Crystal felt Rory tense. Every muscle in his body tightened, gloriously so.

Her hands moved over those magnificent shoulders of his again, this time, feeling every muscle tense under her touch.

“I didn’t… You didn’t… tell me it was you,” he finally said.

“Does it matter?” she asked, pushing him lightly back down onto the table.

“Yes,” he growled out, trying to sit up again. “I… I’ve never had a massage from someone I know before.”

She chuckled at that. “So, you’d rather a complete stranger do this?”

“No, yes.” He shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. Since I’m certified and own this establishment, and since we’ll be working with each other for the next week, I thought it best that I assess how damaged you are.”

He tensed again. “How damaged?”

She sighed and used her elbow to gently force him back onto the table.

“Jesus,” he growled.

“Stay still,” she said in a sweet voice. “Let’s talk about something else.” This line of conversation was quickly making the man’s muscles bulge out of his skin. “Tell me why you started your own financial security firm.”

He was silent for a while as she moved her thumbs and fingers over each muscle again.

When he started talking, she felt him relax into her hands. When her hands moved to his lower back, he tensed for a split second.

She kept him talking while she ran through the upgraded massage package. He hesitated at first when she suggested he roll over, but after a moment of silence, he did so. His front was as impressive as his back. She could tell that he worked out, but as with most men, he tended to focus on muscle building rather than cardio and agility.

“You could benefit from yoga,” she said as she finished up. “Most men focus only on building muscles, not that women complain.” She smiled and tried not to hum with appreciation at the muscles that jumped under her fingertips. “Yoga helps to relieve stress.”

He grunted and she quickly changed the subject.

She added a few extra minutes to his massage in order to ensure she’d undone the tension she’d caused. And she was too busy appreciating his body to notice the clock had passed the hour mark.

“All done. How do you feel?” she asked, washing the oil from her hands.

“Incredible.” He sighed. “Ready for a nap.” He chuckled.

“You’re welcome to rinse off.” She nodded to the small shower. “Once you’re done, my office is just down the hall.” She tossed a towel into the dirty bin.

“Crystal.” He stopped her from walking out. “Thanks.” He gave her a smile that would have knocked her socks off, if she’d been wearing any. There were dimples on his cheeks that matched the one in his chin. She was a sucker for dimples. And for men who had deep brown bedroom eyes. Not to mention the killer body and brains to go with the whole package.

She smiled and nodded. “Anytime.”

When she shut the door behind her, she leaned against the solid wood and closed her eyes. Her heart was racing and her body felt geared up for sex.

The man was pure sex. Every spot on him was built for a woman’s pleasure. She’d tried, really, she had, to keep the massage professional. But wow. The man could fill out a towel.

She sat in her office, trying to get her body back under control. When her normal breathing exercises wouldn’t work, she tried meditation. That didn’t work either, so she started pacing the floor. She thought about cold showers and running through the snow, but hell, even thinking about gross things didn’t detour her libido.

When Rory finally walked in, she tried to focus on the task at hand, but in reality, all she wanted to do was jump his bones.

“So,” he said moving behind her desk and looking over her shoulder. “Is this the machine that was shot?”

She glanced at her new computer. “No.” She shook her head and then motioned across the room. “That’s it.”

“My god.” He whistled. “You’re lucky that wasn’t you.” He moved over and picked up the very expensive paperweight that used to be her top-of-the-line computer system.

“My insurance paid to have it replaced, but I still haven’t had time to install all the programs on the new machine.” She focused her eyes on her screen.

“What software did you use?” he asked, taking the old machine with him and sitting across from her.

She rattled off the software name and he cringed.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head. “It’s not a very secure program.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter now.” She felt tension growing and knew he didn’t deserve her attitude. But her sexual tension had been building for months now. She needed a release, but hadn’t found anyone… hadn’t wanted anyone for a while. Not until he’d walked in her door.

