Page 9 of Kissing the Mountain Man

“Quit touching her ass with that towel. Do you want the food inspector to close us down?” Iclyn rips the cloth out of Autumn’s hand, causing her to laugh even harder.

“You mean the same sexy food inspector who looks like he should be chopping wood instead of handing out code violations?” Iclyn’s cheeks turn a deep shade of red at Autumn’s teasing. “I bet you would love for him to punish you for violating his rules.”

I should feel guilty for taking so much pleasure in Autumn changing her target from me to our oldest sister. As the youngest sister, I’m usually the one they pick on.

“Do you ever take anything seriously?” Iclyn pushes past me, shooing me out of the way as she slips on a pair of oven mitts, expertly pulls the trays of perfectly baked lemon cookies out of the oven, and places them on the cooling racks.

“Never. Life is too short to be serious.” Autumn smiles as she places the small cookie box I carefully packed earlier today into my hands. “Now, get out there and maybe say more than two words to him. It’s not like you to be so tongue-tied about anything.”

She’s right. Autumn is the jokester, Iclyn is the serious one, and I’m the talkative one. “I was thinking about asking him to the summer festival tomorrow.” I bite my lower lip—a nervous habit I’ve been trying to break without any luck—and wait for them to tell me I’m a fool.

“I think that’s a great idea. Besides, you don’t want to die a virgin, do you?” The truth in Autumn’s words stops me in my tracks.

I glance at Iclyn just in time to see the sadness in her eyes before her gaze shifts back to her usual icy blue coolness that only reinforces her title of ice queen.

The three of us are closer than ever now that we moved to Templeton Ridge and started our business, Mountain Morsels. The fact that we all know we’re virgins isn’t a surprise.

With a nod and renewed confidence to ask Brooks to the summer festival, I tighten my grip on the box of goodies for Brooks and Molly and step back from the kitchen, using my shoulder to push open the swinging door that leads to the front of the bakery and take my place behind the cash register, relieving Brynnlee, our full-time front counter help.

“It must be almost four o’clock.” She steps away from the cash register with a knowing smile, giving me space to place the cookie box under the counter before I take her place so I can start taking the customers’ orders.

Am I really that obvious?

Before I can think about who else might know about my secret crush on Brooks, the line of customers in front of me grows longer. I nervously glance at the clock above the front door, noticing I still have five minutes before Brooks usually arrives.

If I can quickly move the customers through the line, I’ll have plenty of time to talk to Brooks and invite him to the festival.

I take order after order, silently praying for an end in sight so that when Brooks walks through the door, I can take the time to talk to him instead of just saying, that will be seven dollars.

“Welcome to Mountain Morsel. What can I get you?” I smile at the young man at the front of the line. I’ve seen him in the bakery a few times. I think his name is David.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to go to the summer festival with me tomorrow.” There’s a slight wobble in his voice that pulls at my heart.

If I weren’t already half in love with Brooks, I might consider his offer. But I’m head over heels for Brooks; I can’t imagine dating anyone else. Still, I don’t want to hurt David’s feelings.

“I’m sorry, David. I already have a date.” It’s not exactly a lie. As soon as Brooks picks up his cookies, I’m going to ask him out.

“I figured. A woman as pretty as you probably has all the guys falling at your feet.” With a sad smile, he places his order.

Still in shock over his sweet comment, I go through the motions of collecting his payment and giving him his change before he steps aside, waiting for Brynnlee to finish boxing his order.

My heart races when I see Brooks and Molly step to the front of the line. I was so busy trying not to hurt David’s feelings I didn’t notice them come in. But before I can say anything, Cassi Martin, with her perfect hair and perfect body, steps in front of Brooks, stopping his movements.

“Brooks, hon, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the summer festival with me tomorrow.” Her perfect fake eyelashes flutter prettily as she waits for his answer.

I can’t take my eyes off Brooks, even holding my breath, waiting for his answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Molly shake her head and pull on his arm.

The silence stretches out, making my heart thump so loudly that I’m almost sure the entire room can hear it racing, until the one word I never thought could tear my world apart escapes from Brook’s mouth.

“Sure.”