Page 3

Sienna

I pace across the white and gold parlor floor as the scent of eucalyptus attempts to soothe me. It’s not working.

I spent all night making lists for lists that needed lists. In fact, I passed out on a pile of lists and forgot to set an alarm. Thankfully, my body woke me up on time. Almost on time . I was a few minutes behind, but I still had time to curl my hair and find the perfect dress for today’s date.

No, not a date. Today’s a business meeting. A professional meeting between two people who are conducting business.

God, help me with this.

I hear the deep rumbling of his motorcycle before I see him. He’s so handsome. I’m not usually attracted to older men, but Tennessee is different. He’s tall and hulking, with huge muscles, and he’s way more mature than guys my age.

Plus, how does he make basic blue jeans and a fitted black T-shirt look so impossibly good? He’s hot without trying. I swear a grizzly would run in the opposite direction after one quick blink.

The door pushes open, and he smiles and nods. “Sorry I’m a minute late. I got held up by a few deer on the mountain.”

I glance down at the clock. It’s just one minute past eight, though I lean into the mistake to confess my own discretions. “No worries. I got overwhelmed last night, slept terribly, and forgot to grab the coffee this morning.”

“Oh!” He straightens and grins. “Let’s take a walk then. I don’t know about you, but I need a jolt in the morning to get me going. My treat.”

I would let this man treat me to all kinds of things. At least that’s what every dream I had last night was telling me.

I almost can’t look him in the eye this morning after all the filthy things I was doing to him with my eyes closed, but I make do… barely. “Yeah, coffee sounds good, but I’ll get it. You’re helping me, after all, for extremely low pay, given the hazardous working conditions.”

“Hazardous working conditions?” He laughs. “Shit. What the hell did I sign up for?”

“Misery.” I grin, stepping out into the sun-drenched street with him. “Absolute misery.”

We walk side by side, our bare arms brushing against one another as we pace toward the coffee shop.

I try to focus on anything else in the street, like the early morning shop owners setting up for the day, the way the sun lifts up above the mountains in the distance, the smell of pastries that drifts into the street from the bakery, but my mind keeps getting stuck on the massive man standing beside me.

I feel so small. At five foot eight, I never feel this small.

“So, why do you call yourself Tennessee? Is that your real name?”

He grins. “No, real name is Tenson. No one’s intimidated by a Tenson. It’s kind of dorky, but it’s a family name.”

“And people are intimidated by a Tennessee?”

“Nah,” he chuckles, “probably not, but my buddies started calling me that as a play on words back in the day and it stuck. You always go by Sienna?”

“Yeah,” I grin, “no one’s ever called me anything else, though I guess I could start calling myself Sedona or something.”

“There’s that smart ass I like so much.” He bumps my elbow playfully. “You like having a shop here on Main? It’s pretty quaint.”

“Yeah, it’s amazing. Rugged Mountain has the best people!” I point up to the street sign that intersects before us. “Like these petunias, the town puts so much effort into making everything gorgeous. What about you? You like it out here?”

He clears his throat as we walk, and I can’t help but feel like I’m with the biggest, baddest guy around.

Everyone looks at him. Some like they want him, others like they want to be him.

“Ya know, I never thought the mountains would be my thing, but it’s been surprisingly great.

Still getting used to the wildlife, but taking the bike out for a ride has a whole new meaning now. ”

“Yeah? What’s your favorite place?”

A woman passes us by, dragging her gaze up and over Tennessee as though she’s eye fucking him. Damn lady, calm down.

“The lake is pretty great. Can’t remember the name, but it’s the turquoise one with all the wildflowers.”

“That describes about every lake up here, but yeah… it’s one of my favorites too. West Lake has great fishing, if you’re into that.”

“You into fishing?”

“Never been. I always thought it looked fun, though. A quiet afternoon with a pole in the water, it just sounds peaceful.”

He brushes his massive hand down over his beard as we climb the little sidewalk hill toward the bakery. “I wouldn’t have expected that from a girl like you.”

