It wasn’t often that Carter took a Saturday off, but he was feeling restless and figured today was as good a time as any. The weather was beautiful, and between the mild temperatures and the clear blue sky, he knew it was the perfect day to take the bike out for a long ride.

Owning a motorcycle had started out as a hobby. Now it was his livelihood too, since he owned a garage with a growing reputation. Business was booming, and it was probably the one career you could have where your customers completely understood if you took a day off to ride.

Opting to take the back roads outside of Norfolk, he didn’t have any particular destination in mind.

At least… he thought he didn’t.

When he read the Welcome to Preston sign on the side of the road, he knew he had been lying to himself.

A month ago he had come to town for his buddy Chris’s wedding and had one of the hottest encounters of his life. For a month he’d tried to convince himself that it had just been a good time and move on. But he couldn’t. For some reason the sexy redhead continued to haunt his dreams and star in every one of his fantasies.

She’d left without giving him her number or even her last name, so Carter was at an extreme disadvantage in trying to find her. Maybe that was why he’d come this way. A snort of disgust came out before he could stop it. What was he supposed to do, drive around the small town and hope he’d spot Daisy walking down the street with her fiery red hair and her hot curves?

It would certainly be convenient.

Improbable, but convenient.

He pulled into the first parking lot he came to—which happened to be a deli—and he took a minute to figure out what he should do. Short of standing on a street corner and calling out her name, his options were limited.

But he could call Chris.

Maybe…

Scratching his chin, he decided to grab himself something to drink and see if Chris and Heather were home. He knew they were back from their honeymoon—Chris had texted him a week ago about maybe getting together to do some fishing—but that didn’t necessarily mean they were in town on a beautiful day like today.

“Never know unless I try,” he murmured as he climbed off the bike. First order of business was something to drink. Normally, he packed something to bring with him, but today he’d been willing to see where the road took him.

And clearly it wanted to take him to Daisy.

Walking into the deli, he got a couple of strange looks. He was used to it. He was tall, he had a bit of a beard right now, and he was wearing a fair amount of black leather. In a small town like Preston’s Mill, Carter knew he stood out. With a mental shrug, he purchased a large bottle of water and went back out to his bike.

He downed almost the entire bottle in one long pull and then took a minute to take in his surroundings. Small towns were never a big draw for him and not just because of his business, but because he loved having something to do all the time. Living in the city allowed for that. There was never a shortage of someplace to go and something new to see. Chris claimed he had always loved it here in Preston, but for the life of him, Carter couldn’t figure out why.

Looking to the left, he could see one end of the main street. All four buildings. And to his right, another five or six.

And that was it.

Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone and hit Send on Chris’s number.

“Hey, Carter,” Chris said when he answered. “This is a surprise. What’s up?”

Smiling, Carter felt a little of the tension he was feeling start to ease. “I was out for a ride and found myself in your neck of the woods.”

“Seriously?” Chris laughed. “How the hell did that happen?”

“Beats me. I thought I’d go someplace interesting and yet… here I am. Anyway, I’m parked here outside your town deli and wanted to see if you were around.”

“Yeah, absolutely. Heather’s over at her dad’s doing a little cooking for him, and I was just hanging out watching TV. Come on over, and I’ll have a cold one waiting for you.”

“Just one, man. I still have to drive back.”

“No worries. See ya in a few.”

Carter knew the way to Chris and Heather’s building. He’d only been there once or twice, but it wasn’t hard to find. Not in a town this small.

Five minutes later, he was parked and walking into the building. He passed an elderly woman on the stairs, and she kind of sniffed at him and made some sort of tsking sound. Yeah, the senior citizens definitely didn’t like the leather look. And he’d bet good money if he took off his jacket and she saw his tattoos, she’d like him even less.

With a shrug, he kept on going until he got to Chris’s door and knocked.

Before Carter had opened his shop, he’d done a stint in construction, and it was how he and Chris had met. They’d bonded pretty quickly over their love of a good beer and good pizza. Not the greatest friendship story, but it still made them laugh when they talked about it. People were always waiting for the punch line—or rather, the connection that really made them click, but there was really nothing more to it than two guys who enjoyed their work and enjoyed a good beer after it was done.

Chris opened the door. “What? No pizza?”

Laughing, Carter gave him the typical bro hug as he walked in. “Kind of difficult to balance while on the bike.”

“Then lucky for you I just happened to have one delivered.”

“Great minds,” Carter said. “I was just thinking about that myself.” Chris handed him a beer, and they sat on the sofa. He looked over at the ugly orange recliner sitting in the corner. “Seriously? Heather hasn’t made you get rid of that thing yet?”

Chris laughed again. “It was touch and go for a while, but in the end she realized how important Flo is to me.”

“You have problems, dude. Like serious mental problems.”

“Would you get rid of your bike if your girlfriend asked you to?” Chris asked with raised eyebrows.

