Sweet Harmony (23 page)

Mattie stood on her tiptoes and fumbled around in the cabinet for a coffee filter. Her brothers had been blessed with the tall genes, while she stood barely over five feet two. She was also left-handed and the only blonde in the bunch, but she had the same hazel eyes as her father. Her mother claimed that Mattie’s eyes were like mood rings, changing color depending upon her disposition.

Mattie measured the coffee grounds as she tried to listen to Garret’s conversation. Eavesdropping was one of her favorite ways to pass the time while serving breakfast. From the old-timers’ breakfast club’s corny jokes to the really tall fish tales to the gossip from the ladies who came in to browse through the selection of romance novels, Mattie was thoroughly entertained every single morning. While Mattie wasn’t one to repeat gossip, she sure did get a kick out of listening to it.

After the coffee started hissing and dripping into the carafe, Mattie decided she needed to refill the saltshakers that were running low. Although she had recently added healthy options such as egg-white omelets and oatmeal to the menu, those selections had remained mostly untouched. She rose on tiptoe once again, but this time her fingers refused to coax the salt container to slide her way.

“Hey, love, do you need some help?” Garret asked in that sweet-ass accent of his.

Love?
Wait. Had he just called her
love
? Before Mattie could process the whole love thing, he was standing
behind her reaching up for the elusive canister of salt. She could feel the heat from his body standing so close to hers, and
wow
, did he smell heavenly . . . something spicy and, well,
delicious
. She had the urge to lean back against him, and when he stepped to the side to hand her the salt, she wanted to grab him by the shirt and bury her nose into his chest just to soak up the smell.

Instead, Mattie had a saucy
I didn’t need your help
on the rip of her tongue, but then her fingers brushed against his and she felt a zing all the way to her doggone toes. Still, she lifted her chin, searching her befuddled brain for a retort of some sort, but he tilted his head and said, “You have the most amazing eyes. What color are they?”

“C-Color?”

“Yes. I thought brown at first, but now they look green with a hint of blue. Quite lovely, actually.”

Mattie was used to hearing teasing instead of compliments, and she stood there feeling rather perplexed. She licked her bottom lip, something she did when confused, and damn if his gaze didn’t seem to drop to her mouth. Mattie swallowed, and although warning bells chimed in her head about bad boy Garret Ruleman, she tipped her head back and leaned closer . . . suddenly prepared to risk it for the biscuit.

But just as her eyes started to flutter shut in anticipation of their mouths meeting, Mattie spotted none other than Colby Campbell walk through the front door. Startled, she took a quick step away from Garret and then frowned at him as if he’d done something wrong rather than offer his help. What in the hell had just gotten into her, anyway? Kissing a total stranger wasn’t like her at all! She shot Garret a frown so he’d get the message.

“Everything okay, Mattie?” Colby asked in that big-brother tone that never failed to set her teeth on edge.

“Yeah, um, Garret was just helping me reach a canister of salt. Weren’t you, Garret?” she asked but kept her focus on Colby. When Garret remained silent, she gave
him a little nudge with her elbow and then looked up at him.

“Well, actually . . .”

The mischief in Garret’s blue eyes made Mattie’s heart start to hammer. She looked at him and held her
breath.