Chapter 2
Joss
While I'm taking inventory in the back, the storage door rolls up, letting in chilly February air. My jack-of-all-trades employee, Brando, steps in, his cowboy hat casting a long shadow in the winter sun.
A surprised yelp escapes my lips when the cold air hits me, and he looks at me with surprise.
"Oh, sorry, ma'am? I didn't know you were in here," he says.
I shake my head with a laugh, feeling my cheeks burn.
"First of all, please stop calling me ma'am," I beg him, and he chuckles. I swear I can see Brando's cheeks redden under his scruff.
"Sorry. It's a habit."
"The only people I allow to get away with calling me ma'am are teenage cashiers," I say, trying to lighten the mood, and he responds with a shy grin.
My pussy reacts to seeing his crooked smile, lighting up his dark purple eyes, and I scold myself internally. Cut that shit out, Joss. You're an engaged woman, and this is your employee.
"Anyway, Brando, don't ever apologize for doing your job. I can handle the cold," I say, turning back to the inventory before I make a fool of myself.
As I continue checking items off my list, the dragon shifter loads his truck with feed. When I hear the truck bed slam shut, I turn and wave him off.
"I can close this. Where are you headed?"
"The Brooks Farm. Thank you, ma'am." He catches himself. "Thank you, Joss."
I smile at him as he walks to the driver's side. I can't help appreciating how his jeans hug his ass. When he slides into the driver's seat, I jump up and yank down the storage door.
Staring at the spreadsheet, I realize I must have missed a crate. With an annoyed groan, I stand and head back into the storage unit.
Looking around, I spot the crate up above but can't read the label from the floor. I slide the ladder over and climb quickly, marking off the numbers on my tablet. Right as the storage door opens, I turn to see my buff cowboy employee standing there looking up at me.
"Oh, hey, Brando," I say right as my foot slips.
I lose my grip on the ladder and fall backward, barely registering what's happening. Then, my body lands in muscular arms. Electric sparks consume me as we stare at each other, dumbfounded, for a beat before he gently sets me on the floor.
"Whoa. Thank you. I don't know what happened just now," I say, feeling dizzy.
Brando's cheeks are clearly bright red, and he tips his hat at me, offering me a shy, crooked smile.
"Just glad I was in the right place at the right time," he says before turning and walking back to his truck.
Blinking stupidly, I take a moment to gather my thoughts.
My entire body feels like an electric storm is coursing inside of me, and I'm not sure what to do with myself, so I walk back into my office and sink into my desk chair.
I fill in the blank spaces on the spreadsheet, then stare blankly out the window.
My body continues to tingle. Bart has never made me feel that way with his touch.
I wonder why.
February light streams in through my office window. As I shut down my desktop, ready to leave for lunch, my cell buzzes on the table. Looking at it, I groan to myself, reading the name on the screen.
"Hello, Aunt LynnDee. Is everything okay?" I say, answering the call.
"Yes, everything is fine. Do you still have a date for the wedding?" She asks, getting straight to the point.
"Of course, I have a date for the wedding, Aunt LynnDee. Remember, I'm engaged," I say, feeling my neck prickle with irritation.
"I'm just making sure because I was telling a friend how you're in your mid-fifties and have never been married, and she was quite horrified. I felt very embarrassed, Joss," my aunt says, and I stare at the phone wondering what she expects me to say.
Right then, I hear the jingle of the front door opening.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Aunt LynnDee. I have a customer. I have to go. Was there anything you actually needed?"
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to embarrass me at this wedding," she sniffs.
"Alright then. Have a great day," I say, hitting the off button with my thumb and swallowing a mouthful of curse words.
Stepping into the front, I'm surprised to see my fiancé, Bart.
"Hey, babe. Did you tell me you were coming by?" I ask, reaching toward him, but he flinches away from my greeting.
"We've got to talk, Joss," he says.
Right then, the door opens behind him, and Brando walks inside.
"Oh, hi, Brando. Bart here decided to surprise me with a visit," I say, swallowing back the concern because of Bart's behavior just now.
"I'll get out of your hair," the ruggedly handsome cowboy says before tipping his hat and disappearing through the back door.
When it clicks shut, I turn to Bart, who is shaking his head.
"Listen, I'm just going to come out and say it, Joss. I can't do this anymore. I've been thinking about how toxic your family is, and there's no way I want to marry into it."
"Excuse me?" I say, my head filling with a loud buzzing.
"And I'm not going to go to the wedding with you next weekend either," he says matter-of-factly.
"Your family isn't exactly a picnic either," I snap back, feeling a rage bubble in my gut.
Did this dude seriously just waste three years of my life?
"It's over, Joss," Bart says, before turning on his heel and striding out the front door.
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I spin around and storm into my office, slamming the door shut. While I am horrified I just wasted so much time on Bart, my chief concern is suddenly being fiancé-less at the wedding.
Flopping down into my desk chair, I let the tears roll down my face. It's not like my family ever met Bart or even knew his name, but they were well aware that I was finally engaged and showing up to my cousin's wedding with a date for the very first time for a family event in like two decades.
Now here I'll be single yet again, the black sheep of the family.
The next morning, I pull up in front of Corvid Valley Feed & Supply. As I step out of the car, I knock over a paper map that blows away in the February wind. I chase after it, cursing loudly, already irritated with how my day has started.
The map lands on the dirt, and I see Brando rush over and step on it with his boot before it blows away again. Bending over, I pick it up and give him a sheepish grin.
"Thanks."
"Are you okay, Joss?" He asks, studying my face.
Before I can throw on my professional mask, I burst into tears.
"Just that Bart dumped my ass yesterday, and now I have to go stag to my cousin's wedding next weekend, and they're expecting to meet my fiancé.
And I don't know if I ever told you, but my family is absolutely toxic, and I'm now living in a pit of hell," I say at a mile a minute, then step back as a small gasp escapes my lips.
I stare at the dragon shifter, horrified.
"I'm so sorry, Brando. That was incredibly unprofessional. Excuse me while I go hide in my office."
I spin on my heel and take several long strides to the office. When the door shuts behind me, I lean against it and lightly bang my head on the wood.
I need to get my shit together.
The rest of the day goes by without incident, and I do my best to keep busy so that I'm not obsessing over the shitshow I find myself in. Out the window, I see the sun dip below the peaks of Ravenhart Mountain, and I lean back in my chair, enjoying the changing color of the darkening sky.
A light knock grabs my attention, and I turn to see Brando standing in the open doorway.
"Hey, Brando. You can take off for the day," I say, looking up into his dark purple eyes.
"I was actually thinking, uh, if you need someone to play the part for that wedding, um, I can."
Feeling my mouth drop open, it takes me a moment for my brain to catch up with what I just heard.
"Are you offering to pretend to be my fiancé?" I ask, feeling my cheeks heat.
"If it would help you, then for sure," he says, shooting a crooked grin my way.
A wave of overwhelm from his generosity washes over me.