Excerpt: 'He's So Fine' by Jill Shalvis

She's so fine, so we at HEA are thrilled to share an excerpt from Jill Shalvis' new release (out today!), He's So Fine (Lucky Harbor book 11).

First, here's the blurb about it:

For Olivia Bentley, Lucky Harbor is more than the town where she runs her new vintage shop. It's the place where folks are friendly to strangers-and nobody knows her real name. Olivia does a good job of keeping her past buried, not getting too cozy with anyone ... until she sees a man drowning. Suddenly she's rushing into the surf, getting up close and personal with the hottest guy she's ever laid hands on.

Charter boat captain Cole Donovan has no problem with a gorgeous woman throwing her arms around his neck in an effort to "save" him. In fact, he'd like to spend a lot more time skin-to-skin with Olivia. He's just not expecting that real trouble is about to come her way. Will it bring her deeper into Cole's heart, or will it be the end of Olivia's days in little Lucky Harbor?

The excerpt from He's So Fine …

Cole flashed that smile of his, the one that made Olivia's stomach feel like a butterfly sanctuary.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, rising to her feet.

"Just out for a walk."

The same exact words she'd given him four days ago for the reason she'd been out on the dock.

A lie, of course. She'd been watching him work on the big, impressive boat that seemed as tough as he was, fascinated by the give and play of his muscles, the fluid, easy way he moved as if he was so sure in his own skin.

"You want to model that?" he asked.

She looked down at the Cinderella gown in her hands and snorted. "No."

"Too bad."

She gazed at him speculatively. He was toying with her. But two could play at that game, she thought. "You have a princess fetish?"

"No fetish, but I'm never opposed to role playing."

Her entire body hummed. Note to self: not quite ready for prime time with Cole Donovan.

Laughing softly at whatever he saw on her face, Cole came all the way into the shop, letting the door close behind him.

"I'm closed," she said.

He helpfully flicked the lock, which predictably resisted his efforts. He turned to eyeball it and then manhandled it in the way she had to do every single day.

"I could fix that," he said.

"That's okay," she said, looking at the sling. No way would she risk hurting him again. "I don't want you to spend your time. And besides, I have a handyman guy." She totally didn't have anything of the sort.

"It'd take me less than two minutes," he said. "And no charge."

"Cole—"

"You have any tools?"

She chewed on her lower lip.

He smiled. "You have all this stuff, and you don't have any tools?"

"I collect only pretty stuff," she said, and gave him a reluctant smile. "And I've never found a pretty tool or I'd undoubtedly have some here for sale."

"It's okay," he said, unperturbed. "I'm packing."

This didn't surprise her. He was known as the local MacGyver, able to fix things in a single bound… "Not necessary," she said, annoyingly breathless for absolutely no reason. It absolutely wasn't just the sight of him in one of his pairs of sexy cargo pants and a long sleeve t-shirt that fit his rugged physique so well. She stood and dusted herself off. "Like I said, I was just closing, so…"

He flipped the "Open" sign to "Closed."

"Yes," she said, "But you're on the wrong side of the door."

He just smiled. "You're good with kids, you know."

For some reason, that caught her completely off guard. Maybe it was because no one had ever said such a thing to her before, ever.

"Personal experience?" he asked.

"Are you feeling out if I have kids?"

"Or a husband," he said, unabashedly. "Kids, I wouldn't mind at all. A husband … that's probably an obstacle I can't get around."

She laughed. "I have neither, not that it matters." She pointed to the sling. "Have you been to a doctor?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's just an old shoulder injury that I retweaked, that's all."

"Hauling me out of the water the other day."

"Hauling myself out of the water," he corrected.

She didn't buy that, not for a second, but looking into his stubborn expression complete with squared jaw and that little bit of scruff she was determined not to find attractive in the slightest, she knew she'd get nowhere arguing the point. "Why are you here?"

"I don't tend to question the universe,' he said blandly.

She had to laugh. "You know what I mean. Why are you here in my shop."

