Chapter 5
brEWER
The bottle of whiskey is cold in my hand, the glass like ice as I stride through the snowy forest toward Clay and Savannah’s cabin.
They invited me to dinner, which is the last thing I feel like doing.
Playing third wheel while they drool over each other isn’t my idea of a fun night, but my brother insisted, so I said I’d come.
Already wish I hadn’t.
I don’t want to socialize and pretend everything is normal—not when it feels like I’m about to burst at the seams after seeing Josie this morning.
I keep replaying our interaction in my head, remembering the way she looked at me when I told those tourists to take a hike.
There was no fear in her eyes, just gratitude and warmth.
I’d set the world on fire if it meant she’d look at me like that again.
My head is whirling with thoughts as I approach Clay and Savannah’s cabin, trudging up the porch steps and knocking reluctantly. I shake snowflakes from my hair as I wait, hearing muffled voices from inside. A pause. Then the front door swings open.
It takes me a moment to realize I’m not hallucinating as I look down at the woman standing in the doorway. My body freezes, stomach lurching as I take her in.
Holy shit.
Josie looks more beautiful than ever. Her ponytail has been untied and her red hair streams in waves down her shoulders, soft and glossy.
She’s still wearing blue jeans and an emerald sweater, but they’re no longer covered by her Creekside apron, and the way she fills out her clothes makes me bite back a groan.
She looks just as shocked as I feel. Those bright green eyes blink up at me, and her pretty mouth falls open as we stare at each other.
What the hell is this angel doing in my brother’s cabin?
“I…” Josie whispers, as if she’s heard my question and wants to answer. But her voice dies to nothing as Savannah appears from the kitchen.
“Hi, Brewer!” she says, the words hazy and far away. All my focus is on Josie until Savannah says something that catches my attention.
“This is my best friend, Josie. I think you two have already met at the diner?”
I feel a jolt of surprise in my gut. I had no idea my brother’s new girlfriend was Josie’s best friend, and I definitely had no idea she’d be here for dinner tonight.
“Yeah,” I manage to grunt. “We’ve met.”
Savannah beckons me inside and takes the whiskey from my hands with a thank you, asking what I want to drink. I grunt out an answer automatically and suddenly she’s gone, disappearing into the kitchen where my brother is cooking.
Now, it’s just me and Josie.
My gaze hasn’t left her pretty face once since she opened the door. Hell, even when she looks away, I can’t stop staring. The restraint I’ve been relying on for the past month has crumbled, and my eyes are making up for lost time, drinking Josie in like it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her.
“Hi,” she says softly, her voice sending a shiver through me.
I swallow hard. “Hi.”
She still looks shocked—probably wondering what the hell the giant brute from the diner is doing here. But then she takes a deep breath and her freckled face melts into a smile.
“It’s good to see you again,” she says.
She seems to mean it, and I swear my heart almost explodes.
“You too.”
I’ve never been alone with her like this before, away from the bustle of the diner. It’s fucking intoxicating having her all to myself for once.
“Savannah didn’t tell me you were coming,” Josie says as we head toward the couch.
“She didn’t tell me you were coming, either. Hell, didn’t even realize you knew each other.”
“Yeah, Savannah has been my best friend for years. I’ve only met Clay a couple of times, though.”
She sits on the couch, stretching her legs out toward the fire.
It’s a big couch, but not big enough for me, and my arm brushes Josie’s as I sit down beside her.
The contact drives me wild. I’ve never touched this angel before—only dreamed about it.
Now she’s sitting close enough for me to pull her into my arms, fill my hands with those soft curves and never let go.
Savannah comes back into the room holding a tumbler of whiskey and a mug of hot chocolate. Then she says something about helping Clay and disappears into the kitchen once more. I can’t help feeling relieved. I want to be alone with Josie.
Silence settles between us as we sip our drinks, but it’s not awkward—it’s loaded, pressing in on all sides, squeezing my chest like a vise, and making the room feel too damn small. Josie is looking at the fire, her eyes fixed a little too intently on the flames, cheeks pinkening beneath my gaze.
