“Shhh, Cowboy, you’ll ruin it.” She pecks my lips one more time and then she’s sliding down my body and pushing down the skirt of her dress, hiding those gorgeous thighs, which I just had exactly where I wanted them. My fingers ache to reach for her. To pull her back against me and take another taste. But she rushes off in the direction of her mother’s cottage, her hair bouncing as she goes, a pretty smile on her face when she glances over her shoulder one more time.
And fuck if that’s not the most gorgeous view on this whole damn farm.
CHAPTER 25
Tally
“You’re doing it again,” Penny mumbles, kicking me in the shin beneath the table.
“Ow.” I reach down and rub at the spot as Rosie snickers beside me. We’re having dinner at Wicked Wine and Cheese and have a plateful of a variety of cheeses and meats sitting in front us. Basically, it’s my version of heaven. Or it was before I started getting the third degree from these two.
“Eventually you’re going to have to tell us what happened between you and the cowboy,” Rosie teases.
I roll my eyes, pretending I have no idea what they’re talking about. Pretending that Walker didn’t kiss the life out of me after the farmers market and then act like it never happened. It’s been days and, under the guise of getting ready for the Daffodil Festival and the Hall vow renewal, which will require a hell of a lot more work than either of us had anticipated, Walker’s been gone before I wake up and returns after I’m already in my bedroom.
I’d be upset, but I haven’t minded the space to think. Truthfully, that kiss threw me more than I’d like to admit. I’ve kissed boys before, plenty of them, but I’ve never been kissed likethat.
Kissing—and sex—and all the acts in between are meant for the singular purpose of getting off. Relieving stress. ButWalker’s kiss wasn’t that. In fact, it did the opposite; it wound me up and tied my stomach in knots.
All I can think about is doing it again.
“Oh look, it’s our mayor,” I say loudly, excited to turn the tables on Rosie. “Think he’s coming here to meet a lady friend?”
Penny snorts as Rosie scowls and violently stabs the cheese knife into the baked Brie.
I study Fletcher as he chats with the hostess. He’s a very good-looking man, always smiling, and the curls on his head giving him a boyish charm. The hostess hands him a to-go bag, and Fletcher thanks her before heading our way. I practically squeal in excitement as Rosie’s cheeks flame red. She tugs on her signature gold hoops and looks anywhere but at Fletcher as he steps up to our table to say hello.
“Hi, Fletcher. You having a picnic tonight?” I ask.
I couldn’t think of a more romantic date. Cheese and wine with my girlfriends is fun, but having a man provide both of those things in a meadow under the stars would be perfect. A vision of me arriving in the wildflower meadow and seeing Walker sitting there with a hopeful smile plays in my head, and my stomach flips at the thought. Shit.
“No. My mother loves her cheese. I wanted to surprise her with some since she’s always watching Henry for me.”
“I’m sure she loves spending time with him,” Penny says.
Fletcher nods—though there’s something sad in his expression—before glancing at Rosie, who still has yet to look away from the Brie, which she’s murdered seven times over. “Well, I hope you ladies have a good night.”
He’s barely reached the door when I turn my focus on mybest friend. “I seriously don’t get it. Why do you hate him so much?”
Rosie shrugs. “I just do. He’s arrogant and always up in everyone’s business.”
“He’s just friendly,” I point out.
Penny’s oddly silent.
I glance at her. “What do you know?”
Penny and Rosie share a look that I hate. It highlights the time I’ve been away. The time when the two of them shared secrets. Growing up, it was me and Rosie. Or me and Penny. Maybe sometimes the three of us, but not often. Penny was older and spent all her time with her high school best friend, Jake Montgomery. They were inseparable. Always caught up in a book, or hanging at his house on the water. Rosie and I, on the other hand, spent most of our teenage years sneaking boys and drinks into the cottages at night. During the day we would drive around for hours, dreaming of the day when we’d leave Hope Harbor. Until I did and Rosie couldn’t. And now, well, now I’m the one on the outside and I have no idea how to get them to let me in completely.
Finally, I lift up my glass and glare at Rosie, “Tell me why you hate the mayor or forever suffer bad sex.”
Rosie sighs and clinks her glass against mine like I’m the worst friend ever. “You know how hard it was to get the brewery approved with the town?”
I nod, relieved that she’s finally talking to me.
“Well, he was the mayor back then, too.” She shrugs, like that’s enough of an explanation. And maybe it is. But I still feel like there’s something more.
“Ladies!” My back goes ramrod straight at the sound of Rayna McGovern’s loud voice.
