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CHAPTER ONE
Gabi
“Are you sure about this?” Gabi asked as she stepped out of the car and into the hot summer air. “This looks a little sketchy.”
Kylie rolled her eyes and shut her door, “Mason makes amazing furniture, you’ll see. Have I ever steered you wrong?”
Gabi could think of at least seven times in college that could qualify.
“Cabo doesn’t count,” she said quickly, knowing full-well where Gabi’s mind had gone. “Trust me, you’ll love this stuff,” she lowered her voice as they made their way to the door of the industrial warehouse with the name AdamsMade in large red letters on the side. “Besides, you’ll thank me just for the visual. Mason is gorgeous.”
Gabi rolled her eyes. She didn’t need a gorgeous man. She just needed to make this interior design business take off. And if Kylie said he made beautiful furniture, then she would take a look. Her best friend might not have the best taste in alcohol or one-night-stands but she did have flawless design sense.
“You’re not trying to set me up again are you?”
“With Mason?” She made a face, “Even I know that’s impossible, that man is a hard-core bachelor.”
“You couldn’t get him?” It was hard to believe. Men threw themselves at her blonde friend’s tiny feet wherever they went.
“Well I tried. Hard.” she answered easily, pulling the door to the shop open, “You’ll understand when you see him.”
Gabi sighed in pleasure when the cool air-conditioning hit her and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the hot white sunlight. The small gallery was artistically lit, with directional lighting falling on each piece of furniture in a way that highlighted each attribute.
The pieces were stunning. Wood grains that made her eyes pop, shapes that surprised her, and details that were so unexpected she felt giddy walking around the store.
“Oh Kylie,” she breathed, looking at a particularly gorgeous zebrawood coffee table that was so finely polished it looked like a tiger’s eye stone.
Her friend smiled triumphantly, “What did I tell you?”
“It’s just perfect,” she said, running her fingers along the simple curves, it made her feel something deeply. “Can I have it?”
“Of course,” a deep, chocolaty voice startled her from across the room, “Shall I ring it up for you?”
Fingers still on the table, she looked up to find the most gorgeous man she had ever lain eyes on leaning against the doorframe that separated the gallery from the workshop.
Holy. Shit.
He grinned at her, his green eyes were a piercing contrast to his dark hair. His massive arms strained the sleeves of his threadbare Cubs shirt, and his well-worn jeans fitted perfectly around his toned waist. Kylie had not exaggerated. This man was...