“My bike? Never. But you can’t compare the masterpiece that is my Harley to… Flo.”

Chris gasped dramatically. “You wound me. Flo and I have had a lot of good times together.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s enjoyed all your one-handed activities,” Carter mocked before taking a pull of his beer.

“Very funny. So what’s going on with you? What are you doing off on a Saturday?”

“Too beautiful out to be inside. I just… I don’t know… I felt the need to get out on the road and ride.” He took another drink, and his mind wandered until he was picturing Daisy on the back of his bike, her red hair blowing in the wind, those soft, silky legs wrapped around him…

“It’s nice how you can take the time off to do that. Heather and I were going to try to go to the lake today, but her dad hasn’t been feeling well and she wanted to go over and make some meals for him for the week so he wouldn’t have to worry about cooking.”

Carter nodded. “So married life seems to agree with you. You’re sounding very… domesticated. Good for you.”

“I don’t know if I’d say domesticated,” Chris said with a low laugh. “Kind of makes me sound like I was living like a wild animal before.”

“Weren’t you?”

“Hardly. Anyway… Yes. Married life is good. Really good. We just got back a bunch of wedding pictures, and tomorrow we’re supposed to go through them and pick what we want for our official photo album.” He shook his head. “Who knew this was a thing? Stuff like that? That’s the downside of married life.”

“Dude, if that’s the only downside, then I’d say you have it pretty good.”

Chris stood and walked over to the kitchen table and came back with a small box. “Don’t I know it.” He opened the lid and pulled out a stack of pictures. “There are even some with you in them. Granted, you’re in the background because you never did like having your picture taken, but you’re in a few.”

It took a minute, but Chris pulled out several pictures and handed them to Carter. And sure enough, in the background, were him and Daisy. He stared at it for a long moment.

“I saw you talking with her the day of the wedding but never got to come over and formally introduce you,” Chris was saying. “Daisy’s new to the building, and she and Heather really hit it off.”

“So,” Carter began gruffly and then cleared his throat. “So you don’t know her all that well?”

Chris shook his head. “She’s fairly quiet. Keeps to herself. Works at the library.”

Somehow that last one really surprised Carter. “She’s a librarian? Really?”

Chris nodded. “Personally, I didn’t realize there was a need for a library anymore with everyone getting their books and information online, but apparently they’re still a thing. And we even have one here in Preston.”

Carter thought of his options and snuck a glance at his watch. It was after two. Chances were that the library wasn’t open all day on a Saturday—if it was even open at all. Dammit. It would have been the perfect way for him to go and see her. Talk to her. Maybe ask her out to dinner.

He continued to look through the pictures as Chris talked about some of the things that happened at the wedding and all the stuff newlyweds want to share with everyone. Funny, he never envisioned having this kind of conversation with Chris.

Or anyone really.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Chris got up and claimed it was probably their pizza. That was fine. Carter was more interested in looking at the picture in his hands. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he noted how Chris was talking to the delivery guy. It gave him a minute to really study the picture. It was a photo of people dancing, but in the background, was him sitting very close to Daisy. She was smiling, he was smiling, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost smell her perfume.

Placing the photo on the coffee table, he turned his attention back to Chris when he sat back down.

They ate and they laughed, and an hour later Carter knew he needed to get on the road if he was going to get home before dark. Not that he minded driving at night, but he wasn’t as familiar with all the back roads here, and he’d rather be safe than sorry.

Plus, knowing what he knew now about Daisy, he was interested in getting home and maybe looking her up online and seeing what he could find out.

“I need to head out,” he said as he stood and stretched. “I appreciate the pizza and the beer though. It was good to see you.”

“You’ll need to come for dinner sometime when Heather’s home. Trust me, she cooks one hell of a meal, and it’s better than this pizza.”

“I would hope so because this was not the greatest.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know. You can get way better in the city,” Chris said mildly. “Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

“Well, maybe you should come and see me once in a while, and I’ll prove it.”

“Maybe I will.”

And before it became a pissing contest, they shared another bro hug, and Carter was out the door. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard someone say, “Are you sure you have that okay, Mrs. Berry? I can carry it for you.”

That voice.

He knew that voice.

Although the last time he heard it, it was saying, Harder. Faster. More. Please more.

Yeah, that part was burned into his brain.

Carter froze and waited. Was she coming up? Going down? He wasn’t sure which way to turn, which way to go. Then he heard footsteps coming his way, and he prayed it wasn’t the elderly woman from earlier. He stood on the landing and caught a glimpse of red hair.

Thank you, God.

It was obvious she could sense him because her steps faltered before she was even in full view. Carter moved so he could see her, and his gut clenched hard.

Damn, she was beautiful.

