The June morning air was so muggy, she felt like she was swimming through the humidity as she crossed the lawn to the wooden shed on the edge of the yard. Her hair stuck to her face in damp strands by the time she reached the door, but when she got inside, her hands turned to ice.

She wasn’t alone.

Hunter stared at her from a few feet away, the fishing rod frozen in his hands. He remained statue still when the spring-mounted door slammed shut behind her and made her jump.

Shit!

For a few seconds, neither of them moved.

Oh get over it. The sooner you get those boxes, the sooner you can get away from him and back in the air-conditioned house.

Of course, it didn’t help that he was nice to look at. His T-shirt clung to his arms and chest, outlining the perfectly sculpted muscles underneath. As her gaze traveled up, she took note of the firm chin, strong jaw, and lips that would be perfect to nibble on in between kisses. But when she reached those unflinching green eyes, she remembered who he was and turned away.

“Lisa sent me to find a couple of boxes.”

He jerked his thumb behind him in reply and went back to fiddling with the fishing rod.

How rude! He could’ve at least told me where they were. Or even offered to help.

A massive riding lawn mower blocked the opposite path to the back of the shed, so she was forced to squeeze past him. She was so focused on trying not to touch him that she tripped over the mower’s wide tires and stumbled into him.

A pair of strong arms caught her and kept her from landing face first on the cement floor. A flush burned along her skin, but it wasn’t entirely from embarrassment. A new sense of awareness rushed through her that was both terrifying and exhilarating. Her mind screamed for her to get far away from him, but she found herself wanting to linger in the unexpected safety of his arms.

“You okay?” he asked.

The heat gathered in her cheeks, and she pushed him away. “Fine.”

But her rattled breaths and pounding heart indicated that she was anything but fine. And when she finally got the nerve to look up at him, the worried expression on his face only added to her confusion.

“You sure?”

“Yep.” She forced a smile on her face and took a hesitant step back to make sure her knees wouldn’t give out on her. “Perfectly fine.”

His brows drew together like she was some sort of puzzle he was trying to figure out, but at last he turned back to the fishing gear without another word.

Just find the boxes and get out of here.

She retreated to the wall of boxes along the back of the shed and searched for the ones Lisa wanted among the dozens labeled “Christmas Decorations.” But as her pulse slowed down, something about the encounter still unnerved her. If Hunter had truly hated her, he would’ve let her fall and maybe had a good laugh at her expense.

Maybe it was just a reflex motion.

She cast a sideways glance at him and found him watching her in the same indirect manner, and the same odd sense of awareness flustered her. Maybe there was more to him than what she’d first assumed.

She knew better than to press the issue, though. The last time she’d called him out for his aloof behavior toward her, she ended up in the middle of a swimming pool.

Chelsea returned to the boxes and finally found the ones she was looking for. It took some careful shimmying to remove them without causing an avalanche, but once she had them, she was ready to get far away from Hunter and the uncomfortable tension that always seemed to follow whenever she was near him.

She grabbed the door handle to turn it, only to have the tarnished metal knob fall into her hand. The boxes dropped to ground with a thud. Panic tightened her throat.

She was trapped with him.