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Chapter 4
Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.
Maverick
“Here,” the waiter says before setting a large coffee down on the table in front of me, “you’re going to need this.”
I wrinkle my brow. “I am?”
He chuckles. “You’re meeting the gossip gals. Of course, you do.”
“I’m not meeting the gossip gals.” I don’t even know who the gossip gals are.
He snorts. “I’m Bryan. Tug on your ear if you need saving.”
Is he serious? “Um, okay,” I agree, and he flounces away.
Winter Falls is weird. Don’t get me wrong. I love the quirky Colorado town where the environment is more important than wearing pants. I’m not joking no matter how much I wish I were. But to each their own.
And when I say to each their own, I mean it. No one in town bothers me. I thought it was because I was disguising my presence, but it turns out everyone in town knows I own the Wildlife Refuge. They also know I’ve been coming to town off and on for years now. And yet I haven’t been asked for my autograph once. It’s refreshing.
I’m relieved the town doesn’t go gaga over my star status as I plan to be in town a lot more in the future. As soon as I convince Juniper Berry West I’m the man for her, Winter Falls will officially be my home. The bell above the door to the bakery, Bake Me Happy, rings and Sage walks in. Time to instigate my plan to convince Juniper to give me a chance.
Several women file in after Sage. They’re all wearing bright pink t-shirts with the words Gossip Gal Matchmaker on them. As I watch, they follow Sage to my table.
“Um…” I’m rarely at a loss for words – thank you Hollywood publicists – but how do you respond to a group of elderly women showing up uninvited? Wearing shirts declaring themselves matchmakers? I was expecting Sage to join me this morning, not a whole crew of interfering busybodies. Maybe I do need to tug on my ear.
Sage snaps her fingers. “Bryan! We need more chairs.”
Bryan rushes over and helps everyone get seated. He winks at me before whispering, “Told you so.”
I sip on my coffee for fortification. “What are all of you doing here?”
Sage doesn’t answer my question and says instead, “Let’s begin with the introductions, shall we?”
“To my right is Feather.” The woman winks at me.
“Next to her is Petal.” She bites her lip and flutters her lashes at me. “When the time comes, she’ll help you with the appropriate sex candles.”
I gulp. Sex candles?
“On my other side are Cayenne and Clove. Clove’s off limits since she’s been married to the same man for thirty years.”
Off limits? Who do they think I am? Some carouser? I won’t lie and say I didn’t enjoy a smorgasbord of women in the years after my second movie became a hit, but those days are done. They were done the minute I laid eyes on Juniper. Too bad it took me a while to realize what I had with her.
Juniper is hands down the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. She’s a few inches shorter than me and fits me perfectly. She may be thin from all the running around with animals she does – not to mention she forgets to eat way too often – but she has curves in all the best places. Curves my mouth is dying to explore once again.
Without a doubt, her face could fill a Hollywood screen. She has these cat-like green eyes that intrigue me to no end. And her full lips make me want to bite her bottom lip before soothing it over with my tongue. She rarely wears her hair down but when she does, her long brown curly hair is as gorgeous as the rest of her.
The sound of coffee mugs hitting the table breaks me out of my fantasy of fisting Juniper’s hair while I devour her mouth.
Bryan tugs on his ear before abandoning me. At least someone’s having fun.
“Now, where are we at?” Sage asks.
“Excuse me, where are we at?” I repeat her question because I’ve lost the plot.
“With project MavBerry.”
