Page 15 of Trick or Tease

SAbrINA

I needed to get away from Garrett before I said something I’d really regret. After we packed up the booth, I made some excuse about having errands to run. I dropped him off at the house and hit the gas before he even managed to close the passenger door.

The man had the uncanny knack of making me happy, to horny, to pissed within the span of five minutes. I hated that I let him get under my skin.

Twenty minutes later, I was pushing through the door of Lucy’s Boutique on Main Street. The familiar scent of lavender and vanilla candles wrapped around me like a hug. It was her attempt to class up the place. It did smell good and there was a sense of calm since she brought in the scents.

“Thank God you’re here,” I called out, spotting Lucy behind the counter.

Lucy looked up, her hair escaping from the messy bun she’d attempted that morning. She took one look at me and shook her head. “You look like you need to vent about something. Spill.” She gestured to a table with a box sitting on it. “Fold with me.”

I reached into the box and pulled out one of the sweaters and started to fold. Folding shirts, sweaters, or jeans was therapeutic.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Lucy asked.

“Garrett Hogan is what’s got me worked up.”

“Ah.” Lucy nodded and picked up a sweater from the box. She didn’t say anything else.

“He’s a jerk.”

“Always has been. But you knew that.”

“I took him to the farmer’s market with me today.” I started reorganizing the sweaters by color, needing something to do with my hands. “And he’s just… God, Lucy, he’s so infuriating.”

“Infuriating how? Like, bad breath infuriating or makes-your-heart-race infuriating?”

I shot her a look. She knew exactly what I was talking about. She was with the younger Hogan that seemed to get all the kindness and patience. Garrett got the mean streak.

“The second kind, which makes it worse,” I said.

Lucy grinned. “This is going to be good. Tell me everything.”

“He spent the whole morning eating everyone’s food and complimenting their recipes. Cinnamon rolls, honey, pumpkin pie. He was genuinely enjoying it all, you know? Like he was remembering what good food actually tastes like.”

“I’m sure he was.” She nodded. “He’s been eating caviar and snails.”

That made me laugh. “Yeah, well, he thinks he found the honey pot.”

“The honey?”

“No, like he’s got dollar signs. It’s like he can’t understand people being happy with their lives that aren’t filled with penthouses and exotic cars.

He seems intent on everyone trying to get rich.

He started talking about how everyone could ‘scale up’ their operations.

Online sales, distribution channels, subscription boxes.

He turned this beautiful morning of community and tradition into a business opportunity. ”

Lucy winced. “Ouch.”

“Right? Like he couldn’t just appreciate what these people do without figuring out how to squeeze more profit out of it. He’s just always about money.”

“Money is important though,” Lucy said, folding a cardigan. “Everything’s more expensive these days. Bills don’t pay themselves.”

I sighed, knowing she was right. “Yeah, but he’s greedy about it. Like he wants more than he needs or can even use. There’s a difference between making a living and whatever it is he’s doing.”

Lucy paused in her folding, giving me a look. “You know, for someone who supposedly can’t stand the guy, you seem to be talking about him an awful lot.”

“I am not—” I started to protest, then caught myself. “Okay, fine. Maybe I am. But it’s only because he’s so frustrating.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And it doesn’t matter anyway,” I continued, more to convince myself than her. “He’ll be gone in a few days. He hasn’t really said how long he’s staying, but I can’t imagine it’s much longer. He’s probably counting down the minutes until he can get back to his precious lawyer office.”

I grabbed another sweater from the box, shaking it out more aggressively than necessary.

“Besides, we’re completely different people now.

He’s not the boy who left all those years ago.

That Garrett was… I don’t know. He had dreams but he also had heart.

This version of him just sees everything as a transaction. ”

Lucy was quiet for a moment, which was never a good sign. When Lucy went quiet, it meant she was thinking, and when she was thinking, it usually meant she was about to say something I didn’t want to hear.

“What?” I demanded.

“Nothing,” she said innocently, but I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.

“Lucy.”

“I just think it’s interesting, that’s all. You’ve been single for what, two years now? And the first guy to show up who gets you all fired up happens to be your first love.”

“He’s not my first love,” I said quickly. “We never even dated.”

“Right. Because that makes it less complicated.”

I threw the sweater I was holding back into the box. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m not trying to help. I’m trying to point out that maybe you’re protesting a little too much about how awful he is. You chose to take him to the market. Seems to me you put him in your way. You wanted to hang out with him.”

I scowled. “He is awful. He’s arrogant and condescending and he thinks he’s better than everyone here.”

“And yet you voluntarily spent the morning with him at the farmer’s market. None of my business, of course. It’s just interesting, is all I’m saying.”

I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it again. She had me there.

