Chapter 7
Hazel's POV
He leaned into me slightly, his face inches from mine. He took a slow breath, as if inhaling the scent of the flour-dusted air mixed with mine. His scent wafted toward me – spicy and seductive, like leather and night air mingled with something darker and more alluring. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as his proximity hit me like a wave.
Then, just as suddenly, he pulled away. His piercing green eyes lingered on mine for a heartbeat before he turned. Without a word, he mounted his black horse and rode away, leaving a trail of dust in the fading sunlight.
I stood there numb, struck by the suddenness of it all. Laura touched my arm gently. "Hazel... that was Lexi."
I barely heard her. My mind was stuck on the way he'd leaned in, the scent he'd left in the air, and those piercing green eyes smiling at me. I'd insulted him, but he'd left with a strange intimacy hanging in the air like a whisper.
I stood there numb for a moment longer, Laura's words finally sinking in. "Hazel... that was Lexi." I looked at her, still processing the encounter. Lexi, the one she'd been so excited about. He'd acted... differently. Like he'd been.....
Laura was watching me curiously now. "You okay? You look kinda... weird."
I shook myself slightly, trying to clear my head. "Yeah. I'm fine." I bent to pick up the scattered groceries, trying to get back to normal.
But my mind kept drifting back to Lexi's piercing green eyes, his lean in close, the spicy seductive scent of him. It was like he'd left a mark on the air around me.
Laura helped me gather the rest of the groceries in silence. As we walked back toward the farmhouse, she glanced at me a few times but didn't say much.