18. Spilled The Truth
SPILLED THE TRUTH
“What are you doing here today?”
Baker turned at the sound of Mason’s voice. “Picking up a bottle of strawberry daiquiri.”
They were hitting the shelves Monday, and he’d promised Tasha she’d get the first bottle. No way in hell was he breaking that promise.
It was bad enough he’d tied himself in knots trying to figure out where to take her tonight. And he couldn’t exactly ask people what Tasha liked without a siren going off.
Until it hit him—there was one person he could ask.
And Margo had sworn on her life to keep her mouth shut.
“Got a hot date tonight?” Mason asked, his eyebrows doing that stupid wiggle that meant he was caught red-handed.
“What if I do?”
“Things going well?”
“Dude, I’m not here for a heart-to-heart. If I had known I’d run into you, I’d have grabbed this yesterday.”
Mason laughed. “Fair enough. But the reason I came down here is that my parents are in the building.”
“What?” His head snapped around automatically. He would’ve felt Jolene if she had been anywhere near. The woman carried presence like a rifle. And that damn vest Mason scented on purpose made her detectable within a hundred yards.
“They came for beer,” Mason said. “I was grabbing a few things when I saw you walk through. I thought I’d give you a heads up. You might want to run.”
He didn’t run from much.
But this?
Yeah… he felt the urge.
“I can’t catch a break from her, can I?”
“You can if you sneak out the side door and take the long walk around to your vehicle.”
“As pathetic as it sounds, I might consider it. But your mother has a sixth sense for sniffing out anyone she’s trying to set up. If she knows I’m here, I might as well stand my ground. Your father will back me.”
“You’re a brave man,” Mason said, shaking his head. “I’ll stay with you. Strength in numbers. Are you telling her about your date?”
“Nope.” Baker grinned. “Not a chance.”
He didn’t even get a full minute of peace before the door to the distillery floor swung open.
Jolene Fierce marched in like she owned the air, Gavin strolling behind her, towering and amused.
“Baker!” Jolene said loudly in her overly cheerful voice as if she had hit the jackpot and he was going to be her entertainment for the next few minutes. “What are you doing here on a Saturday afternoon? You should be out having fun on your day off.”
He held the bottle up. “Who says I’m not going to?”
Gavin snorted and wiggled his eyebrows safely behind Jolene where she couldn’t see him. “Nice choice for an afternoon.”
“That’s a woman’s drink,” Jolene stated firmly. “No way you’re drinking that alone.”
“Hey, I drink everything I make,” he said, trying not to give anything away.
“I’m sure you do,” Jolene said, nodding and humoring him like she did everyone. “But on a Saturday night? That says you’ve got someone of the softer sex waiting for you.”
He was not touching that. She’d drag him into a corner and win before he opened his mouth.
“So Gavin came in to grab a bottle for you?” Baker asked, redirecting.
“That’s right,” Gavin said immediately. “Right, Jolene? Let’s let Baker enjoy his night. You and I can go home and have a romantic evening.”
Jolene whipped around, her eyes narrowed. “Really? We haven’t had one of those in a long time. And now the three of you are acting suspicious. I think you’re all playing me.”
“Mom,” Mason cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You always think someone’s pulling one over on you. Go home with Dad. Let Baker get on with his day. And what did I say about bugging my staff?”
“He’s not staff if he’s off the clock,” Jolene argued triumphantly.
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m out of here.”
He slipped past Gavin and Jolene before she could corner him and pry so hard he accidentally spilled the truth.
Because one thing was certain. If Jolene found out about tonight, she’d already have the wedding date picked.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Jolene asked the minute she and Gavin were back in his SUV.
“I tell you everything,” her husband argued. “How dare you accuse me of withholding?”
She pointed at the massive smirk on his face. “That look says otherwise and I’ve been married to you for too long. I know better. You talk to Baker a lot. Is he dating Tasha?”
“I have no clue who he is or isn’t dating. Do you honestly think we talk about those things?”
She frowned. She could tell Gavin wasn’t lying. She’d try another tactic. “Did you tell him who I had picked out for him?”
“Everyone knows who you have picked out for him, Jolene.”
Not an answer but not a lie either. “Do you think they are dating?”
“I don’t know and don’t get as caught up into it as much as you,” he argued.
She shook her head hard enough to send her hair flying around. “I don’t buy it. You love Baker. You’re just as taken with him as you are with Ben. You spend just as much time around him as you did when Mason started brewing.”