“What’s that mean? A girl like me? ”

“No, I don’t mean it offensively. You’re just,” a soft breeze blows between us, carrying sweet scents, “you’re very…”

“What?”

“You’re put together, and you wear these really nice clothes. I can’t imagine you doing something like fishing.”

“You realize I change my clothes for the occasion, right?”

He laughs. “Sure. You always look really put together is all. I can’t even imagine you in a pair of sweats.”

“Well, you should. I live in them at home. Fishing always sounded fun, but my dad wasn’t exactly the outdoor type. He loved money, and talking about money. I think he took me fishing once to say he did it, but that’s—”

“Ahh!” A loud screeching sound fills my ears as my cousin makes her way toward me. She’s in sweats and a T-shirt, her hair tied on top of her head in a loose bun.

Maybe she’s the type of girl Tennessee prefers. Ugh, I need to stop doing this to myself. It doesn’t matter what he prefers. What matters is that I’m staring at my cousin. Why am I staring at my cousin?

“I wanted to surprise you!” She crashes into me with a hug then redirects her energy toward the giant beside me.

The giant that’s supposed to be my boyfriend.

“This is a surprise!” I say, stomach clenched. “What are you doing here? You’re a bit early for the wedding.”

“I know, but I was freaking out, and I thought I could help somehow instead of sitting on my butt, expecting you to do everything.”

“That’s what I’m for.” I’m not sure why I’m offended that she’s here, but I am. I don’t need anyone’s help. I can do this on my own. That, and I wanted this time alone with Tennessee… for business purposes of course.

Mae drags her gaze up and over the goliath standing next to me. “Damn, cousin. You really killed it with this one. He’s hot!”

“Oh my God, Mae! He’s right there.”

“What?” she laughs. “I’m sure he knows he’s hot.”

I’ve totally gazed past the part where she’s mentioned how I’ve killed it, implying that Tennessee belongs to me. Maybe he missed that part.

I cross my fingers behind my back. Please let him have missed that part.

“So, where are you two off to?” Mae stands back and crosses her arms over her chest. “Can’t be time for a break already. There are like a thousand things to do for the wedding.”

Dear God, this is a nightmare. I make a mental note to never help my family again.

Ever again.

“She’s been working all night.” Tennessee wraps his arm around my lower back and tugs me into his orbit. “We’re taking a break.”

He’s touching me. His big, rough hand snags on the fabric of my dress and my clit reminds me it’s there.

I lean into his chest instinctively, then pull away again, but he tightens his grip until I’m snuggled up against his chest.

This makes total sense.

“Oh, a coffee break sounds deserved then.” Mae seems to take everything easier when a big, grumpy looking biker says it. “I guess we could all get coffee and then get started on the list of things to do.”

“Actually,” Tennessee continues, “Sienna and I have everything covered. We had a small hiccup but we’re back on track. We were going to spend the rest of the morning fishing.”

“Fishing? Really?” Mae looks as confused as I feel. “You figured out the fountain issue and got the chair thing sorted?”

“Finished,” he continues with a straight face as though I don’t have a zillion things on a list in the pocket of my dress. “We’d invite you to join us at the lake, but I think I’ve gotta give this one some peace and quiet for a while. She’s pretty burned out. You understand, don’t you?”

Mae lifts a smile onto her face and leans into me slowly.

“Yeah, of course I do. I need my quiet time, too. Things have been hairy with Rick lately. I’m sure it’s just wedding day jitters but the whole thing is driving me crazy.

He hasn’t been home all week, and,” she exhales slowly, “it doesn’t matter.

You two go have your relax day. You’ve earned it.

I don’t know how you finished everything so fast! ”

I glance toward Tennessee, widening my gaze. “I don’t know how we did either. You focus on getting relaxed and ready for the wedding. I’ll catch up with you tonight?”

“We can bring her to the clubhouse for a bit. A little pre-wedding party,” Tennessee offers.

“Yeah, Rick would kill me if I were at a motorcycle clubhouse with a bunch of handsome men the night before my wedding,” she smiles, “fairly so.”