“Look,” Lucy said, her voice gentler now. “I’m not saying you should throw yourself at the guy. But maybe cut him a little slack? Coming home can’t be easy for him either. People change, but sometimes they just need reminding of who they used to be.”

I wanted to argue with her. There were a few moments that almost made up for the asshole moment.

Almost.

“What is the deal with you guys?” she asked.

“Nothing!”

She laughed. “Clearly.”

I groaned and dropped the sweater, then covered my face with my hands. “Why is he so hot?”

Lucy laughed, enjoying this. “I fell for a Hogan boy, so I know what you mean.”

“Objectively speaking, Garrett has gotten ridiculously good-looking. Like, unfairly so. It’s not even fair that one person gets to look like that.”

Lucy grinned and picked up another sweater. “I mean, I guess if you’re into that whole brooding, intense thing he’s got going on.”

“You guess?” I stared at her. “Lucy, the man looks like he stepped out of a magazine. Those blue eyes, that jawline, the way he fills out a basic T-shirt…” I trailed off, realizing I was getting carried away again. “It should be illegal. Or there should be a warning label slapped on his forehead.”

“Eh.” Lucy shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. “Billy’s always been the better-looking Hogan brother, in my opinion.”

I snorted. “You’re completely biased.”

“I am not biased,” she protested. “Billy has those warm brown eyes and that easy smile. Plus, he’s got that whole gentle giant thing going for him. Much more my type than Mr. Uptight City Lawyer.”

“You are absolutely biased,” I insisted. “You’ve had a crush on Billy since we were in grade school. Of course you think he’s better looking.”

“He’s my man,” she said proudly. “You can have the other one.”

“I doubt that’s going to happen,” I said with a sigh. “He’ll be gone again before we know it.”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” Lucy said. “I know you, Sabrina. When you fall, you fall hard.”

I felt my cheeks flush. “I’m not falling for anyone.”

“Maybe not yet, but you’re teetering on the edge.

I can see it in your eyes when you talk about him.

” She set down the sweater she was folding and turned to face me fully.

“Look, I get it. He’s gorgeous, he’s successful, and there’s all that history between you two.

But he’s also made it pretty clear that his life is in New York. Make sure you keep that in mind.”

“I know that,” I said. “Trust me, I’m very aware of where his priorities are.”

“Are you though? Because you’re spending an awful lot of time with him for someone who’s supposedly aware he’s leaving.

” Lucy’s expression softened. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, okay?

You’ve got such a good thing going with the farm, with your life here.

Don’t let some fantasy about what could have been mess that up. ”

I grabbed another sweater, fussing with the sleeves, folding it over and over until the edges lined up just so.

It gave me something to stare at, so I didn’t have to look at her.

“It’s not a fantasy. We’re just… I don’t even know what we’re doing.

” I smoothed out a wrinkle with my thumb.

“But it doesn’t matter. You’re right. He’ll be gone soon. ”

“And until then?”

I sighed, finally meeting her eyes. “Until then, I guess I just try to survive however long he’s sticking around without doing anything stupid.”

“Like what?”

“Like kissing him.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Lucy’s eyes went wide. “You want to kiss him?”

“No!”

“You are such a liar!”

I groaned, realizing my mistake. “It’s not what you think. It was barely anything. Just a moment when we were in the city. Billy’s big mouth stopped it. But we totally would have kissed.”

“So, it’s a good thing he interrupted you?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Ohhh, you are so sprung on Garrett!”

“Shush! Stop saying that. We are not in middle school.”

“Sabrina loves Garrett.” She sang the words.

The truth was, I hadn’t stopped thinking about that almost-kiss on his balcony. The way he’d looked at me, the way my pulse had jumped when he’d stepped closer. Even now, just remembering it made my stomach flutter in ways that were absolutely not helpful.

“Okay, fine,” I admitted. “Maybe it wasn’t completely meaningless. But that doesn’t change anything. He’s still leaving, and I’m still staying. End of story.”

“It doesn’t have to be the end of the story,” Lucy said gently. “Maybe you could?—”

“What? Follow him to New York? Give up everything I’ve worked for here to chase after some guy who thinks my life is quaint?” I shook my head firmly. “No way. I’m not that girl, Lucy. I won’t turn myself inside out for a man who can’t even appreciate what I have here.”

“You better be careful,” she warned. “Because Garrett is New York. He’s not going to come back. So, if you’re not interested in leaving, you need to guard your heart. Those Hogan boys have a way of stealing those things when you least expect it.”

“My heart is firmly in my chest and he is not getting his greedy little hands on it.”

She burst into laughter. “Alright, but I will make my man beat up his big brother if he hurts you.”

“Good. But I think I could kick Garrett’s ass. He might look like he’s all big, but he’s gone soft. All that city living.”