I tried to breathe through the sudden surge of nervous energy.
I was in trouble.
Because if I let myself think too long about how easily he slid into my life—how good it felt to have him here, fixing things, bringing me pie,seeingme when I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be seen—I was going to start hoping.
And I didn’t know if my heart was ready for that.
Hope was a dangerous thing.
Chapter 12
Hunter
Afew nights later, the margarita machine finally let me hear what Paige had described. I winced as it groaned like it was possessed, then sputtered out a sad mechanical wheeze. I examined it, flashlight in my mouth, elbow-deep in wires and regret, half tempted to throw it in the dumpster and buy her a new one.
“There!” She shouted as she came running out of the back room. “Hear that? It’s haunted, I swear.”
“Yup, it’s definitely a hard sound to miss.”
“Right?” she muttered. “It’s sentient, I know it. Watch out before it kills us both. Death by tequila and triple sec.”
I got to work, frustrated as there seemed to be nothing actually wrong with it. “Every time I think I’ve figured you out,” I muttered to the machine, “you prove me wrong. Just like the woman who owns you.”
Behind me, Paige hummed faintly as she organized something behind the bar. I couldn’t tell what—she could’ve been stacking napkins or alphabetizing tequila—but it sounded like she was in the zone.
If I hadn’t been falling for her already, this would have pushed me closer to the edge.
There was something unexpectedly adorable about the way she concentrated, humming her off-key little song as if the rest of the world had slipped away. She always bit her lip when she was deep in thought, her brows scrunched in mock severity, only to soften moments later with a half-smile when she found whatever she was searching for. Even with her hair falling messily around her face and her sleeves pushed up, she managed to make the mundane—stacking boxes, straightening bottles—look cute. She wasn’t trying to be, she just was.
Weirdly, tonight reminded me of being with her after school when my dad still watched her and Piper. Once high school started, they started going straight home instead of riding the school bus with me and my brothers back to our place. I had never let myself feel how much I had missed her after that. She started hanging out with Eli, and they began dating. And they got married soon after graduation. We had obviously remained friends, but not quite as close as when we were kids—until now.
It felt like she was mine again.
Mine? I brushed the thought aside and glanced her way, grinning to myself as she worked. Hiding a smile while she hummed her little song and jolted me back to the past—at the kitchen table, doing homework together, fighting back a grin as she hummed.
I tightened the last bolt, adjusted the switch, and listened as the machine whirred back to life. Still not quite right, still running weird—but functional. I stood and wiped my hands on a towel, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
She had one knee propped on a barstool, reaching up to adjust a box on the highest shelf, hoodie riding up just enough to show a sliver of skin. Nothing overt. Just soft, pale skin that I’d give just about anything to trace with my fingers.
I looked away. Fast.
“I’m done for now. And the freezer seems to be holding steady,” I called, trying to sound casual. “I don’t hear it anymore, do you?”
“Nope.” She grinned at me. “And the margarita monster?”
“She lives,” I said, walking toward her. “Every time I work on it, there’s a different problem. I think she’s just dramatic. Needs attention.”
“So, basically, me in machine form.”
I laughed. “Exactly. Little high-maintenance, kind of unpredictable, but if you take care of her, she runs like a dream.”
She gave me a look over her shoulder. “Flattery won’t get you out of inventory next week,” she joked. “You’re my helper now. It’s official.”
“I’d do your inventory every night if it meant I got to spend time with you like this.” The words came out softer than I meant them to.
Her smile faltered for a second. Not completely—but enough that I saw the flicker of something cross her face. Fear maybe. Attraction hopefully.
I cleared my throat and leaned against the bar, careful to give her space. “Anyway. You’re all set for now.”
