“Hi, yourself,” I whisper.
He dips his head and suddenly he’s kissing the life out of me. My stomach swoops in excitement at the idea of getting caught, and I wrap my arms around his neck to deepen thekiss. Walker’s hands go to my hair and he tugs as he licks into my mouth.
“Fuck, Tal,” he mumbles against me as his hand trails down my back and he cups my ass. “You’re like a damn celebrity out there. It’s turning me on.”
“They really like my cupcakes,” I purr.
“I like your cupcakes,” he says before sucking on my lip again.
I chuckle and push against him. “I have to get back. Someone’s going to come looking for me soon.”
“Good, let ’em look.” His fingers dip beneath the back of my shirt and I suck in a breath at the feel of him against my bare skin.
“Later,” I say, pulling away. If I don’t, I’m liable to start stripping.
I slip out of his arms and toss him his hat. “See you out there, Cowboy.” Then I rush into the bathroom to douse my face with water.
As soon as I get outside, I notice my table has a temporary lull.
“Everyone wants to talk to you, so they’re coming back later,” Penny says in explanation.
Rosie waves a finger in my direction. “You’ve got sex hair.”
My mouth falls open as I stare at her and then glance in Billie’s direction, willing my best friend to shut her mouth.
Rosie grabs her mug and tips it my way, but before she can say anything, I just laugh. “I’m not hiding anything. You can’t threaten me with your bad sex because I’ll happily admit that I’m Walker’s girlfriend and having all the good sex.”
Billie coughs out a laugh, and I hold up my hands. “Sorry!”
She giggles. “Oh, I totally knew you were sleeping with my brother.”
As if she’s summoned him, we turn to see Walker coming down the steps of the brewery and heading toward us. He’s got this mischievous look on his face and a glint in his eye that tells me he’s up to no good. As he passes us, he drops his cowboy hat on top of my head.
“Oh!” Penny squeals. “You know what they say about men and their cowboy hats!”
I smile because I know it means Walker is marking me.
Walker opens his mouth to say something right as Quinn comes running up with a bouquet in his hand. “Can I give them to her now?”
Walker nods, and Quinn steps up and pushes the bursting bushel of tulips, daffodils, and wildflowers in my direction.
“What are these?” I ask.
“These are for you,” Quinn says with a big smile.
“She’syour crush?” Walker grumbles, and the girls all break out in a fit of giggles behind me.
“Aw, Quinn, thank you,” I say before pressing a kiss to his cheek and putting Walker’s cowboy hat on his head. “Now you can be my cowboy.”
CHAPTER 45
Walker
“What are you doing?”
Tally’s voice startles me and I blow out a breath as I let go of the rocking chair I just set on the porch and turn toward her. The cicadas hum around us as the sun drops behind the rolling New England hills. The water in the harbor laps against the shore, gently swaying the pretty sailboats and glistening orange and pink hues. Tally blends in perfectly in the peach-colored spandex she threw on when we got back from the farmers market. Her wavy golden hair, which is tied up in a loose ponytail, jostles back and forth in the warm breeze, and the sweet scent of spring, fresh air, and sugar, which I’ve come to associate with her, dances around us. “I—ugh—” I motion toward the two rocking chairs and the lavender plants I’ve set out in large yellow ceramic planters to keep the bees and mosquitos away.
Tally had been busy at the brewery with Penny and Rosie for hours after the market, going through the hundreds of messages that were pouring in on the farm’s Instagram account. Everyone wants to know how to order one of Tally’s cakes. I know she’s overwhelmed, and I wanted to set up a little surprise for her so she could relax tonight and celebrate what a huge accomplishment this weekend has been.
