “He’s a good kid,” Adam said truthfully., thankful she had chosen a safe topic on which he could easily converse. Although he felt none of the usual awkwardness around her that he usually did on an initial date, if that’s what it was. “Smart, too. He’s going to make one hell of an engineer.”
    The way his eyes softened just a little and his lips curved slightly suggested that Adam was both close to and fond of his nephew. “You’re very proud of him.”
    “Yeah. It’s not his fault he inherited his father’s curse.”
    Holly’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “A curse, huh? Is that what you call it?”
    He chuckled. It was a deep, low rumbling sound that sent little tingling shivers in some of her more womanly parts. “Yeah. Women throwing themselves at him all the time. Who would want that?”
    “Who, indeed,” she hummed, wondering how Adam handled that same cursed affliction. If she looked closely, she could definitely see some family resemblance, but where Brandon’s features were of the picture perfect, movie-star variety, Adam’s were more rugged. His hair was a bit unruly, as if it had been hastily finger-combed as an afterthought. His skin had the sun-kissed look of someone who spent a good deal of time outside. A brief glance downward revealed strong, capable hands and a few calluses.
    Of the two, Holly knew which one she preferred.
    “What about you? Any nieces or nephews?” he asked, breaking into her mental inspection.
    “A couple, but they’re all still pretty young yet. The oldest is in seventh grade, the youngest, about six months.” Thinking of the last time she had seen them - at a family gathering that had turned into more of an