Read Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) for Free Online Page B

thirty-seven.”
    He handed her his card. “Add five dollars on there for you, please.”
    “Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
    “Yes I do, Lucy,” he said. “You were very helpful today.”
    Lucy gasped. It was a lot louder in her head, she was sure, but it was a gasp, nonetheless. “How do you know my name?”
    He squinted and then his eyes traveled down to her chest. “You’re wearing a nametag.”  
    “Oh,” she said, mortified. She absentmindedly brought her hand up to her chest to feel her nametag. “I forgot it was there.”
    “Right. So, anyway, thanks.” He grabbed his bag of muffins and coffee, and walked backward. “Maybe I’ll see you at the park or something.” He slipped on his aviator sunglasses and walked out the door.  
    “Holy shit.” Grace moved closer to Lucy and joined her in watching him through the window. “Did you see he still has a wedding ring on? That’s heartbreaking.”
    Lucy nodded slowly and tried to pinpoint all of the emotions she felt raging through her. It was one thing to watch him and his son from a park bench, but it was a completely different thing to have him actually speak to her.  
    “Lucy, your face looks like it’s on fire,” Grace warned in her famous don’t-be-stupid tone.  
    “I’m just shocked,” Lucy practically whispered.
    “He’s definitely off-limits. Please say you know that.” When she didn’t get a response, Grace heaved a sigh. “What’s his name again?”  
    “Charlie Mathews,” Lucy said. “He has no idea who we are.”
    “They usually never do when our relationship with them ends in tragedy. It’s like they block us out.”  
    “I can’t say that I blame him,” Lucy said, wishing she could’ve blocked him out, too.  

Chapter Three

    Charlie closed the door to his truck and shook his head. “Sweeten it up?” he asked himself. “Did I really just say that?”  
    He shook his head and took a drink of his cold coffee, which was surprisingly good. He touched her face. Why had he done that? It was automatic; there had been no thought in that action whatsoever. It was definitely invasive—intimate, but completely invasive.
    Yes, he had noticed her at the park from the minute Jackson’s ball had rolled her way. She had been crying … over a book. He thought it was extraordinary that such an emotion could be pulled out from just a book. He had been drawn to it, but that was exactly why he walked away. It was too complicated and messy. And each time he had seen her again, he had wanted to avoid her. The park simply wasn’t big enough anymore.  
    But, now, here she was again.    
    He wondered how long he had allowed his eyes to linger at her open shirt, which had revealed only a little, but still enough to affect him, before finally looking at her damn nametag. How inappropriate was he just now? He had looked at many chests in the past. As a matter of fact, breasts were, without a doubt, his favorite female attribute. But this was the first time in more than a year that he’d found himself interested in breasts that didn’t belong to his wife—or his late wife; he wasn’t sure what to call her just yet.
    He fiddled with his wedding ring, spinning it around and around as he lost himself in thought. She was adorable; there was no getting away from that. And, to top it off, he’d seemed to have an effect on her; her cheeks hadn’t stopped flushing from the moment their eyes met. He must have looked like a complete pig, wearing this ring and touching her face. He cringed at the thought.  
    Nope. He would definitely not be going back there.  
    He started his truck and pulled away from the curb, only glancing in the direction of the café.  
    A few minutes later, he pulled onto the jobsite, a new shopping center, and laughed at some of the guys on his crew who raised their arms and looked at their imaginary watches.  
    “Funny,” he said as he got out to greet them. He