“No, I suppose not.” He frowned. “Do you have a screwdriver?” He was fiddling with the piece of junk that had sat on the table across from her desk for the past few months as a constant reminder of everything she could have lost that night.

“Sure.” She pulled out a small set she had in her office for emergencies.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I suppose this will have to work.” He held up the small screwdriver.

“What’s wrong with it?” she asked.

“It’s pink.” He set her old computer on her desk.

“The color of an item doesn’t mean it doesn’t work just as well.” She placed her hands on her hips.

He glanced up. “No, I suppose not. But usually these kits for women are made of cheaper metals.” He started to unscrew the busted case. “Which means the tips of the tools grow dull a lot quicker than others.” He worked for a few minutes. “See, it’s already getting dull.”

She moved closer and looked. Sure enough, the edge of her screwdriver was already twisted and disfigured.

“When buying tools, go for the expensive kind. I can show you a good brand, if you have a hardware store in town.”

“We do, they suggested—”

His chuckle stopped her. “Course they did. You probably paid double what they’re worth and look, it didn’t even last through taking a simple computer apart.”

Once again, her hands were on her hips. Her entire body felt tense as she tried to calm herself down.

“It’s one of the first rules I teach people in financial minimizing,” he finished.

“Financial…”

“Minimizing.” He nodded, not looking up as he worked on taking the busted machine apart. “Do you know that most households waste around two hundred dollars every month?” He set the black plastic back of her old machine on the desk and got to work on the guts of the thing. “Most businesses have double that.”

“Waste?” She leaned in closer so she could watch what he was doing.

“Sure, high electric bills, late fees for accounts, financial fees, bills for services they weren’t aware of or don’t need anymore.”

“I switched to LED lights,” she said, then realized how stupid she sounded.

He stopped working and looked up at her. “Smart.” He smiled. “Saves the environment and money.” He went back to work. “But, I’d wager there’s more you can save each month.”

“Where?” she asked, even more curious now.

“Like I said, late fees, dues.” He shrugged. “If it’s there, I’ll find it.”

“How do you know all this?” She motioned to the computer.

“Seriously?” He smiled. “I’m a guy who was around when computers became a household item.” He bent back over the computer. “I used to take these things apart just to see how they worked. If your hard drive is untouched… I could get all your data off from it.”

“Really?” She moved closer. “How?”

For the next few minutes, he went on about taking her hard dive and connecting it into another computer. She watched his hands move and wondered how such big hands could fit into tiny places and work with small objects without snapping them in half.

“You’re in luck,” he said, holding a small silver box. His smile was contagious.

“That’s… it?” she asked.

“Yup.” He glanced around. “I don’t suppose you have a computer store in town?”

She thought about it. “The hardware store might have what you’re looking for.”

“I doubt it, but I’m willing to look.” He started to get up.

“Now?” She glanced around. “Don’t you want…”

“If Ben is right, everything I’ll need is on this.” He waved towards the box.

“We can walk over to Adler’s.” She got up and grabbed her coat from the rack. He was there, behind her, helping her on with her jacket. It had been years since someone had done that for her. The last man who’d helped her like that had been Johnathan.

When they stepped outside, he asked, “Do you always walk everywhere?”

“Yes, normally, except when the weather gets too bad or I have a lot of supplies to cart back and forth.” She shrugged. “Besides, walking everyday keeps me in shape.”

He glanced down at her shoes and frowned. They were small slipper-like shoes, not what he’d expect someone to wear in the rain or snow. “What about those? Don’t you have a pair of boots?”

“Shoes bind your feet, which causes everything from headaches to stomach problems.” She started walking along the sidewalk. It was raining more now, but they’d grabbed umbrellas from her office and were staying dry. “I have boots, but only wear them when it snows. What could you use at the hardware store to get my information…”

“Data,” he interjected.

She nodded. “My data off the hard drive?”

