Okay. This was fine. There wasn’t a lot of commotion to distract them, but I could handle this. I was going to get in, drop off the supplies, and get out. Easy peasy.
Or it would have been if it weren’t for my pain-in-the-ass fake husband who couldn’t leave well enough alone.
I hadn’t even taken three steps toward the garage when Lincoln came storming over, his brows drawn down as he eyed me.
“Are you hauling that by yourself?” he said, sounding as close to angry as he ever got.
I didn’t even get a chance to answer before he plucked the crate from my hands like I was some kind of damsel in distress.
“You see anyone else with me?” I braced my hands on my hips and glared at him. “Yes, I hauled it myself, jackass. I’m not made of glass, you know.”
He clenched his jaw and pressed his mouth into a thin line likeIwas the problem here. “No, you’re made of stubborn. And you’re going to hurt your back again if you keep trying to do this shit on your own.”
Oh, he had a lot of nerve.
“Been doing a lot of shit on my own for a lot of years, Lincoln.” I crossed my arms and lifted a single shoulder in a shrug. “Besides, fucking up my back wouldn’t be the worst way to get out of mowing the lawn.”
That earned me a deeper scowl. “Real funny, wife.”
I froze, the word landing as subtly as a bucket of ice water to the face. Immediately, I darted my gaze around the backyard, checking for witnesses to his little slip. He’d better hope no one noticed.
I stepped closer to him, pinching his side hard enough to make him jerk. “It’s not even real,” I hissed.
He just shrugged, completely unrepentant, and strode toward the empty picnic table near the garage. “Don’t care.”
“How about Imakeyou care with my foot up your ass?” I whisper-yelled as I stalked after him.
After setting the crate on the table, he turned to face me, his arms crossed and jaw tight. “Mywife—real or not—isn’t going to haul this shit by herself while I sit on my ass and watch.”
“Oh mygod, you are insufferable! I’m not going to break. I can carry a crate weighing all of ten pounds. I hauled five weighing triple that earlier today.”
“Did you?” he said in a way that had my hackles rising. “Noted. I’ll adjust my schedule at the bar so I can be at the farm to help when it’s hauling shit time.”
I wouldn’t have been surprised if I looked like an actual cartoon character with steam pouring out of my ears. “I don’tneedyou to do that. That’s my entire point.”
“And my entire point is I’m your husband now, and it’s part of the job.”
I gripped him by the arm and tugged him around the side of the garage, away from any prying eyes or ears. “Would you stop throwing that around! We said we were going to wait. Remember?”
He shrugged like he wasn’t in the process of blowing up our plan and making things even more difficult for everyone involved. “I figured there was no time like the present.”
“You’re not even a little bit sorry about this!”
“You’re right. I’m not.” He stepped closer until our shoes touched, his heat seeped into my body, and I was reminded—again—about that kiss that practically melted my brain. “But if you hadn’t tried hauling this shit on your own in the first place, we wouldn’t be dealing with the fallout. So maybe let that be a reminder for next time.”
Fuck me, I was going to lose my mind before the grant had any hope of helping the farm.
I clenched my teeth and my fists, resisting the urge to sock him right in his obnoxiously defined abs. Instead of doing just that, I spun around and stormed off so I wouldn’t make a scene, intent on a quick and silent exit.
Spoiler alert: that did not happen.
“Willa!” Chloe called, stepping in my path with a bright smile, her long blond hair pulled up in a messy bun and her cheeks dusted with pink glitter. “Thanks for dropping all that off.I know Emma and her friends are going to have a great time with their crafts tomorrow.”
I forced my shoulders to relax and smiled tightly. “No problem. Thanks for ordering them from me.”
She laughed, the sound light and airy. “Like I’d do anything else.” Then she leaned in and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “And like Lincoln wouldallowanything else. He practically held the phone to my ear while I called and placed the order just to make sure it got done.”
I froze, my smile faltering enough that I hoped it didn’t betray me. He hadn’t said a word…hadn’t even sent a smirk or a smug grin in my direction. He’d just made sure I’d gotten the business without any fanfare.
