“Garnish…” he murmurs, far less concerned than the man who owns the business should be. “Who needs garnish anyway?”
Well, I tried, right? I did my duty, and now I can reap his glorious kisses without guilt? Kisses that not only make me feel good, but that heal a little bit of the thing inside him that tells him he doesn’t deserve good things each time I welcome the touch of his lips on mine.
A knock at the storeroom door tells me that, no, I cannot enjoy such kisses at this time.
I glare at it until Fox straightens, blocking my view as he steps between me and the offending wood.
“Yeah?” he asks, shoulders widening as he crosses his feathered arms.
“Are you guys coming back?” Samantha asks. “’Cause it’s scary out there all by myself. Emerson is here, and he’s like… huge? Massive? Giant? Scary? And he’s saying that he gets a free drink, and I’m too scared to tell him no, ’cause one time I saw him throw a wholewallinto a dumpster like it was nothing. He just picked it up andtoss, goodbye wall. I can’t serve that guy. And he has Warren with him, too, and he’s notasscary because I’ve never seenhimthrow a wall, but he’s still scary because he’shuge, too? Like, boss, you’re tall and strong and whatever, but these guys aretallandstrongandwhatever, you know what I mean? And, okay, yeah, it’s sort of my job, I guess, to serve them, but normally–”
I dig a nail into Fox’s side as she rambles on, reminding him that she will not stop unless forced, and since he’s decided I’m to be hidden, he’s going to have to be the one to force her.
“Samantha,” he grunts, cutting off her ramble. “Go back out. Serve everyone else. We’ll take care of Emerson and Warren.”
She huffs in relief. “Thank you,” she says. “I’ll send up a prayer that they don’t eat you or anything.”
I snort as the door shuts behind her, then shove my way around Fox to serve my charitable contractors. “Time for work,boss,” I throw over my shoulder, reminding us both to behave.
He presses his lips together. “If you want to go out there with your hair looking like I’ve just spent the last five minutes with my hands in it, go right ahead. I thought you’d rather nobody see you like this, but if you wanteveryoneto… well, I’m certainly not going to complain about it. Make it easy on me, Poem. Let them all know that you’re mine. Let them all know that you, at least, think I’m worthy of putting my hands and my lips and my teeth on you.”
I pause, hand halfway between the doorknob and my hair, unsure what choice I’m going to make. To care or not to care.
Fox holds his breath, waiting with me to see what I’ll do, and that makes the decision for me.
My hand drops to the handle.
His shoulders drop as he exhales sharply.
“You deserve affection, Fox,” I tell him. “And you deserve to believe that you deserve it. It’s not shameful to be loved by you. Even if I never love you back in the way that you’re wanting, it will never be shameful to be loved by you, and I won’t allow you to think that it is.”
I leave him in the stockroom with a sheen covering his eyes as I take my Fox-tousled self to the front to serve our friends some drinks.
Emerson and Warren eye my hair—and my lips, and my cheeks, and my perhaps not-quite-where-it’s-meant-to-be clothing—then exchangelooks.
“Fox and I just got done making out in the backroom,” I tell them loudly, smiling at the various heads that turn my way at the announcement. “I went in there for napkins.” I present my empty hands. “Hope no one minds a little condensation.”
Giggles, chuckles, and a couple of “You go girl!”s answer me. I grin, giving the bar at large jazz hands.
Samantha gapes at me.
I wink.
“This is not quite what I had in mind,” Fox mutters, the smell of him mixed with citrus surrounding me as his arms go around my waist.
I twist, putting my mouth to his ear to reply, “I may not be in love with you, and I may not want to fall, but I’m not letting you doubt yourself when I’m around, Fox. I like to pester you, but it’s only fun if it’sfun. Kicking a wounded puppy isn’t fun. Playing with a confident fox, though?” I smile and press a kiss on his throat. “I’ll do the work to get back to that, becausethatwas fun.”
Calloused hands drag across my stomach, pulling me with him as he walks backward. “We’re going to be in the back,” Fox declares to the room. “If anyone needs us…” he trails off, scowling. “Don’t.”
I grin as he drags me away to the tune of laughter, cheers, and more than one lewd comment.
“Five minutes!” I yell to Samantha. “Don’t worry!”
Wide, horrified eyes shift from Emerson’s and Warren’s massive frames to me.
“Five,” I promise, lying through my teeth. “We’ll be back infive.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