“A cable,” he said, grabbing her arm gently and helping her around a rather large mud puddle. Another move most of the men she’d dated over the years had neglected to do.

“Thanks,” she said softly. “What kind of cable?”

“One that will connect your drive to my laptop. If they don’t have it, I can order one and have it delivered in a day or two.”

They walked into the hardware store together. She followed him as he made his way around the store almost as if he knew where everything was.

He spent some time in the tool section and picked out a new set of tools for her, describing to her why they were the best for the cost.

When they had made it all the way through the store without finding a cable, he sighed. “Looks like I’ll order a cable on Amazon tonight.” He followed her to the front where she paid for the new tool set with her corporate card.

“Does that card accumulate mileage or points?” he asked on their way back to her store.

“Mileage or…”

“Points?” He shook his head when she just looked at him. “Something else we’ll be talking about. What kind of retirement package do you have?”

By the time they got back into her office, her head was spinning from his questions.

“I know everything about running this.” She motioned to her building. “And nothing about anything else you’ve talked about.” She sat down and sunk into her chair.

“Don’t worry, we’ll fix all that. First things first, show me what you do still have.” He moved the extra chair in her office around so he could look over her shoulder as she worked at the computer.

They huddled over her new computer, which Rowan had helped her purchase, for almost an hour before she moved aside so he could update her system.

He told her what he was doing as he went, showing her how to change her passwords to more secure ones. She doubted she could remember them. When she started to write them down, he laughed until she set her pen down.

“Okay, if I can’t write it down, how am I supposed to remember it?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Let’s pick something you can remember.”

“You shot down my passwords.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Remember?”

“That’s because you’d used your granddaughter’s name. Even the most basic hacker would have started there. How about something no one else knows about you. It can’t be names or dates.”

She thought about it, but couldn’t come up with anything.

“How about someplace you’ve always wanted to go? We can mix in numbers and symbols.” He suggested.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Machu Picchu.” She sighed. “But, with everything… life just seemed to get in the way.”

“Machu Picchu, it is.” He typed in her new password and showed it to her on the screen. She thought she could remember it easily enough.

“You should change your password once a month.”

“Once a month!” She looked at him.

“But”—he held up a finger— “I’d say twice a year will work for you. Now, we need to set up your employees.”

“Won’t they just sign in with this information?”

He shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, each employee will need their own log-in and passwords. We’ll limit what they can do and see.” He worked quickly with the list of employees he’d asked her to write out and their job duties.

Kayla was the next employee under her, at least in the office area and finances. Olivia was manager on the floor, while Brittany, Cora, Lea, and Joe were all just employees with simple log-in rights to clock into the time clock program that kept track of their hours.

“Now that we have the system set up, how about we take a look at your accounting program after lunch.” He turned to her. “We passed a place on the way to the hardware store, Roy’s Diner? If it’s any good, what do you say to grabbing a bite?”

“Sure.” She stood up and stretched. She’d been sitting for over an hour and her body felt sore. When she was done, she realized he’d been watching her. The attraction and interest in his eyes was blatant. “You should try it.” She smiled. “Stretching gets the blood flowing throughout the body.”

“My blood is flowing just fine,” he said in a low tone. She held in a smile as he helped her on with her jacket again. She could get used to this.

* * *

Rory had to admit that it was hard not to reach out and touch the woman walking beside him. They’d worked side by side all morning long. He’d seen the looks of interest she’d shot his way.

He could still feel her hands on him from the massage, soothing away his aches while causing a whole new set of them to arise deep inside him.

As they walked, he tried to keep his mind off how sexy she’d smelled every time she’d leaned in to look over his shoulder. Even now, with all the smells flooding the streets of the small town, he could still pick up her scent.

After spending a few hours on her computer, he’d figured out that the woman was a marketing genius, raising his opinion of her even further. He’d dated women with less brainpower than Crystal Holley before, but after his last dating experience, he’d chosen to avoid the ditzy type.

