Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mary London
“You sure you don’t mind closing up?” Maggie asks for the third time.
I put my hands on her shoulders and spin her around, pushing her toward the door. “Honey, you got a hot date tonight. Go do all the things. I got this.”
She lets me push her to the front door, glancing over her shoulder. “I’m not the only one with a hot date, isn’t that right?”
I gape, forgetting to push her the last foot to the door. “What?”
She spins to face me, hands on her hips, smilin’ like the devil. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed your good mood the last few days. You had a come-apart earlier and now you’re smilin’ more than a pig in slop, girl.”
I can’t seem to shut my gaping mouth. I sputter, but don’t say much of anything.
Maggie leans in and whispers, even though there’re no customers left in the boutique this close to closing time, “I won’t say a word. I just hope it’s Rhett Price puttin’ that smile on your face. That man is delicious.”
My face flames hotter than the sun, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
I make the motion of zipping my lips and then I do push her out the door.
She cackles as she goes, the little busybody.
Thing is, I’m pretty sure I can count on her to keep her mouth shut.
This…thing…with Rhett is early days. And definitely not official.
I’m having a good time and that’s all I need to know right now.
I rush through the closing process, hanging and folding clothes, shutting down the computer, and turning off all the lights.
I haven’t seen Rhett since our evening at the lake, a sad statement of how busy we both are.
He’s texted me though, and was the one to make sure I had plans to swing by the bar after work tonight.
He added that Rylan would be out with friends until late.
An interesting tidbit to share, don’t you think?
The sidewalk is full as I walk over to the bar, people out and about, already starting on their Friday night plans. Young people are everywhere and I see quite a few of them in clothes they bought at my boutique.
Spotting my clothes out in the wild will always be one of my secret pleasures.
Makes me feel like I’m contributing to the town in some small way.
Sure, people could say it’s frivolous and I should do something more useful like providing food and water or emergency services.
I believe we all have our strengths. I would have made a terrible EMT as blood makes me woozy.
I can’t cook more than the basics, and I don’t have any interest in small-town politics.
But I do know style and clothing and retail.
I think we tend to downplay the benefits of making a woman feel like a million bucks when she goes out in public. If a woman feels fabulous, she has confidence. And confident women don’t put up with bad behavior from men. They demand to be treated with respect.
Mentally, I step off my soapbox and slip into the bar, setting my tote bag on the ground.
A loud machine out back is running, so I head that direction to see if I can find Rhett.
The loud noise cuts off. Rhett’s standing just outside the back door in the alley, pulling off a pair of clear glasses and inspecting the end of a piece of wood.
He sees me and breaks out into a full smile.
“Hey, June bug,” he murmurs, coming close but not touching me.
I put my hands on his toolbelt and lean in. “You smell good.”
He grimaces. “Like wood and sweat?”
With these heels on I can actually reach his face. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and step back. He’s covered in sawdust, and while he does smell good, I don’t want it all over my dress.
He steps back, places the wood and the glasses on the ground, and rips his shirt over his head. I lick my lips, seeing all that muscle I had my hands on the other night. He shakes the shirt out and then pulls it back on.
“Let’s go inside.” He gets his board and holds the door for me. The air-conditioning is cranking in here, which feels lovely. I can’t imagine working outside most of the day.
Rhett washes his hands and arms at the huge sink in the kitchen area. After he dries them off on a rag lying around, he crowds me into the doorway, his hands finally landing on my hips. God, he’s handsome. All rugged good looks and that hint of a smile that I can tell he doesn’t show very often.
“Hi,” he whispers, then dips his head to kiss me.
It’s soft and slow. He brushes his lips across mine, then lingers, savoring me with little plucks before taking the kiss deeper.
I grip his shirt, then release him, drifting them lower to duck under the hem and back up.
Warm skin and jumping muscles make me want to lift my leg and climb him like a tree.
“Hellooo?” a voice calls from the front of the bar.
Rhett immediately ends the kiss and steps back, adjusting himself. I have to give my head a shake and suck in a deep breath to clear my brain.
“Maylo? You here?”
It’s Deuce, Silas’s best friend. I look down at my dress to make sure it doesn’t show the aftereffects of that kiss, smooth down my hair, and head out into the bar. After a moment, I hear Rhett’s boots following behind me at a reasonable distance for a contractor and owner.
“Deuce!” I lift an arm and give him a hug like I always do. He’s standing just inside the door in a fancy suit. Today’s is light blue, a seersucker suit that I’d expect to see on an old Southern gentleman, but Deuce has found a way to make the suit look dapper and ragingly in fashion again.
He doesn’t let me go from the hug, instead wrapping an arm around my shoulders, his cologne overpowering any perfume I might have left from this morning.
Deuce is always handsy, constantly flirty, and all wrong for me.
Years ago, we would have dated if I’d let him.
I firmly closed that door. I grew up with him, he was like my older brother.
The one I didn’t want, at that. But that didn’t stop him from flirting outrageously with me just because he could.
“I want the tour, gorgeous. Silas has told me all about it but I need to see your vision with my own two eyes.”
Rhett has stopped several feet away, leaning against the beginnings of the bar, his arms crossed over his chest. His facial expression is carefully indifferent.
I try to avoid looking at him. I’m afraid what I feel for him will be written all over my face.
And knowing Deuce as I do, he’ll go in for the kill, lighting us both up with questions I’m not ready to answer.
