Page 24

That’s my main goal.

He’s just the icing on the cake.

A very tall, handsome pastry with a deep voice that’s smooth as buttercream frosting.

Whew. This is going to be difficult.

When I pull my new seat in, it sits several inches higher than his.

It’s almost like I’m sitting on his lap.

“So these piles are for vet bills. This one is any registration stuff. Those are milk tonnage. And this—” He points to a five gallon bucket on the floor. “—is for anything that isn’t farm related.”

His chair creaks as he leans away to open the small fridge against the wall. “Here, brought you a treat.”

“Oh, a wine cooler?” Peach?

He shrugs. “I got beer, too.” He nods towards the desk. “This shit gets boring.” His mouth drops as he twists the tops off the bottles, then hands me the colorful one.

It tickles my nose when I take the first sip.

“Mmm, that’s pretty good.” I hold the glass away to see the label better, but catch a glimpse of his hooded eyes watching my lips.

“Keep on moaning like that, it might get a lot more exciting in here.” He flashes the whites of his teeth and winks before taking a long drink from his amber ale.

“Well, I mean, it isn’t exactlysex on the beach.But it’s passable.” I can fight fire with fire.

He snorts and pulls the bottle away from his lips. “I figured you’d like that.”

At the three-quarter mark, I start to feel the faint buzz of the alcohol.

Shit, I really must be a lightweight.

When I reach across him to try and place a ticket in the correct pile, I lose my balance on the uneven stool and barely catch myself on the lip of the desk.

“Easy killer,” he grunts as his hands move against my ribs to help right me. “You don’t have to throw yourself at me to get me to stick around.” His soft chuckle doesn’t quell the fire racing through me.

“Didn’t seem to work the other night,” I grumble.

Shit.

“I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Snatching a small stack of notes, I turn my focus on the scribbled lines.

His palm doesn’t move from my lower back.

I can’t look at him.

But I can hear him take a deep breath before the heat of his touch disappears.

He shifts to pull another beer from the mini-fridge, then he cracks it open.

I steal a glance to watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows.

Fuck it. I empty my own bottle.

“Got any more?” I hold it out. “I mean, since I’mlegaland all.” I don’t fight to hide the smirk.

He pops the top before handing it to me.