Carol hadn’t been that bad, but after a month of dating, she had sent all her bills to his apartment, claiming that she thought he’d pay them since they were dating and he was a financial kind of person. Her words, not his. He’d only taken her out on two dates and had yet to take her to bed.

When he’d broken things off with her, she’d continued to call and claim that she’d misunderstood, but it was too late.

Before Carol, there had been Jenny. The single mother of teenagers had been worth dealing with her busy schedule for a while. After the sixth canceled date night, he’d thought about moving on, but he only had after she’d informed him that she was getting back together with the kid’s father.

He could go on and on. His dating life hadn’t been anything like the movies, except maybe the horror flicks.

Most of his friends believed he was at fault for his inability to find the right woman, but in truth, the right woman hadn’t come around.

He glanced at Crystal as they walked and she asked him questions about his life. He filled her in briefly on where he’d been raised and about his parents, who were now living in a brick farmhouse that had recently been remodeled in upper Vermont. His father had been a financial investor since the early days and even now, after a few years of retirement, played with day trading.

His mother had been a healthcare worker when his folks had met and married. She’d given up her career to raise him and his sister, Lisa, then returned to work in the private sector after they’d moved out. She’d retired earlier last year and, according to Rory, didn’t know what to do with her time.

His sister, Lisa, lived on the West side of Boston with her husband of almost fifteen years, Kevin, and their three daughters, Jordan, McKenna, and Sydney.

When they were finally seated at the diner, she talked about her family. Her sister and her husband had moved to Florida a few years back, where they played pickleball and golfed almost daily.

Their son, Rowan, lived across the street and was the town doctor who ran the local medical clinic.

“The doctor you suggested I see?” he asked over his menu.

“Yes, Rowan has found a nice balance between the medical worlds.”

“Worlds?” he asked, setting his menu down.

“Sure.” She leaned forward. “There’s the world of the drug companies. If they had their way, there would be a pill for everything and everyone would have a drawer full of bottles.” She tilted her head as she thought. “Then there’s holistic medicine.”

He picked up his menu again. “There are some things that need pills.”

“Of course.” She smiled over at him, ignoring her menu. “But what’s wrong with most people, you know, the everyday stuff, can be healed without expensive pills that in most cases do more harm than what they were taken for in the first place.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Like what?” He set his menu down again.

“Well, for instance, the common side effects for aspirin are rash, upset stomach, cramping, nausea, bleeding… I could go on. While most people suffering from simple headaches could use peppermint and lavender essential oil and be headache-free without any side effects.”

“You’ve tried this yourself?”

“For the past three decades. I’ve also been headache-free for that long.”

He thought of the last time he’d had a headache, then realized that he currently had one and went back to his menu.

“You can give it a try for yourself. I sell peppermint and lavender essential oils. I’ll give you a bottle to try.”

“What do I do with it? Drink it?” he asked. He’d made up his mind about lunch and waved the waitress over.

“No, you can mist it on your person or you can drop some in the mister in your room. I currently have lavender burning in there. Lavender relieves stress and helps with congestion and sleep, not to mention other benefits.” She dropped off as the waitress moved over to take their order.

She ordered her food without once glancing at her menu, which told him that she ate there often.

His eyes met hers once the waitress walked away. “How did you learn all of that stuff about holistic medicine?”

She shrugged. “I read a lot. I also took night classes in Portland when Serenity was young and my parents were still alive.”

“Did you get a degree?” he asked.

“Bachelor’s in holistic medicine and a master’s in mental health. It’s one of the reasons I got into making my own products.”

Suddenly, his measly bachelor’s in finance didn’t seem so impressive. She probably knew more about the human body than most doctors, and all he knew was how to crunch numbers.

His eyes roamed over her. It was a wonder some lucky man hadn’t snatched her up years ago. Not only was she smarter than anyone he’d ever dated before, but a million times better looking.

Where had this woman been all his life?