Out of My League: a Hope Valley novel Page 2

  “Mm-mm,” Nona hummed wantonly, drawing my gaze her way. “Now that’s one fine specimen right there.”

  My focus shifted back to the big black truck just as it came to a stop right in front of my house. The driver side door swung open and Lincoln hopped down with a natural grace that was born to him, a real-life wet dream in worn-in jeans and an olive-green thermal Henley. He rounded his hood at a quick jog, and Nona and I both leaned sideways to get a better view.

  We’d been too busy talking and laughing to notice that Mrs. Bea, the sweet elderly lady on the block, was trying to navigate her front walk with three grocery bags and her cane.

  Lincoln divested her of the bags, then held out his arm so she could hook hers around his crooked elbow.

  Dear Lord! He helps elderly ladies carry in their groceries too? Could this guy get any more perfect?

  “Hot damn,” Nona murmured. “Who’d have thought a big badass alpha such as that would be so damn chivalrous? Been livin’ down the road from him for years now and the guy still surprises me.”

  My head jerked in her direction. “Badass alpha?”

  “Oh yeah. You didn’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Linc there owns his own private investigations and security firm. Opened it up when he left the Marines and moved here about ten years ago. He was a badass in times of war, and now he’s a badass who bosses around a whole bunch of other badasses. Word is each and every one of them have these supersecret badass skills, but no one really knows exactly what it is they do other than lumber around exuding their alpha-ness all over the damn place.”

  I looked back at Lincoln as he jogged down Mrs. Bea’s front walk to his truck. “Wow. That’s just… wow.”

  “Yep. No other word to describe him and his men. Just a whole lotta wow.”

  He was coming back around the truck when Nona’s voice grew louder. “Lookin’ good, Linc. And such a gentleman at that.”

  Crap, crap, crap, crap, shit! He was coming over.

  “Nona,” he said in a rich, deep voice, his sunglasses aimed right at us and his lips tilted in a small smirk. “Stirrin’ up trouble?”

  My mouth went dry, my heart threatening to burst from my chest. The only saving grace was that I could blame the bright sunlight for the furious blush on my cheeks.

  “Me?” she asked, faking offense. “Stir up trouble? Never.”

  “Uh-huh.” He chuckled, and I might have had a spontaneous mini-orgasm.

  “I’m just getting to know the new girl in the hood better. This is Eden Brenner. Eden, meet Lincoln Sheppard.”

  “Eden.” The way my name rolled off his tongue sent a delicious shiver up my spine. “Pretty name. Nice to meet you, darlin’.”

  I stared at the hand he’d offered to me with my lips parted. God, even his hand was sexy.”

  “Eden? Yo, Earth to Eden.”

  At the sound of Nona’s voice, I was yanked out of my stupor. “Oh, uh… sorry.” I placed my hand in his and his long, thick, callused fingers engulfed mine completely. “Yeah, uh… it’s, um, nice to meet you too.”

  My entire body quivered at his touch.

  “Hope Valley treatin’ you well?”

  “Oh, y-yeah. I mean, I love it here. Best place I’ve ever lived.”

  “You lived a lot of places?”

  Holy crap! I was having a conversation with Lincoln Sheppard. It was more exciting and nerve-racking than a chance meeting with a celebrity.

  “Yeah. You could say that.”

  His lips quirked, and it was just as gorgeous as his smirk. I only wished I could see those jewel-green eyes. “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoyin’ it. I gotta get home, but it was good talkin’ with you ladies.”

  “Y-yeah, uh, you too.”

  He continued to stand on my front stoop, looking down at me with a bewildered grin. “I’ll be needin’ my hand back, darlin’.”

  I hadn’t realized I was still holding it—embarrassingly tight—until he said that. “Oh! Shit. I’m sorry. So sorry.” I quickly dropped my hand, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.

  “It’s all good, buttercup. Don’t sweat it.”

  He called me buttercup! The teenage girl in my head was squealing and dancing like a maniac, but I did my best to maintain my composure—as best I could, anyway—while he sauntered down my walkway and pulled himself up into his truck.

