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CHAPTER9
Chloe
Peyton’s tall, muscular body pinned me against the counter. His dark chocolate eyes danced with mirth as he stared at my lips. Was he thinking of kissing me?
The bell above the door rang. It drew Peyton’s attention away from me. I turned and looked over my shoulder. Amanda was standing in the doorway with a knowing grin on her face. God, what this must look like with Peyton glued to me.
“Uh, I’ve finished locking up.” Amanda held out the keys to Catherine’s Sweet Treats. “I was wondering if you needed the Jeep tonight. Ryan asked me to dinner with his parents, and I was hoping I could borrow it.”
Amanda had talked nonstop all week about Ryan. He was one of the locals. His parents owned the hardware store on Main Street. I thought it was sweet that Ryan wanted Amanda to meet his parents.
“If Ryan asked you on a date, shouldn’t he be picking you up?” Peyton interjected as if he had a right to question Ryan’s intentions with Amanda.
I placed my hands on Peyton’s chest to remove him from my personal space. I turned around to find Amanda nervously fidgeting. I’d let her borrow my Jeep to come to the beach during the day. We never discussed what access I would allow when I wasn’t at work.
“Yes, Amanda,” I smiled. “You can borrow the Jeep for your date.” I turned to face Peyton. “Not everyone has unlimited funds and can afford a vehicle at eighteen,” I chastised Peyton for assuming Ryan was less of a gentleman. I’d seen Ryan use his father’s truck with the store’s logo. That didn’t mean Ryan had access to it after hours for personal use.
Now I remembered why I stayed away from the group of spoiled trust-fund babies–their sense of entitlement.
And to think, I almost let Peyton kiss me.
Was he going to kiss me?
Thank god Amanda came when she did. How embarrassed would I be if she found me cavorting with the enemy? Because let’s face it, Peyton was the enemy. His confession earlier about not deliberately putting glue in my hair did not negate the years he stood back while Nancy and her mean girls ruled the beach.
I rounded the counter and headed to Amanda, holding my keys in her outstretched hand.
“Thank you for the milkshake and the apology,” I threw over my shoulder and led Amanda out the door and away from Peyton’s Shake Shack.
“So,” Amanda drawled, “what did I almost walk in on?” She stifled a giggle.
“Nothing,” I was quick to point out.
“And what did McHottie Shake Shack have to apologize for? I thought you were the one who needed to do that?” Amanda gave me a sideways glance.
I explained the reasons for my animosity towards Peyton.
Amanda thought the story was cute. She compared it to a boy pulling on a girl’s hair because he liked her.
“He doesn’t like me,” I claimed. “He was feeling guilty, that’s all,” I insisted.
“Oh no,” Amanda asserted. “McHottie Shake Shack looked at you like he wanted to devour you. He likes you, likes you,” she rejoiced.
“And his name is Peyton. So stop calling him McHottie Shake Shack,” I demanded.
“Sure, okay, but you have to admit that he’s hot, and you wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers. Or, in this case, ice cream.” Amanda scampered away to avoid any repercussion I might distribute at her teasing.
“Fine,” I conceded. “I can admit that Peyton is kind of hot.” My blushing gave away that I did indeed find Mr. Peyton Manos to be a McHottie.
“I call bullshit,” Amanda called back as she jumped into the driver’s side of my Jeep. “I’ll see you at home. I also call dibs on the shower.” And with that, she sped out of the parking lot, leaving me standing at the back of Catherine’s Sweet Treats.
I checked the doors to the hut. Not that I didn’t trust Amanda; it was out of habit. I always did a double check of the doors after I locked them. I headed to the rented van. Peyton waved as he got into his truck. At the end of the parking lot, I turned left. I saw Peyton turning right towards town in my rearview mirror.
I didn’t have time to ponder Peyton’s plans for the evening. I had to get home and start making inventory for tomorrow. Today was one of the best opening days in history.
The Twitter war between Peyton and I was entertaining. I thought about how to spin this with the library’s board members. Being up to date on social media would benefit the library.
As soon as I got home, I opened Twitter.
