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she wasn’t about to start another the moment she drove into town. Besides, she’d always heard two redheads were a disaster waiting to happen.
    No thanks, she thought, I have had enough disaster in my life for at least five more years.
    Although, her mother claims she’s only half redhead, the other half light blonde. So maybe it would only be half a disaster?
    Snap out of it Grayson, she thought, trying to get her shit together and not look like a blabbering idiot.
    “I can’t. I have to meet my family. But thanks for the offer.” Grayson tried to step by him, but he widened his stance and blocked her.
    “Can I at least give you my number?”
    Oh my God , Grayson thought, this guy was persistent. He was hot as hell, but come on.
    “Do you hit on every girl who walks through the door?” Grayson asked with a little attitude in her voice; she couldn’t let another man gain the upper hand on her so fast.
    He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and she wondered how old he was. “Not all of them.”
    “Well, that’s a relief. I guess I should feel special or something.”
    Someone behind Grayson cleared their throat, and she realized they were clogging up the condiments stand.
    “Sorry,” Grayson apologized, then brushed past the guy whose name she didn’t even know, and hustled towards the door.
    He didn’t give up, however, following closely behind.
    This guy can’t take rejection ; she pondered, that, or he’s never experienced it. He was smoking hot after all, so it was a possibility.
    Irritated as hell, she stopped and turned, “I told you—not interested.”
    His green-eyed gaze searched her eyes. Finally, he shrugged.
    A shrug, really, that’s all I get? This guy was making Grayson feel like she was bipolar.
    “Grayson, just take my number. You can call or not, the ball is totally in your court. You can even throw it away as soon as you walk out the door, just humor me.”
    Grayson’s jaw dropped, but she shut it quickly. “How do you know my name?”
    He tilted his head towards the cup in her hand, a sly smile upon his face. She felt beyond foolish; he probably heard the barista call out her name too. Josh made her into a completely paranoid human being.
    “Wait one second,” he said, holding up a hand. “Don’t leave yet.”
    She watched as he made his way to the front of the line, cutting in front of eight people, including the one in mid-order, and he spoke to the cashier. He returned with a pen, gently extracted her cup from her hand, and in block letters wrote “DERRICK” and a phone number. His hands brushed hers as he handed the cup back, and it was as if a shot of electricity coursed through her body. Startled, she yanked her hand away as if she was burned.
    What the hell kind of magnetic charge did this guy have? What int the world is happening to me?
    Without another word, she turned and walked out of the cafe. She could feel his eyes on her as she crossed the lot and got into her Jeep.
    In the comforting interior of her car, Grayson let out a deep breath and lifted her cup to eye the name and number.
    Note to self: avoid Starbucks.

CHAPTER 6

    A sigh of relief escaped Grace as she turned into the quiet suburban neighborhood where her mother lived. The yards looked just like tiny postage stamps—perfectly green and landscaped with all manner of brilliant flowers and box hedges. Misty streetlights lined the sidewalks alongside pretty picket fences and discarded toys from the day. It was similar to their old neighborhood back home in Florida. At least her mother’s taste hadn’t changed.
    So much else had changed since the day she graduated high school. Grayson still found it hard to get used to the fact that her mom had moved to Tennessee. She had been positive her mom would retire and stay in Florida. Of course, it made sense that she would want to be closer to her only grandchildren, especially after her youngest kids had flown the coop—Grayson to Arizona, and even