Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“You can hold your own, Beau. Vince respects you. He wouldn’t even blink an eye.” Lily is full of shit. She knows it, and I know it.
“Yeah, we’ll go along with that, but tell me. How did this guy even stand a chance with Vincent around?” Hell, I didn’t even know she was dating someone, and things get around here in Cherry Falls.
“Well, about that… He didn’t really see us together,” she admits.
“Fuck, honey. I don’t even want to know, do I?”
“Probably not. If you do this for me, though, I’ll keep you well stocked in those candies you love so much.” Damn, she sure drives a hard bargain.
“If this happens, there will be rules, and you may not like them.” I keep my expression stern.
“Whatever you want, promise.” She holds out her pinky finger.
“You may not like my rules, Lily,” I grumble but wrap her finger with mine, letting her have this win.
“How bad can they be?” she questions. Her tongue wraps around the straw in her tea as she takes a sip. I need to change positions. If she sees what she does to me, she’ll probably run for the hills.
“I’ll call you tonight and go from there, unless you need me to give you a ride home?”
“Nope, I’ll be fine. I’m going back to the shop for a bit. I want to get a head start on a few things for Valentine’s Day. If he shows up, I’ll call you. If that’s okay, I mean?” Lily stands up to take her leave.
“Even if we weren’t in this pretend state of affairs, you could anytime. Come here. If we’re gonna make this work, I’ll at least need your lips.” I figure a soft kiss won’t kill her, and I want to see just how far she’s willing to go. Lily moves closer, standing up on her toes, leaning over the edge of the bar. My fingers move to her hair, gliding through the long locks, feeling their silky softness. Our lips meet. Hers are soft, pillowy beneath my own. I want to deepen the kiss, but not yet, and damn sure not here. I reluctantly let her go. A blush to her cheeks and a smile on her face is how we leave each other.
“See you later, Beau.”
“Later, honey.” My eyes never leave her figure until she’s out of my sight. This is going to be one hell of a fake relationship.
Chapter 2
Lily
I left the Tipsy Cow and Beau with the biggest smile plastered on my face. The way he stood behind the bar, with a grin on his face when I brought up my proposition. I also saw his brown eyes turn darker, as if he was thinking of something entirely different, a five o’clock shadow covering his jaw, and I’m not ashamed to say I would love the feel of that scruff rubbing against my skin. His black Tipsy Cow shirt was glued to his broad shoulders and muscular chest, showing off arms that you know will keep you safe and secure, as well as his tapered waist, and even though I was sitting on a barstool, I still got the perfect view of his bottom half that was covered in dark denim jeans that were slightly molded to his legs, and I’m not ashamed to say I looked at the entirety of his body. Much like he did mine. There’s a reason no one tries to start a fight here—one look at Beau, and they probably run the other way. Add his no-bullshit attitude, and most people would. But not me.
It took entirely too long to drive to Vince’s job. No lie, I hit every traffic light, every construction project that was going on before finally getting to Cherry Bomb Tattoo Parlor. It’s one hell of a name, I will say that.
Usually, the best part about living in a smallish town is that everyone knows everyone. Okay, fine. Sometimes, it’s not a good thing. Especially right now. I’m sure Vince will find out if I don’t get to his shop, which kind of sucks because he’s in Cherry Falls and Beau’s place is in Rosewood Ranch Lands.
“Hey, is Vince available?” I ask Duke, who co-owns the tattoo shop with Ozzie.
“Yeah, Lil, he just finished up. Head on back.” Everyone thinks Duke is the big badass, but he’s a teddy bear and gave Vince a job when he needed it. In my book, that’s more than the black sheep label he was given.
“Thanks.” I wave and head toward Vince, already gearing up for the dressing down he’ll give me, but one thing’s for sure. I’m older than him, curvy, and if I have to, I’ll do what I did when we were growing up—I’ll pinch him until he begs for mercy.
“Well, this is a surprise. No treats?” is how Vince greets me. I roll my eyes. I swear every man around town is there for something sweet.