Page 35 of Kiss Me, Sweetheart (Something Borrowed 2)

She opened it, reaching up to take his purchases. She seemed more alert thanks to her little nap. Which was good considering a couple times she’d groaned and he’d been afraid she was going to hurl again. The last thing he needed was puke to permeate the carpet of his car.

She looked into the bag and grinned sloppily. “Doughnuts?”

Dustin shrugged a little sheepishly. “It sounded good.”

“Oh yeah.”

He headed around the front of the car to the driver side. He took a drink of his coffee as he walked, wincing as he burned his tongue. He forgot how hot the powdered coffee and water combos were; it had been so long since he’d had one. Probably high school.

He preferred his Colombian dark roast.

Once he was behind the wheel, he turned to Rylie. “Home then?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really tired anymore.”

“Wanna head up to Buzzard Gulch and take a walk?”

He had no idea why he’d suggested the old mining town. It was dark and secluded. Creepy. Maybe because it was just another connection be

tween them. They were renter and rentee, coworkers, business partners.

The only relationships they hadn’t formed were friendship and lovers.

“Sure. I could use the fresh air,” she said.

Dustin put the car in gear and they headed out of town, up the hill that led to the ghost town the Kents had owned until recently when Marley, Kelly, and Rylie had convinced him, forcefully, to split the deed and work on restoring it for a wedding venue. They hadn’t started the renovations. They were still in the planning stage, but Dustin was excited about it.

“Why did you decide to work at Something Borrowed?” Rylie asked.

Dustin shrugged. “Just looking for something to do.”

“But you don’t have to. If I didn’t have to work, I wouldn’t. I’d just bake and read all day.”

“Believe me, it gets boring having no purpose. That’s why you see rich people on that TV show, Shark Tank, getting involved in other people’s businesses and such.”

“But why a professional groomsman? Why not something tech-y? That’s what you studied, right?”

Dustin hesitated, knowing he couldn’t tell her the entire reason. There was no way straight as an arrow Rylie would appreciate him admitting to writing a tell-all about Something Borrowed. “The money’s good and I look smokin’ hot in a tux.”

“Oh, geez, we need to find a witch to shrink that big head of yours.”

Dustin parked in front of one of the partially burnt buildings, and flipped on the dome light before he reached across to grab his package of doughnuts. “If you were being honest, you’d admit it.”

“That you look smokin’ hot in a tux? You’re all right.”

“You mean all right all right all right?”

“Ugh, no! That is a terrible McConaughey impression.”

“I thought I delivered it.” He opened the package of doughnuts and took a big bite of one. He could feel the powdered sugar sprinkle over his chin.

“You’re going to get that all over your car,” Rylie said.

“I’ll have it detailed tomorrow.” He took another bite and groaned. “God, it has been a long time since I have had a doughnut. I forget how good they are.”

“I make better ones.”

He quirked his eyebrow at her in the dome light. “Really?”