  “Oh my god,” Nona whispered before singsonging, “Someone’s got a crush. Oh, girl! You’ve got damn good taste.”

  “Shut up,” I mumbled under my breath, dropping my head into my hands. “On a scale from one to ten, how bad was that?”

  When she didn’t answer right away, I lifted my head to find her making that familiar eek face. Her response wasn’t any more comforting. “Nothing you can’t come back from, doll. Don’t you worry.”

  Son of a bitch.

  Chapter Two

  Eden

  “Son of a bitch!” I grunted as one of the two large trash cans I was trying to maneuver toward the curb for pickup the next morning fell onto its side. With an angry glare at the fallen bin, I bent to right it only to have three of the bags fall out.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  When I reached to grab the bags, two of them split right open, spilling garbage all over my driveway.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  I was in the middle of scooping the trash back into the bin with a discarded paper plate when a loud, ferocious bark made my head jerk up. Letting out a startled squeak, I fell back on my butt and crab-walked backward as a snarling dog came charging in my direction, teeth bared like it was ready to maul my face off.

  “Rocky, no!” a masculine voice yelled. “Rocky, stop!”

  The monster dog didn’t even break its stride as it continued across my neighbor’s yard and into mine. I recalled reading somewhere that you should remain completely still when at risk of being attacked by a dog—or maybe it was a bear, I couldn’t remember just then—so instead of getting up and running for my life, I slammed my eyes shut and braced to have my face eaten off by the feral beast. But instead of fangs puncturing my skin a large, wet tongue pressed against my jawline and licked from chin to temple in one long swipe.

  My eyelids popped open and I chanced turning my head to face the German shepherd only to have it lick right up the center of my face.

  Letting loose a startled giggle, I lifted a hand and rubbed at the scruff of its neck. “Well hey there, ferocious monster,” I murmured, earning myself a rapid tail wag and playful bark.

  A full-blown laugh rumbled up my throat as I began rubbing at the cutie more vigorously. He was so excited his entire back end wagged along with his tail. “Aren’t you just adorable,” I cooed, even though that wasn’t totally true. The dog now known to me as Rocky was obviously healthy given his incredible size and strength, but there were sections all over his body where his thick fur was missing, and as I gave him a full-body rub, I noticed what felt like scar tissue in several places.

  “Christ, you all right? I’m so sorry.”

  I turned my attention from the sweet pup to Lincoln’s gem-colored eyes and my mouth went completely dry. “I, uh….”

  Rocky let out a loud yip, letting me know he wasn’t happy with my lack of petting, so I immediately started up again.

  “Jesus, Rock. Get off her, would you?” Lincoln’s long fingers wrapped around Rocky’s collar and gave him a tug, but the dog struggled to stay with me. “Did he knock you down?” he asked, struggling with the boisterous mutt.

  “Holy crap,” a woman declared, and I turned just in time to see a familiar gorgeous blonde jog up to us. She was one of the countless women I’d seen spending quality time at Lincoln’s house, and seeing her now, looking like she’d just stepped off the glossy pages of a magazine, my face burned with a sense of inferiority. “Are you okay?”

  No. No I certainly wasn’t. I was covered in doggy slobber, wearing my ratty sweats designated strictly for cleaning day, my hair wa
s in a messy knot at the top of my head, and I smelled like a gross combination of garbage and bleach. This was a disaster. She looked like a model, and I looked like a freaking hobo.

  Luckily, before I had the chance to answer, Lincoln spoke. Unfortunately, what he said made an already awkward situation that much more uncomfortable. “I fuckin’ told you not to let him out, Crystal,” he spat angrily.

  The blonde, aptly named Crystal, pinched her face in displeasure as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It was an accident.”

  “There’s a huge goddamn difference between an accident and just not payin’ attention.”

  “Whatever,” she huffed with a roll of her eyes. “He didn’t get far, so what’s the big deal?”

  “Uh… I’m, um… I’m fine. It’s fine. No biggie,” I stammered, clumsily pushing off the rough cement to my feet.