She knew when her husband took a liking to someone and Baker Hansen was one of those men.
“I do enjoy my time with him. But we don’t touch on deep-rooted issues like women do. What I can tell you is that he’s like every other guy you try to push. The more you do it, the more they hold back.”
“Nope, not him. Mason was there giving him a warning I was in the building and he stayed.”
She appreciated that quality.
“He did. So ask yourself, who has the upper hand right now? You or him?”
Her nose scrunched up so much that her eyes hurt. She hated when her husband was right and knew she’d have to try another approach.
Baker slid into his SUV, tossed the bottle onto the passenger seat, and exhaled hard enough to fog the windshield.
“Damn woman,” he muttered, starting the engine. “Has to sniff out every secret within a five-mile radius.”
But he enjoyed keeping Jolene on her toes and even playing her at her own game.
The woman wouldn’t give up, but he got a reprieve for the day. He’d have to let Tasha know and figure out the rest.
The drive home was only fifteen minutes, but it felt longer with his nerves buzzing. Not nerves like he was unsure, but nerves like he was keyed up. Electric and aware of every mile ticking down until he was with Tasha again.
Until he could see her face when he told her what he had planned and hoped she’d be good with it.
The closer he got to his townhouse, the more his mind turned everything over.
Last night on her patio when Micah was asleep.
Her mouth under his while she sat on his lap and worked him up knowing there was no relief in sight.
Not one they’d give each other. Not there where people could see or hear.
Kissing was one thing. Hands slipping into clothing was something neither of them would do outside.
But he couldn’t forget the way she’d said I can’t wait another day.
Hell, he couldn’t either. Which didn’t help him get much sleep last night.
He pulled into his driveway, snatched the bottle off the passenger seat, and jogged to his door.
He showered fast, trimmed the scruff on his jaw so he was a little more presentable, changed into shorts he didn’t work in and the shirt she’d once said made his chest and arms look “super scrumptious.”
He was just putting his sneakers on when he heard the bell go off. No clue who it could have been, but opened the door and went down the stairs to see Tasha standing there waving through the glass of his door.
“Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t wait. I felt as if I was pacing around my place. If I was going to walk that much I might as well come here. I hope that is okay?”
“It’s fine. Come in,” he said. “I was just getting ready.”
“No rush,” she said. “Unless you’re on a schedule. You didn’t say what was planned today.”
“It’s a surprise. But we’ve got time. I’ll show you around if you want, but it’s just like your place.”
“Only on the second floor,” she said, marching up behind him on the stairs. “You smell good.”
“I just got out of the shower,” he said. “I’ve got something for you too.”
“So two surprises?” she asked, putting her hands on her cheeks in excitement. She was hamming it up, but that was fine with him too.
He enjoyed her when she was like this.
“I guess it is two, but not a big one.” He moved to the kitchen and her eyes landed on the bottle standing there. “It’s hitting the shelves on Monday. I said you’d get the first bottle.”
“Awww, that’s so sweet of you. Maybe we can have a glass of it tonight. You could bring over something else for you if you want, since this probably isn’t your thing.”
“You’ve got a few beers left, so I’ll be fine.”
She followed him into his room where he was grabbing a change of clothes for the night. She’d asked him to stay and he wasn’t saying no when he didn’t know when the next time they’d get a chance would be.
“I dressed the way you said. Are you going to tell me what we are doing today?”
She had jean shorts on, sturdy walking sneakers on her feet, and a peach T-shirt fitted to her curves with the hem resting right at the waist.
Damn.
She had one smoking body on her, and he was never—never—going to get enough of it.
Not thin and delicate.
But strong. Real. Things that invaded his dreams nightly.
Muscles in her thighs that flexed when she shifted her weight.
Shoulders that showed she carried her kid, and carried her life without flinching.
Curves that didn’t shy away or apologize for existing.
She wore them like armor. Like truth that a real woman didn’t have to be five foot nine and weigh a hundred pounds.
That petite strength was sexier than a model on a runway.
She was proud of what she had, and she didn’t hide a damn thing.
His eyes swept down her legs, back up to that peach-colored stretch of cotton hugging her chest, then finally to her face, where she was smirking at him like she already knew exactly what he was thinking.
She cleared her throat and held his stare. “Sorry,” he said. “Sometimes I can’t get enough of you.”
“Well then, give me a minute to do that same to you.”
The way her eyes moved over him said she felt everything he did.
And that only meant that it wasn’t just the physical attraction.