“Breakfast,” I say, placing the box in front of him. “You said cinnamon buns are your favorite, right?”
He looks down at the hole in the top of the box, before up at me. He reaches for the hem of my oversized T-shirt, pulling meinto his open legs on the stool. His arms wrap around my hips, and my body flushes with his as he looks up at me, smiling.
He’s smiling, and I can’t help but mirror it.
“I’m guessing that’s a yes?” I say.
“I don’t deserve you.”
I tangle my hands in his hair at the back of his head and lean down. “You deserve the world, Tucker Daniels. And I’m going to make sure to remind you every chance I can.”
His gaze holds mine, steady and quiet. I press my lips to his. Holding it there so my words can register—so that he doesn’t think otherwise.
And I realize with a rush of clarity that I’m not just falling for him.
I already have.
CHAPTER 29
I’M JUST DOING IT IN MY TONE.
Tucker
Feels weird to be at Seven Stools for lunch andnotbe in a rush to get to a job site.
I sit in my usual spot when I come in for lunch, but instead of Levi next to me, it’s Dallas. Griffin stops in front of us with a scowl on his face and aggressively wipes down the counter that’s already clean.
“You good?” Dallas asks him.
He shakes his head. “I can’t fucking stand out of towners sometimes. That couple over there”—he tips his head to gesture to the table in the corner— “rude as hell. The woman criticized me for the limited choices we have on the menu and basically bashed the entire town in her rant.”
“I’ve been telling you for years that you have?—”
Griffin cuts me off with a low growl, while Dallas laughs behind his hand.
“I often wonder who these people think they are with their entitlement when they come to a small town like this,” Griffin continues, pointing a finger in my direction before sliding an ice water across the bar for me. “You guys always wonder why I hate the out of towners? Well, here’s example nine hundred.”
I twist my head over my shoulder to get a good look at them. Just by looking at them, I can tell they’re stuck-up in a way that says they’re too good for a place like this. I hate people like that, too.
“Are you eating today?” Griffin asks. “You’re running out of time because you don’t have that long of a break.”
“You know me so well.” I smile widely. “But not today. I’m off. Tomorrow I’ll go back to finish the siding on Scottie’s property to be ready for the final episode.”
He narrows his eyes.
“I…” I pause, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “I needed a break, I guess.”
He’s not buying it. I can tell by the way he’s still staring at me. The last time he offered me a break, I had to actually fight him on it.
“You do look like hell.”
“It’ssooonice to see you too, Grumpy Griffin.”
He smirks. “I’m serious. You look like you got into a fist fight with your own brain.”
I stare down at the water in front of me, gripping the glass with both hands because his comment lands a little too close to the truth.
Dallas shifts next to me, clearing his throat. “Do you want to talk about it?”