  “See?” Crystal said. “She’s totally fine. No harm, no foul. Now can we please lock the friggin’ dog up so we can go to dinner?” She reached for Rocky’s collar only to have him growl at her as the hair on his back stood on end.

  Crystal and I both took a frightened step back at the same time Lincoln’s grip on the dog tightened.

  “Go back to the house,” he ordered, his jaw ticking as he glared at her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  With a huff and a dramatic flip of her hair, she spun around and stomped back toward Lincoln’s place on her sky-high platform wedges.

  I was still watching her departure, silently envying her figure and style, when the man who’d been plaguing my fantasies for months spoke and pulled my attention back to him.

  “I really am sorry about that. Rocky wasn’t supposed to get out. It shouldn’t have happened.”

  My belly fluttered with so many butterflies it was a wonder I didn’t take flight. “It’s okay. Really,” I stated, holding out my hand for Rocky to lick happily. “I promise. He’s actually really sweet.”

  Lincoln watched my interaction with his dog incredulously before stating, “That’s insane. He’s not usually so friendly with strangers.”

  “Oh. Well, it’s probably just the smell of the trash that burst all over the place.”

  His gaze darted to my drive and all the garbage strewn about. “Shit. Did he do that?”

  “Oh! No, Rocky didn’t do that. I dropped the bin trying to drag them to the curb and the bags busted. He’s totally innocent.” As if sensing my defense of him, Rocky head-butted my thigh, and I crouched down to give him more snuggles while looking up at my sexy neighbor. “I didn’t realize you had a dog.”

  He grinned at me, sending an electric current through my whole body. “Just got him. He was a rescue. Got him from a shelter the day he was set to be put down.”

  “No!” I cried, hugging Rocky’s neck. “They were gonna put him down? Why?”

  “Unfortunately it’s not that uncommon, but Rocky was a special case. His breed is considered aggressive, and he’s already over a year old. Most people want puppies. And to make it worse, he was a fighting dog.”

  “A fighting dog?” I asked, my arms tightening protectively around him as my heart sank. “You mean someone used to put this little sweetie in a pen to fight other dogs?”

  That grin of his grew an inch, but I was too consumed with Rocky’s well-being to get stupid over it. “If it makes you feel any better, the asshole’s spending a fair amount of time in jail for it.”

  “Good,” I snapped defensively. “But fair justice would be sticking that jackass in one of those pens.”

  He chuckled, deep and gruff, saying, “Let me help you with this,” as he bent to grab the paper plate I’d been using to scoop trash.

  My brain suddenly restarted, and I realized once again who I was standing in front of and how ragged I looked. “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. Seriously. I’ve got this, and you’re supposed to be going to dinner with your… uh, friend,” I finished awkwardly, pointing in the direction I’d last seen his supermodel girlfriend.

  Ignoring my objection, Lincoln continued scooping my trash, and I thought I might die of humiliation at the sight of all the empty Little Debbie snack cake boxes.

  “Don’t worry about Crys,” he replied, tossing all my junk food paraphernalia into the bin. “She can wait.” Of course a man like him could make a woman like that wait and not face any repercussions. He was freaking perfect. He undoubtedly got away with anything.

  I stood there like the flustered mess I was as he cleaned up the last of the trash. “Keep hold of him, yeah?” he asked, pointing at Rocky and pulling the two bins the rest of the way to the curb.

  He played with the kids on the block like they were family. He helped little old ladies get their groceries inside. He rescued poor abused dogs. And now he was picking up his neighbor’s garbage and taking her trash cans to the curb.

  Is it possible for this guy to be any more perfect?

  “Um, thank you. I appreciate you picking all that up for me.”

  “It’s no problem.” His green eyes glimmered in the setting sun, brilliant against the soft pinks and golds of the growing twilight. “Least I could do after my dog almost licked you to death.”

  My cheeks heated as I lowered my head shyly and glanced up at him through my lashes. “I don’t mind. He’s a great dog.” I gave Rocky’s neck one last scratch before dropping my hands to my sides.

