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With a snort, JP rolled his eyes. “Shit, man, could you maybe try to tone it down a bit. I’m working on apologizing for being a dick, and it won’t happen if your game is better than mine.”
“An apology, huh? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Step on up to the counter and pick your poison.”
“Thank you,” Hannah said, finally speaking. “And it’s so nice to meet you. This is a wonderful shop. You must be so proud.”
Coop puffed out his chest like a preening peacock.
“Now you’ve done it,” JP muttered.
“Heard that. Want your usual JP?”
“You know it.”
“Coming right up. Take your time perusing that menu, hon,” Cooper said as he went to work.
“What’s your usual?” she asked, staring up at him.
“A cup of strawberry cheesecake ice cream with hot fudge and about six pounds of whipped cream. He makes the cheesecake fresh in house for the ice cream. Seriously it’s the most amazing thing you’ll ever put in your mouth. Well, maybe the second most amazing.”
She blushed, of course, which had him chuckling. He’d always liked the shy ones, but her actions were beginning to make him wonder if she wasn’t inexperienced on top of the shyness. That had never been his thing, but for some insane reason, the thought of it had him growing hard.
In the damn ice cream shop.
“JP, don’t be crude,” Coop yelled from where he was scooping ice cream with ease as though it was melted instead of rock hard.
“Just keeping it real.”
And hoping he didn’t get a full-on boner. Cooper would never let him live it down.
Cooper snorted.
“I like him,” Hannah said with a smile.
Within seconds, Cooper delivered a giant cup of JP’s favorite treat. Favorite food treat, that was. “Have you decided?” he asked Hannah.
“I have. I’ll take the classic brownie sundae,” she said. “Small.”
“My personal favorite,” Coop said. “And you’ll be getting a medium at minimum. Be right back.”
“What? I can’t eat that much.”
“Just go with it. Coop’s ultimate goal in life is to give everyone he meets diabetes.”
Snickering, she gazed around the shop. “This place is so great.”
Nodding, JP said, “Sure is. It’s been open about seven years now and has always done incredible business. Coop worked as a pastry chef at some fancy-schmancy restaurant in Boston for a few years. Eventually, he got sick of the pretentious patrons, shitty hours, and even shittier pay. So he came home, he opened this place, and the rest is history.”
“That’s right,” Cooper said as he returned with a jaw-droppingly large sundae. “Now I’m my own boss. I make what I love, work when I want, and life is pretty damn good.”
They chatted for a few more minutes until a group of moms came in with their toddlers. As usual, Coop refused to allow him to pay, so he slyly shoved a twenty in tip jar before they took off. Business might be booming, but Coop also had four little ones at home. The crazy man.
Now that I’m a father—
Holy shit.
He was one of them now. Only there was no mom to join that group. He’d be doing it all alone. Terrible Twos. Threenagers or whatever he’d heard Coop call it one time. Jesus Christ, sometimes the magnitude of the responsibility smacked him so hard it nearly bowled him over.
JP stopped walking before he reached the exit.
Hannah bumped into him from behind. “Oops, sorry!”
Shaking his head, he said, “No, my fault.”
“You okay?” Her mouth turned down but seemed more a look of concern rather than displeasure.
“Uh, yeah, I just had a crazy thought.” He started walking again, pushing the door open for her as he reached it.
“Anything you want to share?” She took a bite of her ice cream then made another of those obscene moans.
JP willed his dick to ignore the sound. Of course, it ignored him instead. How was it possible for her to be so unaware of her effect on him? Once again, he had to do a little discreet shifting to keep her from noticing the growing bulge in his jeans.
“Nah, it’s nothing important. Let’s head to the resort. Well, the future resort.”
A quick drive was all it took to arrive at the campground. The property belonged to Mickie and Ronnie now, so campers were no longer permitted.
“Oh, wow, it’s beautiful here.”
As he shut the car’s engine, JP nodded. “It is. You should see it in winter, all covered in snow. It’s breathtaking.” Located partway up the mountain, the property stayed snowy and stunning throughout winter.
“How many cabins are there?” She asked, peering through the windshield.
“Ten, I believe. Let’s go sit outside. There are some picnic tables over there.”
“Sounds good.”
This time, she was out of the car before he had a chance to grab her door. Damn, that meant a missed opportunity to see her pretty blush. They walked toward the picnic area in silence, taking in the serenity of nature.
