“Is that the turkey you tripped over?”he asks.I think if I said it was, he’d go back and kick his ass.
“I don’t know.Could be, but there are a few turkeys around here, and they all look the same.”
An indignant “gobble-gobble” reaches us like I’ve deeply insulted him.
“Time to get back to work,” I say.“Have you heard from the movers?”
He nods as he looks at his watch.“Yeah, they’ll be there at eleven.Finn is coming over, probably with your sister.I’m leaving your car here.”He fishes in the pocket of his jeans that fit his long legs and glorious hockey ass so well.
I hold out my hand for the key, but he pulls me toward him gently.
“Enjoy the rest of your shift.See you when you get home.”There’s a low, sexy rumble to his voice that makes my lady bits tingle.
Home.To him.This is what I’ve dreamed of, and it’s finally happening.Now it’s my eyes filling with tears that I hurriedly blink away.I go on my tiptoes to press a way-too-brief kiss to his lips before stepping back.People are walking around and noticing us.Shit.
We walk together to the bakery.It’s busier than when I left, and people are pointing at us and raising their cameras.Ollie’s steps slow as he realizes how much attention we’re garnering.There’s panic in his eyes.I don’t want to kiss him to please a crowd, so I hug him and go on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “Consider yourself kissed.”
He’s chuckling as I lower back down, and he presses a kiss to the top of my head.The panic is gone and replaced with a mischievous gleam when he leans down and whispers, “I don’t know everything, but I know that’s not how it works.I expect to collect later.”
My cheeks are pink when I say goodbye and slip back into the bakery to resume my shift—and it’s not from the cold.This is a debt I can’t wait to pay.
27
OLLIE
I spendthe rest of the afternoon hanging out with Finn and Shelby.They’re finally back
in town, and they helped me with the movers and assembling my furniture.By the time Phoebe gets home, I’m exhausted and starfishing on my freshly made bed.
“How was the rest of your shift?”I call out.
“It was fine,” she says with a shrug as she walks into the room.“A lot of people recognized you.They were asking me questions.Since I was only serving today, I wore my ring.I got to show it off, and everyone thought it was lovely.A few people called it whimsical, which made me happy.”
“That’s all I want, Phoebe, for you to be happy.”I hold out my hand for her to join me on the bed.
She lays her head on my biceps, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders so she’s resting on my chest instead.The way she snuggles against me quiets some of the noise in my brain that’s running in a constant loop between hockey and Phoebe.
“I want you to be happy too, Ollie.What are we going to do?It’s weird lying to Finn and Shelby.”
The way her hand is resting high on my thigh is scrambling my brain, making it so hard to focus.Taking a deep breath, I cover her hand with my free one and give her shoulders a light squeeze.
“Simple fix, we don’t lie,” I say.
Her velvety brown eyes widen as she looks up at me.“Tell them it’s a fake engagement?”
“No.Make it a real engagement.”
Her breath catches, which is fair because I think my heart has stopped pumping blood.
“Wh…what?”she asks in a whisper.
“I asked you to marry me, you said yes, we’re engaged.That’s it.We’re living together.We care about each other.It’s easier to have this be true than live a lie.”
“So we’re getting married?”Her breath is starting to sound choppy.Is she on the verge of a panic attack?
“If that’s what you want.”
She jumps up from the bed and starts pacing in front of me.She changed into leggings and a long-sleeved T-shirt when she got home from work, and the way they hug her juicy ass is distracting.
