His Challenging Lover Read Free Page A

They made some sort of sauce that added a zing and a zip, making the whole experience much more enjoyable. No one knew what that sauce was, but several people had tried. Occasionally there were recipes in the office kitchen where someone thought they might have figured out the recipe. No one had discovered the formula exactly though so the mystery remained.
    Normally, she would have called in her order and had it waiting at the checkout line, a great service the deli provided. But it had been too busy today in the office. And because she’d had trouble falling asleep last night, worrying about Mia and Xander and wondering what he might be doing, she’d woken up too late to grab something for breakfast. So here she was, waiting impatiently for her chance to order a sandwich.
    She glanced across the street, considering just grabbing a yogurt at the small convenience store. It would certainly be faster, but at that moment, the line moved forward and she stuck with her desire for a filling, spicy sandwich.
    “Hey!” a voice called out from somewhere to the left of her. She glanced in that direction, but she was too hungry to give it much thought.
    Suddenly, the crowd parted and she saw what was happening. And couldn’t believe her eyes!
    “Get the hell out of the way, lady!” a brutish, bullish man was saying to an elderly woman wearing sensible shoes and a warm cardigan even on the warmish October day. Her grey hair looked frazzled and her eyes nervous as she watched the man with the fuzzy mustache warily.
    Another man, this one thinner and taller, shook his head. “She was in line first,” the stranger said in a placating tone, but even he didn’t want to confront the portly blowhard.
    “Oh yea?” the man taunted, his eyes narrowing and his hands balling into fists. “Well, prove it!” he snapped and started forward. His intent was clear and everyone around scattered, pushing backwards to avoid getting caught in the fight.
    The horrible man swung out, his hand missing the thin gentleman but side striking the elderly lady who went down with the initial bump. Her cry of fright was heard by one and all but no one stepped forward to intervene.
    A small part of Autumn’s mind was still functioning properly and told her to stay out of it. But the other part of her brain, the part that wasn’t functioning rationally and was outraged that someone would hit an elderly person, was in control and she was livid that this man had hurt someone who was just standing, waiting for lunch. Instead of pushing back into the crowd, she stepped forward, her instincts made her grab onto the fat man’s arm. Unfortunately, she realized too late that the arm wasn’t just lard, but packed with muscles. But by the time she realized that, he was already turning around to confront his newest threat.
    Autumn dropped the man’s arm and stood with her feet braced apart, her hands at the ready, trying to anticipate what the burly man might do next. “Call the police,” she ordered to the crowd. Not to anyone in particular, and she knew that the police wouldn’t be able to get here in time to save her but she threw that out as a threat anyway, hoping the man would stop and think. It might even give her a tiny reprieve, enough to slow him down.
    No such luck. The call for the police only enraged the man further. That rational part of her mind, the part that wasn’t blanking out with the anger over what this man had done, noticed all the other men and women standing back, their mouths open and their eyes wide with amazement of all that was unfolding. It flashed through her mind that, if everyone put their efforts together, they could stop this man simply by grabbing his arms and pinning him to the ground.
    But obviously no one was thinking clearly. Not even her. And the man rushed her, his fist swinging out and clipping her under her jaw while his other hand swung out and aimed for her ribs. She gasped at the pain, twisted slightly and used