Chapter 10
ten
. . .
Wells
First Kiss Pick-Me-Ups?
The last person I expected to walk into my bar in the middle of the afternoon was my brother. A full day early.
Followed by another unexpected visitor right behind him…
Rosalie.
When she breezes in behind Zander like she owns the place, wearing a cute little pink, puffy jacket, smiling brightly at all my guys and carrying a big box stuffed full of candy from next door with Penny on her heels, I’m surprised as shit.
About seeing the both of them for entirely different reasons.
Penny runs over to where Frankie’s chewing on his stuffed reindeer and pounces on him playfully. Those two are completely obsessed with each other. I can’t get over it.
I set down the sander that I was using to refinish the top of the bar and walk around the bar. Zander barrels into me, tossing his arms around me in a bear hug. Even though I’m three inches taller and have a good fifty pounds on him, he still manages to lift me off the ground.
“Surprise, baby brother!”
“Hell, Zander, I thought you were coming in tomorrow?” I say as he sets me down and steps back, smirking haughtily.
“What, you’re not happy to see me?” he says with an exaggerated look of mock offense.
“Of course I am. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You’re a day early. Where’s Ally?” I ask, glancing over at Rosalie, who’s watching the two of us, clutching that box tightly in her hands.
Shit, she probably feels blindsided by him coming even earlier than I told her.
“She’s over at the candy store next door getting some treats for the family. Man, I always forget how much I love Mistletoe Falls until I’m here again,” Zander says before following my gaze to where I’m staring over at Rosalie. “Wait, is this…”
I nod, walking over to her, sliding my arm around her waist. “This is Rosalie. My… girl. Rosalie, this is my older brother, Zander.”
She’s slightly stiff in my arms as she glances up at me, her eyes widened, then over at Zander, before looking back and forth between us again.
“Wow. There are two of you.”
Zander’s face transforms, a wide smile moving over his lips as he lets out a laugh that echoes loudly around the bar. “Obviously, I’m the most attractive brother.” He extends a hand toward her until he realizes her hands are full. “Oh shit, do you work at the candy store?”
“Uh, actually, my grandparents own it, so it’s a family business,” she says. “I brought these over for Wells and the guys to have as a little pick-me-up while they’re working.”
Zander’s brow lifts, gaze flicking to me before returning to Rosalie. “That’s sweet of you. Isn’t it, Wells?”
I roll my eyes at the fact that he’s already giving me shit and he’s been in my bar for less than ten minutes.
I guess it’s fair since I give him his own fair share of shit for being the world’s most down bad motherfucker when it comes to his girlfriend.
Or fiancée, once we get to the cabins and he finally pops the question.
“Thanks, Sugar,” I murmur, taking the candy from her, which Zander promptly snatches away from me. “I appreciate it.”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she says, giving me a small smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Rosalie,” Zander says, interrupting my thoughts. “You gonna show me and Ally around town at Mistletoe Magic this weekend?”
“Uh, yeah, sure, of course,” she says with a nod. “I’d be happy to. Wells and I were already going, so it’ll be great to have you there too. Right, Wells?”
We were?
I feel her fingers digging into my side when I don’t immediately respond, so I clear my throat and nod. “Yeah. Yeah, we’ve been planning it all week, so perfect timing.”
“Cool. We can’t wait. Oh, Collin’s here. Gonna go say hi and eat all of these in front of him.” He waggles his eyebrows and winks at Rosalie before walking across the bar to hug my best friend.
When he’s out of earshot, Rosalie’s entire body deflates, and a long sigh bursts out of her as if she spent that entire time holding her breath.
“Okay, that was a bit terrifying.”
I laugh, turning toward her. “Couldn’t tell. You were great. Plus, he’s got the attention span of a toddler. He’s the most gullible one of the family, trust me.”
She laughs softly, and the low, sultry sound bounces off the empty walls of the bar, drawing the attention of the group of guys working on painting the far wall of the bar.
I can see the appreciation in their gazes as they stare at her, and it causes something strangely… possessive to erupt in my chest.
Even though, realistically, I know that I have absolutely no right to feel this way, I still do.
Like none of them has any right to look at what’s mine.
Who gives a shit if it’s fake.
No one knows that but us.
To everyone else… Rosalie is my girl.
Which means every man in this room… no, every man in this town needs to keep their eyes to themselves, or we’re going to have a real big problem.
The hard warning glare I send their way has everyone scurrying back to their jobs. You know, what I pay them to do. Not gawking at Rosalie.