  “Well, he seems to really like you, which is a miracle. He can be a little skittish around new people since he was abused so badly.”

  I looked down at Rocky and smiled, and I could have sworn he smiled back. I wasn’t sure why, but knowing Rocky liked me while he growled unhappily at Crystal gave me an irrational sense of pleasure. “Well, if you ever need a dog sitter, you know where to find me.”

  He gave me a warm look before emitting a short, clipped whistle that made Rocky come immediately to his side. He looped his fingers around the dog collar and said, “Might just take you up on that, buttercup.”

  Buttercup. It was a miracle I didn’t swoon into a puddle at his feet. “Y-yeah. Sure. Um, any time. I really like Rocky, so if you ever need it, I’m here.”

  “Good to know.” He winked, and I was pretty sure I had a mini heart attack.

  When he finally left, I headed back inside, moving straight through my bedroom into my master bath, stopping in front of the mirror.

  Taking in my reflection, I cringed at what I saw standing before me. Lifeless hair, dull eyes, chubby cheeks on an otherwise uninteresting face. A Buddha belly and thick thighs. Nothing a man like Lincoln would ever write home about.

  I’d admit I had a cute little button nose and cupid’s bow lips, but other than that, there was nothing special or phenomenal about me. I wasn’t the kind of woman who stood out in a crowd. I was the one a man’s gaze skated over in search of a woman like Crystal or Nona.

  And I was sick of it.

  I didn’t want to be out of Lincoln Sheppard’s league anymore. I wanted to be the woman his eyes stopped on when he saw me. I wanted to be desired and wanted by a man like him.

  Or, more to the point, him specifically.

  It was all within my grasp to become that type of woman. A showstopper.

  And as I stared at myself in the mirror, a sense of determination seeped all the way into my bones.

  Chapter Three

  Eden

  Today was step one in Mission Make Over New Eden.

  Sure, it wasn’t the best mission name, but it was to the point.

  When I climbed out of bed that morning, I was invigorated with my plans for the day. But now that I was standing in front of Pure Elegance, the only hair salon within a twenty mile radious to town, I was questioning what the hell I was doing there.

  The salon’s motto was painted beneath the name in swirly white writing: “Taking your natural beauty to the next level.”

  There was just one problem. I didn’t have a lot of natural beauty to expand upon.

  I was just about to turn and backtrack to my car
when I heard someone call my name.

  “Eden?”

  Spinning toward the sound of the voice, I caught Nona peeking out of the salon’s door. “Hey, Nona. How’s it going?”

  Her forehead wrinkled in curiosity as she cocked her head and smiled. “It’s good, darlin’. You here to see me?”

  “Well, uh, no.” I glanced down at the smock covering her pretty blouse and jeans. “I mean, not technically. You work here?”

  Nona stepped all the way out, letting the glass door whisper shut and crossed her arms before leaning against the window. “Yeah. This is my place. I didn’t mention that?”

  I looked through the glass at the trendy salon and noticed almost every chair was full. I should have known the woman did something in the field of beauty. Her hair and makeup always looked perfect, so it really wasn’t a surprise that she’d own a salon.

  “No, I didn’t know,” I admitted, returning my attention to her. “Well then, I guess I am here to see you. Or one of your other stylists. As long as there’s availability, that is.”

  Nona’s face brightened as she stood tall and asked excitedly, “You wanna get your hair done?”

  Twisting my fingers together, I started scratching at my cuticles with my thumbnails, a nasty nervous habit I developed as a kid. “I was considering it,” I replied before quickly adding, “But I can come back. You know, if you’re all booked and I need to make an appointment.”

  “You kidding?” she squeaked happily. “My next appointment just canceled, so I’m wide open. It’s kismet, doll. Get your cute butt in here.”

  Without giving me a choice, she reached out, snagged my hand, and dragged me into the salon.

  Her station was situated right in the middle of the spacious room, and I could feel eyes on me from every direction as Nona yanked me into her chair.