“Thanks again for earlier,” she murmurs softly.
“Don’t need to keep thanking me.”
Her thigh brushes mine and I shift in my seat, crossing my legs so she can’t see the bulge growing in my jeans.
It’s torture being this close and not being able to touch her the way I want to.
I thought my need for her was overwhelming before, but it’s nothing compared to the way I feel sitting next to her, our sides touching, her sweet, syrupy scent hanging in the air between us.
Goddammit, Brewer.
Control yourself.
“Those tourists ever come back?” I ask, trying to fill the silence.
“Nope. I’m pretty sure you scared them off for good.”
She looks away from the fire and shoots me a smile so damn sweet that I almost choke on my whiskey.
Fuck.
I wish I wasn’t so damn tongue-tied. There’s so much I want to say, and my jaw tightens in frustration as I picture myself letting it all out and telling Josie everything I’ve been thinking since the day we met.
You’re made for me, I’d say.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, and I’m never letting you go
But I stay silent. She’d probably shout out to Clay and Savannah to come rescue her from the crazy giant in the living room. I wouldn’t blame her.
“It sounds pretty bad out there,” Josie says after a particularly vicious howl of wind from outside.
“Was snowing hard when I arrived.”
She nods. “Same here.”
Dammit, now we’re talking about the weather.
This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about Josie, and I’m wasting it. Clay and Savannah could be back at any second, and then the moment will be lost.
“So, you live in Cherry Hollow?” I ask, trying to sound conversational.
“Yep, I rent the apartment above the pizzeria. It always smells of pepperoni.”
“Hm. That a complaint or a selling point?”
Josie laughs. “Definitely a selling point. The apartment’s pretty small, but the proximity to pizza makes up for it.” She sets her hot chocolate on the coffee table and smiles at me. “You live up here on Cherry Mountain, right?”
“Yeah, about a mile away. How’d you know?”
Josie shrugs, coloring slightly. “Savannah must have mentioned it.”
“You been talking to her about me?”
The question slips out before I can think better of it, making my stomach jolt.
I’m not always great at having a filter—one of the many reasons I’ve been trying to avoid talking to Josie for so long.
I’m convinced that once I start talking, I won’t be able to stop, won’t be able to control the words that come out of my mouth.
“I…” Josie looks embarrassed. “Yeah, I might have mentioned you once or twice.”
There’s a pause. I know I shouldn’t push it, but I can’t help myself.
“What did you say about me?”
She doesn’t answer right away, and the silence stretches on for several beats too long.
I hear the crackle of the fireplace, the howling wind outside, the bustle of Clay and Savannah in the kitchen.
But it all fades to nothing as I watch Josie.
She runs the tip of her pink tongue over her bottom lip, avoiding my gaze like she’s debating something internally.
“I…I told her you come to the diner every day.” Her gaze flits up to meet mine, almost defiantly. “And that you always ignore me.”
There’s a flicker of hurt in her eyes, and it hits me straight in the chest. I’d convinced myself I was invisible to Josie.
Just another customer she had to serve breakfast—the big, ugly brute in the front booth.
I’ve tried not to look at her for a whole damn month, and it never once occurred to me she would notice.
That she would care. That she would spend that same month wondering why.
The sound of a door opening wrenches me from my thoughts, and I feel Josie jerk in surprise, like she’d forgotten there was anyone else here but us. My brother walks out of the kitchen holding a large pan of lasagna, Savannah following behind with a stack of plates.
“Dinner’s ready,” she says brightly.
Josie leaps up from the couch like she’s been burned. She doesn’t look back at me as she heads for the table, and I follow, my heart racing as I think over what she just said.
You always ignore me.
If only she knew.
If only she knew that I’ve spent a month burning alive in that booth, trying like hell to keep myself together long enough to walk out the door.
If only she knew that I’ve barely slept a wink since I met her, and when I finally drift off, I see her face in my dreams. If only she knew that she’s wrecked me completely, that I’d tear my life apart if she asked.
If only she fucking knew.