Knowing what he knew now, he wasn’t as surprised by her appearance as he might have been. At the wedding her hair had been long and flowing, her dress had been dark green and form-fitting, and her heels had been of the fuck-me variety. The woman staring at him right now barely resembled that. At the moment, Daisy’s hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, her skirt almost reached her ankles, her shoes were sensible, and she had on a sweater set which barely showed more than her damn neck.

Very librarianish.

And damn if it didn’t work on him, conjuring up some sexy library-themed fantasies.

“Hey, angel,” he said softly, a slow smile pulling at his lips.

But she didn’t return the smile. If anything she looked like she wanted to bolt.

Again.

Hell no. Not this time.

Carter slowly walked down the steps toward her, and she took a cautious step back. He knew she remembered him. That much was obvious. She blushed furiously as he got closer, and she averted her gaze.

“Daisy?” His voice sounded like gravel, and it was a borderline plea.

Then she did look at him. “Um… Hi, Carter. It’s nice to see you.”

So polite, he thought. Not the best greeting but certainly not the worst. Deciding he could pull off the polite thing too, he replied, “It’s nice to see you too. How are you?”

She let out a small sigh as she shifted the grocery bags in her arms. “Fine. I’m fine. And you?”

He nodded and said, “Good. I’m good.” It was beyond awkward. What had happened to the girl who had been ballsy and gone around the wedding reception flirting with men on a dare? Where was the woman who had made him laugh and smile while sharing drinks?

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her brows slightly furrowed.

“I was visiting Chris. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop in and see how he and Heather were doing.”

“Oh… right. I forgot.”

“Forgot?”

“That you were friends with them,” she clarified.

Seriously? They met at Chris and Heather’s wedding. They’d fucked like porn stars at Chris and Heather’s wedding, and she had forgotten that he knew them?

“Are you free for dinner?” he asked, deciding to take a chance. When she sort of fumbled the bags, he immediately reached out for them and took several from her hands. “Here. Let me help you.” Looking up the stairs he said, “Which apartment is yours? I’ll carry them for you.”

If anything, she looked like a deer in the headlights at his suggestion and immediately shifted the bags she still had and snatched back the ones in his arms. “I appreciate the offer, but I really need to go. I… I have plans tonight, and I’m running late.” In the blink of an eye, she had not only managed to snag the bags, but she was halfway up the next flight of stairs.

He called after her. “Daisy! Wait!” Carter took the stairs two at a time until he caught up with her at the next landing. “Hey, what’s going on?”

That panicked look was back. Was she… Was it possible she was afraid of him? She was eyeing him, and it wasn’t lustfully like she had at the wedding. Then it hit him.

The leather.

Shit.

Between the boots, the jacket, and the fact that he looked a little rough from the ride in general, no doubt he was missing the somewhat put-together look he’d pulled out for the wedding.

“Look,” he began softly. “Can’t we talk for a while? I feel like we had a great time at the wedding—”

“Yeah. A great time,” she muttered.

“I meant before… that,” he explained. “We had some great conversation, and I’d really like a chance to get to know you more. Just dinner. Please.”

For a minute he thought he had her, that she was going to agree. But he was way off base.

“It’s not possible. I… I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Daisy walked around him, and he caught a whiff of her perfume, and he wanted to fight for her to stay even if it was just for another few minutes. She walked up the next three steps before she stopped and turned around. For a moment Carter held his breath, feeling hopeful. Then, “Please don’t bother me again,” she said firmly. There was a tremble in her voice, but she got her message across loud and clear.

Carter stood and watched her walk away. There was no way he was going to chase after her. Not after the look and the tone she’d just given him.

Feeling more than a little dejected, he made his way down the stairs and walked out of the apartment building.

“Well that didn’t go quite the way I’d hoped,” he muttered.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he really thought that if he ever saw Daisy again it would go much differently. She’d be surprised to see him and slightly embarrassed by what they’d done. He’d ease her conscience, and they’d laugh about it over a quiet dinner together. And if he was being honest, dinner would be followed by rounds two and three of the hottest sex he could imagine.

“Clearly that’s not going to happen,” he said as he strapped on his helmet.

And man, did it suck to admit that out loud.

There were many things Carter had done in his life. Some he was proud of and some not so much. But he never chased a woman who made it clear that she wasn’t interested. There were plenty of other fish in the sea, right? Why waste his time chasing after someone who clearly wasn’t interested? Obviously what had happened at the wedding was a fluke that was simply induced by too much alcohol.

Not his proudest moment either.

Usually if alcohol played a role in any of his escapades, it was still based on mutual attraction.

And dammit, Daisy had been attracted to him.

It was just that in the light of day—and sober—she wasn’t willing to admit it.

There had been the whole running out on him before he’d even tucked himself back into his pants, but at the time he’d simply attributed it to her being embarrassed.

Clearly he was wrong.

Daisy had some serious remorse, and Carter was done trying to convince himself otherwise.