Struck by Love

“Dammit!” Laura said as she spilled her coffee on her light floral blouse. She hadn’t seen the crack in the sidewalk as she was juggling her bag and coffee cup, trying to keep up with the foot traffic. “Just great. I hate Mondays,” she mumbled to herself as people hurried past her on their way to work on this bright, sunny day. She silently scolded herself for trying to cram a last-minute errand in before work. She carried on as she reached into her bag to pull out a napkin. She tried to wipe the coffee off, but only succeeded in rubbing it in further.

Not looking up from tending to the stain, she bumped into a man, hard.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed, but then realized she had spilled more coffee, this time on him. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.” Automatically she reached out with her napkin, already half-stained with coffee to wipe the coffee off of his suit sleeve.

The man intercepted her hand.

She looked up, expecting to see a disapproving frown and to be chastised for not watching where she was going by a busy, impatient New Yorker. Instead she saw a warm smile. He took his reflective aviator sunglasses off to reveal piercing blue eyes, which were framed by thick lashes. His dark, wavy hair had what looked like an undone, messy look, but purposely-styled. She inhaled sharply. He was drop-dead gorgeous. Her mind went blank.

“I tried to dodge you,” he said, “but you were kind of careening down the sidewalk.” His deep, rich voice was kind, and he had a trace of humor in his expression .

Laura was momentarily stunned as she took in the face of the man who held her hand. He had to be over six feet tall with broad shoulders and an exotic-looking complexion. He had high cheekbones and wide-set eyes. His teeth were white and straight and he had luscious full lips. He was sexy as hell.

“Are you okay?” he asked, still holding her hand gently.

She realized she was just standing there staring at him wide-eyed. She turned several shades of red. “Yes, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…I-I should get going.” She was even more embarrassed now that she was so flustered. He was going to think she was an idiot. She had to go before she embarrassed herself even further. She pull her hand away and dropped the coffee cup on the sidewalk. The lid popped off and the coffee spilt all over his shoes and hers.

“Okay,” he said, laughing and taking a step back. “I’m getting a coffee bath this morning.”

“Oh no, I am so sorry…again.” She thought she would die on the spot.

She fumbled through her bag to find more napkins. She always carried a pile of them for spills. Kind of like moms do, but she didn’t have kids. She hoped one day she would, but her prospects hadn’t looked too promising.

He laughed again. “Really,” he said, his voice deep and gentle, “it’s fine. I can clean up at my office. That’s better than here on the street.”

Passersby dressed in expensive suits glanced at them, snickering at the sight of the coffee fiasco.

Laura was dying of embarrassment. She already felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb working in Manhattan. But she had been determined to find a career there. It was her dream. But here she was causing a scene. Maybe she’d never fit in, she thought. “Okay, again, I am so…”

He cut her off, “No more apologies. It was a simple accident.” He grinned at her, the amusement sparkling in his intensely blue eyes. “Listen, my office is right in there,” he said as he pointed to the gleaming skyscraper they stood in front of.

“Angelo, morning!” a young man called out as he waved. The man glanced at Laura, then down at their shoes. She saw him try to hide the grin on his face as he turned his head and walked into the shiny building.

Angelo? she thought. Man, even his name is sexy. Her heart was beating fast in her chest.

“Morning, Bernard,” he said. “See you upstairs.”

Laura bent down to pick up her coffee cup and lid from the sidewalk. At least getting rid of the evidence would make this less of a spectacle. She tucked her shoulder-length straight auburn hair behind her ears.

Angelo quickly bent down to help her, taking note of the hint of ample cleavage that showed through the V-neck of her floral blouse as she leaned over and her shapely legs and hips as her skirt sneaked up a little higher. He looked back at her chest. “You, um, have a spot there,” he said, pointing at her blouse.

She looked down. The big, brown stain was plainly evident on her blouse, right where her nipple would be. Dear God, she thought, can this get anymore embarrassing?

“Yes,” she said, “I got myself before I got you.” She went to try and brush the stain off some more, when it dawned on her that she was rubbing her breast in front of a total stranger. Then she also realized how revealing her blouse was at this angle. She stopped suddenly, feeling terribly self-conscious.

“I’d offer to help you with that, but I think maybe it’s something you should do,” he said, grinning at her.