The man smiled at me, and dimples popped out of his cheeks, giving him a boyish look that shouldn’t have made me blush. I normally liked my men rugged with a sharp jaw—like Rob.
I shook that thought away because Rob wasn’t here, and I doubted I would ever see him again.
This man…dark hair sideswept in a messy way that suggested he’d been here for hours, running his fingers through the waves. And the stubble on his chin reminded me of someone who hadn’t shaved in at least a day. But it was those handsome, green eyes that really struck me hard.
“Uh…” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, hoping I wasn’t turning bright red. “I was just hungry. My sister had a baby earlier, and I got hungry,” I rambled.
“I figured that,” he grinned.
“That my sister had a baby?”
“No, that you were hungry.”
Yeah, that was a stupid question. God, I was such an idiot. “What are you here for?”
He ran a hand along the back of his neck, ducking his head. “Uh…”
“Oh, God, that was so personal.”
“No, it’s fine. I just came to visit my dad. Heart attack.”
“Oh, is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. The doctors are great here.”
I nodded, keeping myself from saying anything else really stupid. Not that I was planning on picking anyone up at the hospital, but this guy was gorgeous. A few dates with him might cure this insane hangup that I seemed to have on Rob.
“Do you want to run out for some food? I hear there’s a great place just down the road. Good sandwiches.”
“Yeah,” I answered a little too quickly. “I mean, I have to get my purse from upstairs first. I could meet you down here.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’ll buy,” he answered, holding out his arm like a gentleman for me.
I hesitated, looking at his arm warily. He was offering to pay, not bring me home or anything like that. But leaving my purse behind felt wrong. Suspicious? Maybe I was being delusional. Maybe he really was just being nice, but walking off without identification with a stranger didn’t sit right with me.
“I really appreciate that, but I’ll grab my purse first,” I said, walking past him to the elevator.
But I didn’t get more than two steps when he grabbed me by the arm and tugged me harshly to his side.
“I said I got it,” he hissed.
“Let go of my arm,” I snapped.
“Why can’t you just let a guy do something nice for you?”
“Honestly? You don’t seem like you’re trying to do something nice at the moment,” I argued.
His grip tightened as he pulled me closer. “You’re coming with me.”
A fire lit in my belly at the command, and not in a sexual way. If only he knew I grew up with three brothers, and I didn’t take shit from anybody. I slackened my arm, tricking him into thinking I was giving up. And just when he smirked at me, I let my fist fly, hitting him right in the nose.
“Fuck!” he cried out.
I drove my knee up into his balls, and as he bent over to cover his junk, I brought my knee up a second time and got him one more time in the nose. He fell backward, blood spewing everywhere as he groaned on the ground.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snapped, slamming the toe of my boot into his stomach. “Is that really how you treat a lad?—”
I was grabbed from behind, both my arms locked at my sides. The room spun as I was whipped around, and when my feet hit the ground a second time, I shoved upward, slamming my head back into the man’s face.