Her Beautiful Addiction

Neva’s grip tightened on the book she was holding.

Her heart did a strange flip in her chest, pounding harder than necessary. She almost frowned at its reaction.

This hadn’t happened since—

She quickly squashed the thought that was trying to form in her mind. No, she wasn’t going to think about it. She wasn’t going to think about him.

But wow.

She looked at the man standing in front of her. For some reason, his face had turned pale. She couldn’t figure out why. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

“Hi,” she said, offering a small smile.

He kept staring at her, but the color seemed to return to his face.

Then, as if realizing what he had been doing, he cleared his throat and smiled back. “Hey, enjoying the party?”

So, he was one of Alex’s friends.

Neva tilted her head and studied him for a moment. He looked a bit older. And he was dressed in sweats. That wasn’t party attire, was it?

She quickly glanced at her own clothes.

You’re one to talk, Neva. ~

Her sister had nearly dragged her back home when she saw what she was wearing to the party.

Neva couldn’t help it. She had just had an interview for a waitress job at the cute little restaurant, two blocks from the apartment she had just moved into.

It was a makeshift studio apartment, nothing fancy. She couldn’t afford fancy even if she wanted to. Her savings only stretched so far.

The owner’s wife had been skeptical when she met Neva, eyeing her warily. But once they started talking, her demeanor completely changed, and she gave her the job.

Neva could have kissed her.

She had been nervous, on edge, and anxious the whole time. She desperately needed the job. And The Summer Diner was perfect for her.

It was close to where she lived, the hours were flexible, and her sister had said that you could get good tips if you did well.

Neva was beyond grateful. She now had an income while she looked for a position in a company.

Shaking off her thoughts, she nodded to the man in front of her and shrugged. “It’s okay. Are you?”

He looked at her curiously and stepped closer.

“I’m not much of a party animal.”

Neva felt her stomach flip at the deep tone of his voice. She swallowed. This was quickly becoming dangerous territory.

She let herself look at him a moment longer. He was incredibly good-looking. His jet-black hair looked slightly damp and his face was all sharp angles with a hint of stubble on his defined jaw.

Even though he was dressed so casually, Neva could see his toned physique. He was more than a foot taller than her.

He continued as if he didn’t notice her staring at him. “What are you reading?”

To her surprise, he came right up to her and crouched down, tilting his head to look at the books in her hand.

Her heart sped up when she breathed in his scent.

Jesus Christ. What was that amazing smell?

The blood rushed to her cheeks as she realized what she was thinking. She was halfway in love with a guy she had just met.

“It’s a novel by Khaled Hosseini.”

He looked up at her. Neva almost moved away from the intensity of those green eyes focused on her.

“Why aren’t you down with the others?”

She shrugged, pulling the book closer to her.

“I saw this place on my way to the bathroom, so I thought I’d check it out. It’s pretty amazing. Whoever designed it did a fantastic job.”

She saw a brief smile on his face and wasn’t sure if she imagined it.

He nodded, looking around the room. “Yeah, it does look great.”

Neva grabbed her phone and then slowly stood up. The handsome man in front of her stood up too. She wasn’t surprised when he towered over her.

“Are you Alex’s friend?” she asked as she walked over to the shelf where she had picked up the book.

There was a brief pause before he answered. “Yeah, kind of.”

Kind of? ~

She nodded politely, setting the books down, making sure to put them in the order they had been in.

“Are you headed back to the party?” he asked her, taking a step towards her.

Out of habit, Neva stepped back.

He froze when he noticed it.

For a long moment, they both stared at each other. She could feel the embarrassment rushing through her.

She quickly tried to make light of it. “I-I’m not. I’ll probably just head out. My sister dragged me here. I didn’t even want to come.

“I start my shift at the restaurant tomorrow and need to make sure I’m on time since I really need the job. And—”

She stopped abruptly when she realized she was rambling.

She looked down at the screen of her phone, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. She was making a fool of herself and all on her own.

“Well”—His deep voice made her insides tremble—”that’s too bad. I was hoping to ask your recommendation for a good read.”

Neva’s head shot up.

He was staring at her intently and she didn’t see a trace of amusement or humor on his face.

She swallowed. “Oh.”

He didn’t take his eyes off her.

She looked back at the shelf. “I’d love to do that.” She gave him a smile before she shifted.

“What kind of books do you usually read? Do you have any favorite authors or genres?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I have a lot actually, Jeffrey Archer, Lee Child, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King—”

She looked up at him in surprise. “Do you enjoy horror?”

A pleasant shock went through her when she saw his eyes flicker to her lips.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted, and Neva’s heart stopped.

He grinned at her. “I get the feeling that how I answer that question will affect your opinion of me.”

She laughed. She couldn’t help it.

Shaking her head, she picked out The Angel Experiment by James Patterson and offered it to him.

“My sister is a Jeffrey Archer fan too, you might like this one.” She handed the book to him.

He took it from her, quickly reading through the synopsis on the back cover.

Neva’s gaze fell on his hands. His fingers were long and slender. A fleeting thought of how they might feel against her skin sent a shiver through her. A pulse of warmth spread across her belly.

She quickly averted her eyes, worried he might somehow decipher her thoughts.

“Thank you,” he said, gracing her with a smile. “So, what should I call you?”

A blush crept up her cheeks. “My name’s Neva.”

He held her gaze for a moment. “Neva,” he echoed. “That’s a beautiful name.”

Heat rushed to her ears. “Thank you. And yours?”

He seemed to pause for a moment. “You can call me Grayson.” He extended his hand to her.

She accepted it cautiously, enjoying the warm, solid feel of his fingers around hers. “Nice to meet you, Grayson.”

Suddenly, he lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her palm.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, smiling at her.

Neva clung to the thrill his gesture sparked, longer than she knew she should.