“And I’d like it if you didn’t call mema’am,” Lila Mae said.
That cute little frown of concern twisted his eyebrows. “I work for you, Lila Mae. Of course, I’m going to call youma’am.”
“But we’re on a shopping date,” she said. “Do you call your datesma’am?”
“Actually, yeah,” he said. “Sometimes.”
Lila Mae rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you don’t workfor me, Trap. I’ve hired you to do a job.” She watched him swallow and nod, a horrible thought entering her mind. “That’s why you came this morning, isn’t it? You’re still worried I’m going to fire you.”
“No,” he said quickly, and this time his eyes searched hers. Lila Mae could definitely dive into the depths of dark eyes like that, and she reminded herself that she had once before and she’d barely gotten out alive.
“I thought that was cleared up yesterday when I apologized. Are you still mad?”
“No,” Lila Mae said quickly. “And I was never mad. You’re….” She trailed off, not quite sure what adjective to put there. He waited, both of them standing still in front of the apple cider case.
“Trap Walker,” a man said, his voice filled with joviality. “Just the man I needed to see.”
Trap turned toward the man coming toward them, and he was probably in his early forties.
“Mister Farr.” Trap laughed and shuffled Lila Mae’s basket to his left arm so he could shake Mister Farr’s hand with his right. “Who’d have thought I’d run into you in the orchard farm store when we’ve been trying to meet up for a couple of weeks?”
Mister Farr only laughed, and then Trap turned back to Lila Mae. She reached for her basket and said, “Go on. You’ll call me later.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you later,” he said, and then he painted on the smile Lila Mae had seen in his social media videos as he turned back to Mister Farr.
She knew he was trying to build his own reputation inside his parents’ company, and she couldn’t fault him for that. So she lethim go, though she’d very much like to continue this fake date of walking around a farm store. But Trap had never actually asked her out, and he certainly didn’t seem interested in her.
Lila Mae turned her back on him and headed for the checkout. After all, she had thirteen cats to tend to, and she couldn’t spend her whole morning flirting with a cowboy who barely seemed to know she existed.
5
By the time Trap sat down for lunch, his stomach shouted at him painfully. He’d spent too long at the apple orchards that morning, and he’d been late for his Monday morning meeting with Jason and Sawyer.
Both cousins—Jason belonged to Uncle Jeremiah, and Sawyer to Uncle Skyler—had wanted to get involved more in woodworking and construction, and while they hadn’t been living and breathing sawdust and wood shavings since they were babies the way Trap had, they had good hands, sharp minds, and a willing attitude. Working together, the three of them were trying to grow the projects and business at MSW.
Trap had another visit and an estimate to put together that afternoon for a potential client, and then he had a plethora of phone calls to make to various suppliers and tradesmen.
As he buttered a piece of bread and laid it in a hot skillet, he couldn’t help thinking about Lila Mae. She’d crept into his dreams last night too, and kept him awake for a full hour before his alarm finally went off.
“So technically you were awake atfour-fifteen,” he muttered to himself, thinking of his conversation with Lila Mae from earlier that day.
He laid a piece of Munster cheese, then one of Colby Jack, and then one of Havarti over the bread already in the pan and topped it with another buttered slice.
Though the heat had come into triple digits again today, Trap hated eating a cold lunch, and he figured a grilled cheese sandwich, chips and salsa, and a protein shake would get him through his afternoon.
And then what?he asked himself silently.Dinner for one right back here.
He frowned as he turned to wash his hands and put the butter back in the fridge. If he had an ounce of bravery, he could text Lila Mae and make it dinner for two.
“A real date.” He pulled open the large utensil drawer and took out a spatula. It was pathetic that he’d even gone to the farm store this morning, and then he’d had to go and tell her that it was because he didn’t want to be a liar.Shewas the one who had made up the story about their brunch date that day, not him. In fact, as far as Trap could remember, he hadn’t said a single word during all of that, and his silence only made him feel more moronic.
No matter what she said, he did work for her, and if his father had taught him one thing, it was that business and pleasure didn’t always mix that well.
He pulled out his protein shake and the jar of salsa his momma had given him, and he settled at the table while his sandwich continued to crisp and melt. A light knock sounded on his door, and Trap looked up, knowing exactly who stood on the other side.
“Come on in, Ruby,” he called.
Sure enough, the auburn-haired beauty who had married his cousin a handful of years ago opened the door and stepped into his house.
