Read Mina's Heart for Free Online Page B

attention. She drew her finger over one soft petal and smiled.
    “Beautiful, aren’t they?”
    The strong male voice startled her at first. She hadn’t been aware of anyone nearby. She glanced up to find a massive chest occupying all the available space next to her. His short-sleeved cotton shirt was blue, and it clung to his muscular torso and emphasized his impressive arms. Following a path up his shirt, she found herself drowning in a set of foamy green eyes.
    The corners of his lips were lifted in a smile that dripped sensuality. Immediately she imagined what they’d feel like against her own, and then she recognized him. The high school she’d attended hadn’t been very large. Though Everett Burke had been three years ahead of her, they had been in a couple of classes together. And she had been friendly with his younger sister. She couldn’t say they’d been friends because her father hadn’t allowed her to have friends. School and family came first. His parents had raised him that way, and now it was her turn. Mina vowed that when she had kids, they would be allowed to have friends, attend parties and sleepovers, play sports. Anything they wanted.
    She hadn’t known Everett well. Their conversations had been few and far between, and they’d always been academic. While he’d frequently acknowledged her with a smile and a nod outside the classroom, they’d only ever spoken when a teacher had put them together for group work. Even then, she’d refrained from saying much. She’d found him both attractive and intimidating. He was far larger than her father, which meant he could cause far more damage, and he had been a senior when she was a freshman.
    His size hadn’t changed with time, though he had filled out a little more.
    She lowered her gaze. “Yes. I was thinking they would look nice on the back patio, but I’m afraid of getting dirt all over my car.”
    “I have some newspaper in my truck. I meant to get to the recycle center yesterday, but I didn’t get out of work in time.” He flashed that sinful smile. “I guess the universe had a reason.”
    He lifted two hanging baskets, both full of the red-and-white flowers she had admired.
    “Wait.” She put her hand on his arm, the first time she’d voluntarily touched a man, much less one she found attractive. His warm skin heated her palm, and his muscles felt firm under her hand. What would it feel like to have his skin brush against hers? She froze, staring at the place where she touched him, and hoped he wouldn’t get angry.
    “You don’t like these? Tell me which ones you like best.”
    This would be her first frivolous purchase. She didn’t want to go overboard. “I was just going to get one.”
    Everett considered each basket, and then he shook his head. “You need at least two, possibly three or four, in order for them to look good. One isn’t enough.”
    Mina shook her head. “I didn’t bring that much money.”
    He just grinned. “That’s okay. They’re on me.” Lifting his gaze and his volume, he shouted over her head. “Wild, add two of these.”
    Mina knew Wilder Burke as well. These handsome twins greatly resembled each other, but they weren’t identical. Though they were the same height and they shared a build, Everett was just a little broader in the shoulders, and he had green eyes to Wilder’s blue ones. Plus he was better looking.
    Too late, she realized he meant to pay for them. “I can’t let you do that.”
    “You don’t have a choice. Where is your car? I’ll load them up for you.”
    His high-handed manner gave her pause. He’d always been confident and commanding. Every girl in school had a crush on him or Wilder or their best friend Micah. Micah’s younger brother, Jude, was good-looking as well, but he was younger, and that automatically counted him out until the older boys had graduated. Then every girl spent the next two years trying to make Jude O’Connor notice them. She didn’t know which