Weston’s eyes narrowed. “Spoilsports,” he muttered, and Manny snickered.
“Pay attention to your boyfriend, Weston. Leave Bailey alone.”
Weston picked up another piece of bacon and waved it in the air. “Listen. Bailey had no issue wanting the juicy details of my relationship with Brenner. I’m just repaying the favor.”
I ate the rest of one half of my bagel before wiping my mouth and giving Weston and Brenner a sunny smile. “No comment.”
We finished our breakfast, and Grady gave us directions to the apple orchard. Grady and Lauren were taking Lauren’s friends in their car, and Weston and Brenner had Manny and John in theirs.
“I’ll take Keston,” I said.
“I bet you will,” I heard Weston murmur behind me.
In the car, Keston put the GPS on. “What’s with Weston? He’s up your ass about your personal life.”
I followed the directions, which had me turning off on a gravel road. “I can’t get too mad at him. I was the same about him and Brenner at the time they got together, and even after. The three of us went to school together. It was my first time away from home, and I went a little wild.”
“Lots of boyfriends, huh? I can see it.” Keston cast an admiring glance my way. “You must’ve been pretty hot with those big blue eyes and cute ass.”
“Oh, yeah. That was me. A real hottie.” I tried to temper my sarcasm.
His brow furrowed at my nonanswer, but I kept quiet. Another ten minutes of driving, and we reached the orchard. I pulled up next to Grady’s car and cut the engine.
We got out of the car and picked up baskets. I took a small one because unlike everyone else there, I was neither a baker of apple pie nor part of a couple where my partner was.
We separated, and I half expected Keston to spend time with his brother and his fiancée, but he stuck with me, pointing out which apples were the best for pies versus applesauce.
He pulled an apple straight off the tree and crunched it. “Good. Get some of these for sauce.”
I blinked. “Sauce? You make apple sauce?”
His tall figure, hair black as a crow’s wing against the blue, blue sky, stood in front of me. I imagined the sweet juice of the apple on his lips. Keston’s blue eyes darkened, and he took a step toward me, holding out the apple.
“Taste.”
I reached out but found myself yanked into his arms, his mouth covering mine. The half-full basket dropped to the ground, sending apples rolling at our feet, but I didn’t care. Not when Keston sucked my tongue. My hands tangled in his hair, anchoring him to me. I couldn’t get enough of this man—his taste, scent, heat. I was drowning in an ocean of desire, caught under the waves of hunger and need. He clamped a hand on my ass, squeezing while rocking into me, and I wanted to climb him like one of these trees and pick his fruit.
With great reluctance, I disengaged my lips from his. “If you don’t stop, I’m gonna come in my pants, and that won’t be fun.”But he still held me close, and the unexpected tenderness gave me hope that maybe we had a chance to make this work.
“Is this what dating is like?” he murmured. “If so, I think I’m okay with it.”
Unable to resist touching him, I skimmed my fingers across the sharp angle of his jaw, then traced his lips. “I think so too.”
Our friends’ voices filtered through the orchard, and we picked up the apples that had fallen out of the basket. By the time they found us, we’d recovered and didn’t look like we’d been ravaging each other.
Grady saw us first and waved. “Ready to go?”
I lifted the basket. “All set.”
The country store was everything I’d expected, cute and kitschy, and I couldn’t resist buying some little mementos. A picture frame in the shape of an apple, a little box of fudge, and some honey sticks. Weston and Brenner bought pies, fudge, and were busy taking selfies, which of course I had to photobomb.
“Cute, Bailey.” Brenner stuck his phone in my face and called out, “Hey, Keston.”
He looked up, and Brenner took a picture. “Niiiice,” he nodded.
“Show me,” I demanded, and he turned the phone for me to see.
It was a great candid shot—me laughing, with Keston at my shoulder, serious as always, but with the hint of a smile playing in his eyes.
