Page 48 of Warming His Bed

“No worries. I got held up in a planning committee meeting anyway. I was worried I was the one who was late.”

We steered back over to the front counter and ordered drinks. The barista grinned at me as she slid my drink across the counter to me. Today there was a filigree heart pattern in the foam. “I knew it would work.”

“I’m sorry?” My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders thanks to a combination of sleep deprivation and sex haze, so I had no idea what she was talking about. But I did know this coffee was liquid gold.

“The four-leaf clover. You got lucky, didn’t you?”

Choking on my coffee, I went into a coughing fit but thankfully managed not to spray her with a spit take.

“Oh my gosh, Grace. That’s none of your business,” Kobie admonished her.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant your luck must have turned around. Although you are kind of glowing, so…good for you, I guess.”

“What? That’s not—”

“Come on.” Kobie cut me off and steered me toward the stairs to the second- floor seating. “I don’t have a lot of time.”

“Congrats,” Grace called to our retreating backs.

“I don’t want to keep you if you’re too busy,” I said to Kobie, pushing down my mortification as we climbed the stairs.

“Nonsense.” She snagged us a table in the back corner, behind a dark polished wooden pillar that shielded us from sight. “I just didn’t want us to get caught up in a twenty-minute discussion about Grace’s latte art voodoo superstitions.” She waved her hand around. “Plus, I want to stay out of earshot of all the Nosy Nancies.”

“You got some hot festival gossip?” I leaned in.

If someone had told me a week ago that I would be this invested in the inner workings of a glorified county fair, I would’ve laughed in their face, but Kelly Bay had sucked me in.

She laid her forehead down on the table. “Does impending doom count as gossip?” Her words came out muffled.

“Probably. I take it that means no luck on the replacement Valor King so far.”

She sat back up and groaned. “The opening ceremony is in less than two weeks, and this morning the committee rejected all three of the willing prospects I lined up.”

“Sounds like you need to remind them beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Ugh, I know. But this is the first time I’m organizing the festival. I don’t want to let the town down, but the committee is being so over-the-top.” The bags under her eyes drooped, and she sucked back her coffee like she would’ve mainlined it straight into her veins if she could have.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. Thanks though. I’m sorry about the rules. About the selection committee meetings being secret. Once we get this sorted out, I can give you more behind-the-scenes stuff.” She shook her head. “I’ll stop complaining. I hope this won’t reflect poorly on what you think of the festival…and your article.” She shredded a paper napkin into little strips, keeping her eyes down.

I’d been so wrapped up in my search for Axel Everett, it never dawned on me Kobie could be worried about what I was going to write. I reached out and stilled her hand. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to turn out fine. And I won’t mention anything about the Valor King replacement in my article. Unless you want me to spin it as a story of how the town pulled together in a pinch.”

Kobie sniffed, and her eyes got a little misty. “That is my favorite kind of story.” She blew out a breath and straightened her shoulders. “This is going to be okay. I’m going to get it figured out.”

Guilt rested across my shoulders like a weighted blanket. After seeing all the messages from Eirin and Ward when I turned on my phone this morning, asking Drew about the festival had completely slipped my mind. I’d intended to, but I’d been distracted. Even though we were together for the last two straight days, it wasn’t like we’d done much talking.

Besides yes, more, harder, right there,etc.

“I know you said no before, but I could ask Drew to—”

“Kobie, is that you hiding over here?”

A stunning redhead popped her head around the massive pillar. It took my brain a moment to compute why she looked familiar.

“Oh. Hey, Gwen.” Kobie gave her a little wave.

Gwen.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com