I got my surviving clothing back on and straightened up in the mirror. My hair told a tale of last night’s secrets, and I ran my fingers through it until it settled. My makeup wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible either. I hadn’t put on much last night, so I didn’t look like a hungover Joker. My clothes were pretty rumpled, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.
I put my shoes on and headed downstairs to look for Carter. Mrs. Presley must have heard me coming down because she met me at the foot of the stairs and held out a cup of coffee.
“Wow, good morning, Mrs. Presley,” I said, taking the steaming mug.
“Good morning to you, too,” she said. “Carter asked me to make sure you got coffee this morning. But I didn’t want to wake you up. A good night’s rest is essential.”
“Carter? Where is he?” I took a tentative sip of my coffee, and once I was sure I wouldn’t scald my mouth, I took a much bigger gulp. Warmth spread through me, making me feel more awake. “This is delicious. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said happily. “And Carter said he wanted to let you get some rest, so he went out to your farm to do some chores.”
I froze mid sip. “He’s at the farm by himself? That won’t end well.”
Mrs. Presley smiled. “Oh, I think he’s getting the hang of things in this town. He made this year’s bake-off one for the books. And he didn’t even want credit for it. He did it all for you.”
“He’s just being nice,” I said, feeling embarrassed.
“No, he’s not being nice; he’s beingsweet,” she said. “There’s a world of difference.”
I drank my coffee and made my way toward the sitting room. “There’s nothing going on, Mrs. Presley.”
“Says the girl doing the walk of shame from Carter’s room,” she said with a chuckle, following me.
“Mrs. Presley!”
“What? I wasn’t always this old.” She smiled like the Cheshire Cat. “And I know what it looks like when two people are falling for each other.”
My heart stuttered. I wanted it to be true but I also refused to let myself believe it. Obviously, I liked Carter. Last night wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t. And he obviously liked me well enough. But I doubted his feelings went beyond simple physical attraction.
He was only in town for a little while. I was a fun distraction for him, but this bubble would pop soon enough, and I needed to be ready for it.
“Would you like some breakfast, Shelby?”
Her question broke me out of my trance. “Thank you, Mrs. Presley, but no. Once I finish this coffee, I need to head back to the farm and make sure Carter hasn’t burned it down.”
“Let’s hope.” She smiled and shook her head. “Oh, don’t forget about the Easter eggs for tomorrow.”
I nodded. “I haven’t forgotten. I still need to decorate some of them, but they’re almost ready to go.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. The Easter Bunny will be at the town square and the kids need eggs.”
“You can count on me.” I put my empty mug down on the kitchen counter. “Alright, I need to shake a tailfeather.”
“Be sure to tell your man I got you your coffee,” she said with a grin.
I shook my head at her. “He’s not my man.”
“He’s yoursomething.”
I considered what that meant while I drove back to my farm. The sexual tension was one thing, but feelings? A man like Carter would never really want a woman like me. I needed to nip that idea right in the bud.
He was a polished CEO. I wrangled birds. And sure, his company was buying farms, but that didn’t make him a farmer. We had fooled around, but that didn’t make us a couple. I couldn’t let myself fall into the trap of believing we could ever be more than this. The doomsday clock was tick-tocking down to our inevitable goodbye. Ignoring it would be a mistake.
But I could still enjoy the time I had left with him. A few more kisses, a little cuddling, maybe a hard fuck in the barn, where I didn’t have to worry about anyone hearing me. No one had been at the B&B, but I had still kept it down, knowing Mrs. Presley could have returned at any time.
I chuckled at myself. The barn-sex daydream came up a lot while I was bored working the farm. It was common enough. Nothing to be ashamed of. But the idea had gotten a hell of a lot hotter now that it was Carter’s face I saw in the fantasy. His chest, his lips, and his burning green eyes.
It wasn’t even impossible. He was literally already on my farm. If he was actually doing work, well, that was even sexier. Doing chores wasn’t exactly foreplay, but it certainly freed up the rest of the day for more pleasurable activities.