"Maybe I'm here to buy something."

"You need a Halloween costume?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"I just got some new ones in," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Miley Cyrus."

Not scared off, he grinned. "I could rock either."

That tore yet another laugh out of her, and his gaze slid to her mouth. "That's a really good look on you," he murmured. "More of that."

"You're pretty demanding for such a laid-back guy," she said. "Anyone ever tell you that?"

"I've had no complaints."

Of course not. Looking as he did, with that long, leanly muscled bod— Not going there…

Not even a little.

Too late, the devil on her shoulder cried gleefully, the slut. "I've really got to clean up," Olivia said.

"Need help?"

"No thank you." She paused to wonder why it was that his voice, with its deep, low timber, never failed to give her a shiver. The really good kind of shiver. "I've got it. I'm going out the back to lock up my car. Feel free to let yourself out."

For some reason, this made him smile as he rocked back on his heels.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, looking even more amused.

"You're a strange man," she said, and headed into the back. "You know the way out. Use it."

Assuming he'd do just that, she strode through her storage room to the back corner, which also served as her office. She opened the armoire to pull out her coat.

The footsteps behind her shouldn't have been a surprise. Her back to Cole, she went utterly still for a beat because he smelled … delicious, like he'd recently showered. She inhaled deep, then pretended she wasn't trying to catch a bigger whiff of him as she turned, buttoning up her coat. "Thought you left," she said.

"You thought wrong."

"Why are you here again?"

He pulled something from his pocket. Black lace.

Her panties.

"Oh my God," she said.

"Thought you might want them back."

She gaped at him. "What if they'd fallen out of your pocket? What if you'd gotten in a wreck and been taken to the hospital with women's underwear on you? What if—"

Laughing, he put a finger over her lips. "You always worry about the worst-case scenario?"

Yes. Always.

She pushed his hand away from her mouth, snatched the panties, and then turned from him. She needed a moment without his sharp gaze to recover from the oddly electric touch of his finger on her mouth.

And what it had done to her.

"I was hoping to take you out to dinner as a thank you for saving my life."

There was a pause, and their gazes locked. And then her pulse jumped the starting gate. "A thank you dinner isn't necessary," she said. "You know exactly how the other morning went, which was you saving me."

He closed the distance between them.

Refusing to back up, she lifted her chin and met his gaze evenly.

"You put your life on the line for me, Super Girl," he said quietly, no trace of his usual good humor in his low, husky voice. "I'm going to fix your lock. And then I'm going to buy you dinner."

Her heart skipped a beat. Dinner had implications. Dinner would be admitting there was an attraction, something she wasn't ready for, because once she went there, the countdown was on.

The countdown to him walking away.

Why let it get there at all? "No," she said.

"Why not?"

"I don't think you're supposed to ask why after you've been turned down for a date," she said. "It's in the Man Handbook under the instructions on How To Deal With Women."

He flashed a grin. "I never read instructions."

"And I suppose you don't ask for directions either," she said.

"Don't need 'em. I always know where I'm going."

Oh boy. She just bet he did. But she couldn't do this, no matter how tempting his mischievous, sexy smile was. She had no track record, at least no good track record. She never managed to keep anyone in her life, and yes, she knew that was all on her. She'd never quite been lovable enough.

Some things couldn't be changed.

"Okay," she said, "this has been fun, but I've got to get home now so—"

He turned and headed out to the front room. To leave, she thought. Perfect.

So why she felt like grabbing him was beyond her.

She followed to lock up behind him, but though he went to the door, he didn't leave. He pulled something from one of his cargo pockets and went to work on the lock. And then two minutes later, he slid another tool back into his pocket and locked the door.

With ease.

"Who carries a screwdriver and a … lock-fix-it-thingie in their pocket?" she asked.

"Me," he said.

"What else do you have in there?"

He smiled. "Come to dinner and I'll show you."

Find out more about Jill and her books at jillshalvis.com.