“I can’t believe you.”
“What?” She points the pen at me. “You didn’t complain about the sorbet when I brought it home last week.”
I open my mouth and then close it as Navy comes bounding down the hall, her little purse secured across her body and her princess sunglasses on her face.
My chest squeezes at the sight, and I can’t help but scoop her up into my arms and press a kiss to the top of her head. This little girl is absolutely everything right in my world.
“Ready?” I croak out.
Navy nods and Bristol waves as I carry my favorite girl out the door and into the sunshine.
10
CORA
“Isn’t that…” Aspen whispers as she looks out at the line and back at me.
Sighing, I nod as we move around each other inside the truck, filling orders, taking money, and otherwise selling out of almost everything watermelon on the menu. I’d gloat about that later over a glass of wine in my kitchen.
Right now, I have to ignore the way my body seems to come alive with Talon in such close proximity. It is so much easier to hate him sans pig or, in this case, when he isn’t holding the adorable curly-haired little girl I’ve seen with Talon’s sister since I moved back.
They whisper and giggle, and it is impossible not to be affected by the stupidly good-looking man I am trying so hard to hate.
“You don’t have to hate him, you know,” Aspen murmurs as she moves past me to hand a to-go bag to a tourist. The man drops a few dollars in the tip jar and waves as he takes off down the path.
“Ihate him thereforewehate him,” I growl, but it holds a lot less oomph than I’d like it to.
“I will not be hating him when he’s holding that little girl. Do you see her? I mean, I don’t know if I even want kids, but she’s impossible not to love on sight.”
I nod but don’t say anything because I hate the way my heart pounds faster, the closer they get to the window.
“Would it be obvious if I took a coffee break?”
“Don’t even think about it.” Aspen glares at me, and I steel myself for the inevitable as Talon and Navy step up.
“Hi!” Navy shouts as she thrusts a pink peony toward me, the bottom wrapped in tinfoil like they’d cut it from their yard to bring.
“Can I help you?” Aspen says, and I realize belatedly that she’s talking to whoever is behind my nemesis and his niece.
“Is this for me?” I ask, taking the flower from her little outstretched hand and trying to ignore the way warmth floods through my chest.
“Yes! We wanna be friends!” She beams as she wiggles in Talon’s arms.
“I would love to be your friend,” I say, keeping my focus on Navy.
“And Uncle’s too?” she asks hopefully, and I try my best not to glare at the bastard as his lips twitch. His dreamy blue eyes widen the slightest bit, as if to remind me of the unanswered question.
If he thinks this is going to get him back into my good graces, it’s not.
Seriously.
Aspen snickers, mumbling,you definitely want to be his friendas she grabs the fresh salsa from the cooler.
“Can I think about it?” I ask Navy, who stares at me seriously then nods as Talon’s lips press into a thin line and Aspen cackles beside me. “Do you know what you’d like?”
Navy rattles off her horribly mispronounced quesadilla order, and I can’t help the way my eyes linger on Talon, his lips curving up at the corners as he watches her.
“Can I get a cookie?” she asks, pressing her forehead to his, and I have to wonder if he ever says no to her. I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to. Talon’s sister had been a few years ahead of me in school, and even though I’d been gone a while, I hadn’t missed the news of her husband’s tragic passing.
