AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We wanted to run through the hampers for the trip.”
“Sure. I have a list of the things I’m putting inside them here.” She thrust it at him. Ted’s fingers brushed hers as he took it.
“Relax,” he said so only she could hear. “No one here is a threat to you.”
“I know that, I’m just being professional.”
“No, you’re acting like a scared rabbit.” He looked over the list.
“I am not!”
“Problem?” Jack’s eyes went from Ted to Mandy
“No, we’re just talking,” Ted said smoothly.
No one spoke to Mandy like that… ever. Well, at least not since she’d lived in Ryker Falls.
Maybe that’s your problem?Was it? Had she lived in the shadows because no one had forced her out of them?
“Let me see that list, Ted.” Jake took the paper and scanned the page.
The men were all dressed casually. Ted wore a button-down pale blue shirt with darker blue shorts, and the sleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms. After seeing his weights and the equipment in that gym, she understood why he was so well-built.
“This looks awesome and has most of my favorite things on it.”
“As it’s Cubby’s bachelor party, maybe it should be about him?” Jack drawled.
“Probably, but he eats anything and at the moment is still sleeping off last night, so he’ll just have to put up with whatever we choose.”
“You mind if we take up a table, Miss Marla?” Ted said, waving to the round one in the window. “I could do with a scone and coffee, now you’ve had the machine installed.”
“Of course, we can always fit in handsome men,” her aunt teased. “And today’s are apple and cinnamon. They’re just out of the oven.”
“God’s truth, if I knew you’d accept me I’d marry you today.”
“Oh hell no, you didn’t.” Jack looked pissed off. “I’ve been asking those two women to marry me for years, and they’ve refused. So shut it down, Teddy Bear.”
The coffee machine was something Mandy had pushed for, and her aunts had finally relented. Neither of them, however, would learn how to use it, which left her. She made her way behind it now as the men flirted with her aunts, who loved the attention.
“I’m not apologizing for what I just said, Mandy. You need shaking up and asked me to help.” Ted now stood across the counter from her.
“And that’s your way of helping?” She slapped the milk jug onto the counter.
He smiled, a wide, I-can-sell-you-anything, smile.
“Look at you getting all pissed off. How does it feel?”
Kind of good, actually, but she wasn’t admitting to anything, so she concentrated on the coffee.
“How’s that going? It looks like the one we have at the lodge, but smaller.” He spoke as if the last few minutes hadn’t happened. Two could play that game.
“Okay. I need more lessons, but so far no one has complained.”
“I could show you if you like. I make excellent coffee.”
One day she’d have an ego that would let her brag about being good at something.
“It’s okay. You’re a paying customer, we don’t expect you to make your own coffee.”