Her fingers brush along mine as she steps closer, angling toward me.
“So, I guess we’re going to Mistletoe Magic this weekend, it seems. I almost had a heart attack when I realized he was your brother,” she murmurs, arching a brow.
“Good thing I’m being a good girlfriend and dropping off some sweet treats for my man. ”
“Good thing.”
“Mhmm. Already slaying the whole ‘dating’ thing.”
My gaze drops to her plump lips, which part, her tongue peeking out to drag along her bottom lip as she peers up at me with those dark brown eyes that seem to melt right before me.
It’s innocent yet still causes my dick to stir in my pants.
I step even closer until the front of my boots hits hers.
“If she was a real good girl, she’d give her man a kiss,” I rasp, telling myself that it has everything to do with our audience, which includes my brother, who’s undoubtedly watching right now.
Not that I actually want to kiss the fuck out of her.
Like I haven’t been thinking of kissing her for fucking days.
I’ve been attracted to this woman since the moment she first stomped into my bar, hell-bent on tearing me a new one for stealing that damn letter.
But I didn’t have this wild desire to haul her against me and kiss the absolute shit out of her, not then anyway.
But now, after that night at my house, all I want to do is taste her.
Kiss her until she’s putty in my hands.
“Oh?” Her throat bobs as her gaze darts across the room to where Collin, Zander, and the rest of the guys are. Is she wondering the same thing I am?
If I’m asking for the benefit of everyone watching… or because I can’t help myself.
We’re supposed to be performing now. But part of me couldn’t give a shit whether they’re watching or not. The part I can’t voice out loud or examine too closely. Because this is temporary. Fake. There’s an expiration date.
So I chuckle lowly and dip my head closer to hers, whispering where only she can hear. “Yeah, Sugar. I think everyone here needs to know that you’re mine.”
Even saying that out loud for the first time sounds better than it should. Clearly, I’m losing my damn mind, and I know without a doubt, she’s the reason for it.
“Hmmm,” she hums, those pretty eyes shining bright with curiosity as she brings her palms to the front of my shirt, toying with the small buttons along my chest.
I fight the urge to shiver at her touch, like I’m a goddamn teenager and not a grown-ass man.
“That might be a possibility. But… only if you tell me why it is that you’re calling me Sugar.”
I chuckle, the sound deep as it vibrates in my chest, my palm finding the dip in her waist just beneath her jacket and curving around her soft stomach.
Fuck, this woman and her curves. I love them. I want to explore every inch, every dip, every single curve.
“When I first met you, I thought you were fucking fiery. All sassy and mouthy. But everything around you is so goddamn sweet. From the candy at your shop to your cup of sugar coffee from Frosty’s.
I thought there was no way that everything you touched was so sweet, yet you were the total, complete opposite. ”
Just below her ear, I brush my lips along her soft skin, and she shivers, fingers fisting into the front of my shirt as I continue. “But I’m starting to realize just how wrong I am about you. Now, all I want is to find out if you taste as sweet as I’ve imagined, Rosalie Sullivan.”
Pulling back, I stare down at her, cataloging the audible hitch of her breath and how she drags the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip like now she’s imagining it too.
When my lips touch hers, a trembling sigh pushes past her lips as she winds her fingers tightly into the fabric of my shirt.
Her lips move against mine, soft and sweet, hesitant at first. But when I slide my hands along her jaw, holding her in my palms, her lips part, and I sweep my tongue through her waiting lips, tasting her for the very first time.
It’s fucking indescribable. The sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.
Everything around us drowns out. The bar, my brother, and all of the noise from my crew fade away, leaving just the two of us.
I remind myself that it’s all for show. This is exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.
Faking it.
But as I’m kissing my fake girlfriend in the middle of my barely renovated bar, it feels like the most right thing I’ve ever done.
Like all of the shit that I’ve been through in the last couple of years has led me straight here.
Straight to her.
A breathless whimper falls from her lips, and I swallow it up, sweeping the pad of my thumb along her soft, smooth skin. I want more of this, more of those little sounds she’s making, but next time, I want it with my head buried between her legs.
The kiss was meant to be a quick performance since my brother is across the room. But it morphed into something different before I could even wrap my head around it. Before I could even part my lips from hers.
When she pulls back, her eyes are hazy and unfocused, a dreamy smile sitting on her lips, and my chest swells with pride.
She looks like she just got the fuck kissed out of her.
Even more so… Rosalie Sullivan looks like mine.
Even if it’s only for now.