Chris Hart owns the only grocery shop in Nortown, but he isn't exactly overrun by customers. Some days he wonders why he bothers to open the doors at all. Spending his days smiling at the few people trickling in and his nights alone in bed isn't the most interesting life a man could lead. But when Chris suddenly gets the excitement he's been craving, it may be more than he bargained for.<br><br>Gabriel Miller loves his life. He's close to his sister, has a job he adores and is the proud owner of one and a half cats. But all of it is taken away when he witnesses a murder. To keep him safe, the police place him in Nortown, of all possible locations.<br><br>Chris can't believe they're letting someone live in his gran's old cabin in the middle of the winter. It's too cold. When the poor man shows up in his shop looking to buy clothes, Chris's heart melts, despite the freezing temperature. Gabriel notices the way the shopkeeper looks at him, but it can't be right. No one looks at a heavyset man with heat in their eyes. Do they?

Pet Delivery

“I’m sorry.” He needed to get that out there. If Chris had come here to yell at him or say goodbye—or whatever the reason he’d come this time of night—he wanted him to know he was sorry.


“It’s not about being sorry.” Chris glared only to cringe a little when Caramel jumped up on the sofa. “Don’t you get that people can find you now?”


“You don’t think whoever wants you dead is keeping an eye on your girlfriend? Because they do want you dead, don’t they?” Chris’s hands clenched into fists and a light flush crept up his face. Heat rushed to Gabriel’s gut. He’d never wanted to kiss Chris more than he did right then. Not just kiss, he wanted to tear off his clothes, wanted to kiss and lick and taste. He needed to feel those rigid muscles under his hands, wanted Chris cursing and growling.


“Emma—she’s my sister, by the way—didn’t mean to put you in danger.”


Chapter 21