“Then we’ll have a girls’ night,” I continue. “Drinks at the bar in town. They have a band playing at Mullet’s.”

She leans in and kisses my cheek. “I’ll text you. Have fun today. You’ve earned it.”

With that, she leaves, and I’m left standing in the street, wondering what the hell is going on.

I glance up at Tennessee, a wide grin on his face as though he’s pleased with his performance. “Sorry. I’m sure I overstepped, but I could tell you weren’t interested in the intrusion.”

“Yeah, no. I appreciate it. Sorry about the boyfriend thing. I, ugh, I might have told everyone about someone like you that may or may not be my boyfriend.”

“It’s okay,” he bites back a smile, “I figured. I can be the boyfriend for a weekend. It’s not a big deal. In fact,” he smiles, holding the door to the bakery open for me, “it would be an honor. I do have one request, though.”

I stand before the bakery glass, but for once, I’m not looking at the giant bear claws calling my name. I’m looking up at the giant beside me. “What’s that?”

“We go fishing today, for real.”

“Fishing?” I laugh. “Maybe you missed the part about how desperate I am. You do realize the list of things to do isn’t actually done, right?

The wedding is in one day. I’m totally screwed if I don’t get a fountain fixed, find sixteen more matching chairs, get the caterer up to date with the new headcount, and—”

“That’s exactly why you need some relaxation. You’re about to cry over folding chairs.”

“And fishing is going to make sixteen people disappear?”

“Nope, but it’ll remind you to breathe. You need that right now. The rest can wait.”

He glances toward the girl behind the counter and orders two coffees, four bear claws, and a picnic special to go. Clearly, he’s not listening to me. “Do you have your phone?”

I nod. “Why?”

“And the list?”

I nod again. “Why?”

“Can I see them?”

I’m not sure what he’s trying to pull, but I hand him my phone and the list anyhow. “What are you doing?”

“You stay here.” He hands me his credit card. “Pay for our food and the breakfast. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll take care of everything.”

“Ten minutes? Really?” I laugh, a little annoyed that he thinks he can take care of my entire list of problems in ten minutes.

“Ten minutes,” he repeats. “You sit down and relax while you wait for our food.” He’s talking as he walks, and soon he’s outside on the sidewalk pacing back and forth as he takes one call after another.

His brows narrow as he talks, and though I can’t hear what he’s saying, I can tell by the way his shoulders flatten and his back straightens that he’s taking charge of whatever’s going on.

I can’t decide if I’m horny or pissed off.

I’ve been struggling with these people for weeks. If he comes in having magically found sixteen more chairs, I might just hug him and lose it all at once.

“Your dad is handsome,” the barista says with a grin. She’s an older woman, with short gray hair and tight curls, probably the same age as Tennessee.

My stomach twists and knots. “My dad?”

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t see it, but he’s a catch. Your mom is a lucky woman.”

I think I might die now.

Tennessee walks through the door just as the barista winks at me smugly, like she’s just handed me a winning lottery ticket I’m too dumb to scratch.

He’s got that relaxed swagger that only comes from being wildly competent and infuriatingly calm.

“Got the chairs,” he says, like he just picked up milk on the way home.

“Caterers squared away. Florists are on board. Oh, and I got a guy going to look at the fountain. He can fix anything so I’m sure it’ll be finished in the next few hours. ”

I’m still reeling from the dad comment when he hands me back my phone like we do this every Saturday.

I take the list and my cell, biting back every self-preserving stupid comment that rolls into the front of my brain while simultaneously ignoring how impossibly warm it feels to have someone take care of me for once.

“Well,” he asks with a crooked grin, “do I get a gold star?”

I blink at him. “Oh no,” I say slowly, “you’re getting way more than a gold star.”

His brows lift. “Yeah?”

“You’re being promoted to hot dad.”

He pauses, looks between me and the grinning barista, then deadpans.

I’d love to say the comment stops my pulse from quickening, or my clit from throbbing, but it doesn’t. Not even a little.

That’s how I know I’m in trouble.