I leaned forward, placing my hands on the counter at either side of her waist so our faces were level. Her bergamot scent sweetened as I drew closer.
“Do I look like I need babysitting?”
“Oh, um, that’s not—” Her cheeks flushed beautifully.
“I’ll make sure you’re so grateful you brought me along with you today, you’ll be thanking me tonight.”
Her breath hitched, and my smug smile returned.
Pushing off the counter, I straightened and walked away. “I’m ready to go whenever, but the muffins probably have about five minutes left before they’re done baking.”
“Okay,” she said, breathless.
I could feel her gaze on my back, and a vain satisfaction filled my blood as I raked my fingers through my hair, pushing the tousled waves off my forehead.
Clearly, she felt the same pull toward me that I felt toward her, and she couldn’t hide it anymore.
Today, I’ll tease her, play with her, and drive her crazy until she can’t help herself.
We wrapped muffins in paper towels and took them to go. Juniper was quiet, but her cheeks still flushed when she glanced at me. Yet again, she’d draped my coat over her arm.I wondered where she would try to lose it that day. It was becoming a wonderful game between us.
Our first stop was a t-shirt shop that did screen printing in the back. It was a tourist trap, and racks of garments printed with Crescent Cove lined every wall, hemming us in as we squeezed through the door.
“Welcome,” the teenager behind the counter drawled, not looking up from his phone.
Juniper marched up to the counter, and I took a moment to admire the way her hips swayed when she was determined.
“Hi. I’m Juniper Beck, and my aunt placed an order for custom-printed tote bags. There should be forty-five of them.”
“I don’t know about any bags, ma’am.” He still didn’t look up.
My hand clenched into a fist, holding back the urge to rip the phone from his hand and break it.
Normally, I wasn’t prone to violence, but he was being rude to my mate, and red tinged the edges of my vision. Slowly, I drew in a breath and held it for a moment before exhaling even slower. It wouldn’t impress Juniper if I went all caveman on the idiot kid.
“Well, today is the pickup day, so they should be ready to go in the back. I’ve got the email confirming they were already paid for.” Juniper was so patient, so kind-hearted, so perfect.
The teen let out a scoff and pushed off the counter, tucking his phone into his back pocket. With an eye roll, hestrode into the back.
My jaw clenched so hard my molars ached as I sidled up to the stand beside Juniper, resting my hand on the small of her back.
She didn’t flinch away. My heart sang.
“Youth these days,” I huffed.
Juniper twisted, arching one elegant eyebrow. “Youareyouth,” she said. The cutest smirk crossed her face.
My hand slid around to grab her waist and squeezed. She let out an adorable squeak. Before I could come up with a flirty response, the teen returned, balancing two oversized boxes against his chest.
Juniper rushed to grab one and passed it to me. It took me a moment to shift it in my arms to find a comfortable hold.
“Here, give me the second one too,” I said.
Juniper’s mouth pinched, and I knew she wanted to fight me on it, but she gave in and set the box on top of the first one. It rose to almost my chin. I tightened my grip and turned toward the door awkwardly.
It’s going to suck carrying these all the way back to the rental condo.
As if she heard my thoughts, Juniper grimaced. “I’ll order a rideshare.”
