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“So,” he said, leisurely leaning over the counter toward me as I poured his coffee. “You think you canhandleme? I’m notoriously difficult.”
“Please. I’ve had worse customers than you.” I pointedly surveyed him from head to toe. Fitted dark jeans accentuated strong thighs, and I didn’t even want to think about what they’d look like from behind.Too late.Geez, I was so bad at this single thing. They were tucked into knee-high waders, which seemed par for the course here. Another plaid shirt open at the neck. “At least you’re easy on the eyes.”
Those stubbled cheeks quirked sideways before he laced his reply with disbelief. “Was that acompliment?”
“I’msmart, not blind.”
“Ouch,” Maverick said with mock discretion as he choked on a laugh.
I handed Jameson the obsolete, but requested, menu before offering the coffee. A flinch accompanied his hiss of displeasure as he shifted the cup, the lid visibly leaking scalding fresh brew onto his hand.
“Oh, shit, I’m sorry. Here, let me help!” I reached forward without thinking.
Jameson, naturally, argued, “I got it.”
“Here, give me one,” I said, deliberating between the drink and the menu before opting for the cup. The stupid,flimsypaper cup which, in turn, exploded in a steaming splash down his front, the ridiculous farce of a lid popping off and landing on the counter with a dull plastic clunk.
“Jesus!” He barked. If there had never been a highlight reel of expletives, there certainly was now as they ran through my head in rapid succession, lips pursed so tightly I thought I might actually bite through them.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry.” I fumbled for the napkins, finally freeing the busted cup from his hands, and pointedly ignoring the spark of something that trailed from where his fingers grazed mine.
“That never would have happened if you’d just listened to me and poured a cup forhere.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, turning back to face him, blotting up the coffee on his arm and handing him a wad of napkins, patting at the mess down his jacket and stopping in precarious proximity to the zipper of his freaking jeans.Phew. That was close. “I’ll pour you a new one.”
Axel’s snicker of amusement caught my attention as Jameson ground his teeth. “If you can manage to finish without soaking me this time, that would be great.”
“Said no man ever.” It was only when his eyes darkened I realized I’d said it out loud. “Oh, my god. I—oh my god—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.I’m fired.I’m quitting, I swear.” Something like amusement tugged on his lips, but as my eyes fell in embarrassment, I saw the red, raised skin on the back of his hands. One week on the job, and I’d scalded the owner’sbrother. Scarred the most beautiful man I’d ever damn seen. Both of our eyes flicked over to Brin as she barked her dismay.
“Like hellyou are. I need you. And if Jameson didn’t grip everything like he was trying to strangle it, that never would have happened. Stick to ceramic forHulkhands over there.” She snatched what looked to be a handmade mug from the open shelving behind her, tossing it my way and grinning when I caught it. That could have been a very messy overestimation on her part. “Unless Rhyett wants this kid walking out of my nether regions in the storage room, you’re staying put, McShane.”
“Eww, Brin,” Mav complained, wrinkling his nose, oblivious to the fact that my stomach was turning.
I did my best to hide my wince, having decided with Brexley to keep my last name off the radar. Well, so much for that theory. As long as nobody was posting photos or anything, it would be fine. Right? The idea of Eric showing up with his buttery vocabulary and suits that screamed generational money made my skin crawl. In large part because the idea of facing him made all of this nearly unpalatable, but some small piece of me hated the look of judgment I knew would accompany his evaluation of my new home, my new job. It shouldn’t matter. Iknewthat. But somehow, that glare that said I brought him shame was imprinted on my mind.
“Hey,” Jameson had lowered his voice, as if he could sense the shift in my energy. And while it was deeper than his older brother’s, it had that same delicious, rich timbre that drove Brex into madness. How I hadn’t seen the similarities that first night was beyond me. “It’sjustcoffee, Lizzy. I’m fine.”
Great. Now the grump wascomfortingme after our kerfuffle. I needed to scramble and recover. “Good thing you wore your waterproof pants today, right?”
He glanced down under arched brows, glaring at his denim. “Certainly will from here on out, Skittles.”
“Not that again,” I groaned, carefully sliding the fresh cup his way. His eyes zeroed in on my now-shaking fingers, and I cursed my nerves. At least, right until he set that calloused palm against the back of my hand, making heat course through my veins.
“I’m fine.You’refine.” He mistook the reason for my tremble, but that didn’t change the eerie familiarity of his touch, or the way it put me at ease. Warning bells rang in my mind, emergency lights flashing.Danger Noel McShane. Danger.
I took pride in being unfailingly honest with myself, which meant the initial justification that it was just because he was Rhyett’s brother was quickly stuffed aside.No, ma’am, that there is pure, undiluted physical chemistry, goddamn it. Forcing myself to stay steady, I smiled up at him.
“Anything else for you,sir?”
The way his shoulders tensed, eyes darkened, and jaw set told me everything I needed to know about the man in front of me. He liked that. He liked thata lot.
Oh man, I’d always wanted a partner who liked that kind of play. I’d only ever read about them. The storm cloud would like that dynamic in the bedroom, wouldn’t he?Dear GOD, why am I thinking about that?
“Just a lifetime of patience so I can deal with you until Brin comes back,” he jabbed, tone thick with humor. I didn’t miss the smirk that slid onto his face as he spotted the jar of sea glass on the counter.
“Oh, honey,” I admonished, patting his hand. “You’re gonna need a hell of a lot more than that.”
FIVE
