Chapter 2

“Excuse me!”

Ivy had followed the man out of the shop and was now running after him. It wasn’t until she had gotten close to him, that he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. Ivy came to a sudden halt, and nearly fell forward on him but collected herself just in time. He had that same devious grin on his face as he looked at her, apparently amused at how much of a fool she was making of herself, she thought. He had his hands stuck deep in the pockets of his pants and was now proceeding to study her.

“I thought I’d bring you your coffee and personally thank you for what you did in there,” Ivy said, surprised at her own enthusiasm to talk. She was usually a woman of few words, and now her voice was just tumbling out of her from nervousness. Instead of replying, the man looked deep into her eyes, and then down at her heaving breasts, then slowly down past her belly to the spot between her legs. It was like he had no shame in just staring, in literally undressing her with his eyes.

Ivy felt self-conscious, mentally kicking herself for picking her oldest most faded dress that day. She didn’t exactly feel sexy, even though he was looking at her like that. She hadn’t even bothered with much makeup that morning. His blue eyes sparkled as he drank her in, and then without a word, he reached for the styrofoam cup of coffee in her hand.

“I didn’t do anything, but thank you for bringing me the coffee,” he said and took a deliberate sip of it.

“Grande dark roast,” she said and a small nervous laugh escaped her lips. She clasped her hands together because she couldn’t think of anything else to say and also because she felt like she was melting with every second that he spent looking at her.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have lost my shit if you got my order wrong,” he said and Ivy’s cheeks flushed.

“I don’t always get my orders wrong. I guess I need a coffee too,” she said and added another nervous chuckle. What was she doing there? Why was she still talking to him? She couldn’t believe this was actually her. This was probably the boldest thing she had ever done.

The man smiled a wide satisfied smile that spread over his face and reached his blue eyes.

“Have a nice day, Ivy,” he said and she felt her knees buckle. How did he know her name? He must have noticed the shocked expression on her face because he looked straight at her breasts and continued to smile.

“You know you’re wearing a name tag, right?” he added and her cheeks turned ruddy again and she could feel the back of her neck burning up.

“Yeah, of course, it’s there to make us appear more approachable,” she said uselessly. Ivy realized that by this point she was just talking nonsense.

“It’s working,” he replied and she couldn’t suppress her smile anymore. She was nauseous from how silly she must have appeared to him.

“I’m Travis Dunn,” he said and held out his hand to her. Ivy’s brows crinkled for a moment, she knew that name, but she pushed that thought to the back of her head and shook his hand. When their bodies touched, she felt a sudden electric shock run down her spine. His hand was warm and big, enveloping her own small hand completely in his. He gave her one quick stern shake like he had just signed a peace treaty with a ruthless dictator.

“Zimmerman. That’s my name. No, I mean my name is Ivy but my last name is Zimmerman,” she was fumbling with her words still, while Travis continued to grin.

“All right, Ivy Zimmerman. I hope you have a nice day,” he said and just like that, he turned from her and walked away.

Ivy stood where she was, with dropped shoulders and a heavily beating heart as she watched him walking away. He weaved through the people, towering high above them with his face turned firmly forward. He didn’t turn once to look at her…and Ivy rolled her eyes. Why would he? He was Travis Dunn!

She had worked out why she knew the name, and her first instincts about him were right. He was ex-military, and recently in the news for the huge waterfront project that he had signed with the city’s mayor. The man was an entrepreneur and one of the richest people under fifty in the country! She scanned her brains to try and recall if she had seen any pictures of him. The only one she could remember were the tabloid photos taken by paparazzi while he entered or left a nightclub. A skinny tall young blond on his arm. Just like the other guy’s coffee order.

Ivy turned and walked dejectedly back towards the shop. She had darted out of there with his coffee order in hand, without asking her manager for permission and she was pretty sure that she was in for a lecture. What was she thinking? Chasing Travis Dunn down the street. He was just being polite and a perfect gentleman when he manhandled the hungover guy. With his military experience, it was probably just second nature to him, she thought.

Ivy shook her head, scolding herself in her head as she pushed open the door of the coffee shop and entered. Even from the across the room, she had caught her manager’s glaring eyes. This was going to be a long day indeed, and especially since she wouldn’t be able to forget those piercing blue eyes of his that had burnt her skin when he looked at her.

She slipped the apron on over herself and walked over to the cash register, pasting her forced smile on her face again. She had been foolish, a complete idiot. Travis Dunn wanted to have nothing to do with a girl like her.