So I put my arm around Deuce’s waist and steer him away from Rhett, words spilling off the lips Rhett just kissed, explaining each part of the bar in great detail. Deuce asks questions and seems interested, which I appreciate.
“So, there you have it. I’ll be the one and only honky-tonk in Heaven, trying to bring in college students and adults alike. What do you think?”
I try to turn to see Deuce’s face. And also slide out of his embrace, but he’s not having it. If anything, he increases his grip on my shoulder to keep me pressed up against his side.
“I’m…” He clears his throat, looking around the space and skipping right over Rhett. “I’m thoroughly impressed, Maylo. I’m proud of you.”
My annoyance at his intrusion slips away. I’m beaming with pride. Which is why his next comment ruins the moment.
“Enough about work, darlin’. I’ve got a king-sized bed back at home that’s just missing its queen.”
I roll my eyes and jab him in the ribs with my elbow. He tosses his head back and laughs. He’s just Deuce, being an idiot. He’s harmless.
“You best get your hands off me before I call your daddy,” I snap, pushing him away from me. He releases me finally, wagging his eyebrows like there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of me ever saying yes to his flirting.
“Hey, Mary London. We better decide on the barstools before I head home for the day,” Rhett interrupts, finally approaching us.
I must have gotten used to his smiles because the frown on his face right now is startling. “Oh, I’m sorry!” I point to Deuce. “Rhett, this is Deuce, my brother’s best friend. Deuce, this is Rhett Price, my contractor. You two remember each other from school?”
The two eye each other up and down like two wild animals fighting over roadkill. It’s ridiculous. I sigh and point to the door. “Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out, Deuce.”
The two finally shake hands, both ignoring me for some weird guy thing where they size each other up but don’t say anything. Then Deuce turns to me and gives me a hug, finally remembering I’m standing right there.
“Seriously. I’m very impressed,” he whispers in my ear and then releases me to head out for the evening.
We both watch until he’s out of sight. Then Rhett turns to me with that severe frown.
“Who the fuck is that guy?”
“I told you who he is. You can’t let him get under your skin. He’s just a natural-born flirt. He’s harmless.”
Rhett studies me for a beat or two. Then he’s a blur of motion, grabbing my hand and hauling me to the kitchen, my heels clacking on the concrete.
No one passing by on the street could possibly see us through the front windows if we’re in the kitchen, a fact I think he knows.
He spins, pressing me up against the wall, his hands above my head, bracketing me in a way I can’t escape.
Not that I would. I quite like having his body pressed against me and that glower aimed my way.
It’s like a personal challenge to get him to drop it.
He dips his head and kisses me, nothing light and teasing about this one. This one is a claiming, his tongue demanding entrance and definitively showing me who’s in charge. He breaks it off just as quickly as he started it. Both of our chests are heaving.
“Who the fuck is that guy? To you, Mary London.”
I know immediately what he wants to hear. Thankfully, it’s the truth.
“He’s no one to me, Rhett.”
And then his lips are on mine again, both of us fighting for dominance, both of us wanting a piece of the other.
No one wins and yet we still try. This man consumes me when he kisses me, like he’s trying to get to the very essence of me.
To taste me more completely than any other man ever has. My head spins and time ceases to exist.
He pulls back at one point, so out of breath he’s gasping for air. His eyes have gone so dark they look stormy. He runs his jaw along my cheek, rubbing against me like a cat.
“Damn, June bug,” he drawls, low and slow and so rumbly I feel the vibration against my breastbone. “I want to mess you up. Smear that perfect makeup, knot your hair around my fist, and leave whisker burn along your neck for everyone to see.”
A shiver ripples across my body. Warmth floods my core and I don’t think I’ve ever been as turned on as I am right now with his confession ringing in my ears. I can see myself a wreck, every part of me I present so carefully to the world messed up. Because of his hands and mouth and body.
“You can’t do that, ’Lanta. We’re a secret, remember?” I whisper back against his lips, not letting him kiss me deeply like he wants. He rolls his hips and I feel the solid steel of him against my belly. I know his words are true. I can feel how much he wants me.
His hand, the one that was cupping my jaw so gently slides down to grip my neck, still gently, but a warning nonetheless. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”
I grin. I grin so hard I can feel it in every muscle of my face. I haven’t felt this alive in years. “Don’t you dare take me right here against the wall of my kitchen. Don’t lift my skirt and sink to your knees. Don’t make a memory so vivid I think of you every time I walk in here.”
His breath hitches and his eyes slide closed like he’s trying to control himself by temporarily blocking me out. When his eyes open again a moment later, they hold a fierceness that makes my knees tremble.
“Not today, June bug. When I create that memory for you—and mark my words, I will—you won’t be afraid to walk out of here with my scent between your legs and my whisker burn on your neck and my name falling from your lips.”
I tip my head back, body sagging against him. He’s made me boneless, a puddle of need and want so great I can’t hold myself on my own two legs.
“Rhett,” I moan.
He drops his forehead to mine, gazes locked, breath shared. “I know. I feel it too.”
His thumb strokes tenderly across my neck. His lips are just a fraction of an inch from mine, desire pulsing between us like a live wire.
And then there’s a knock on the front door.
Rhett immediately freezes. “I swear to all things holy, if that’s Deuce…”
“Nah. He already got his digs in.” I firm up my legs as Rhett steps back from me. He holds my hips, like he knows I need a second before I’m stable.
“Hello?” a man calls out. “Got a pallet of flooring here!”
And just like that, we’re back to owner and contractor.