Page 70 of Three Reckless Words

“You do?” I can’t help it, I grin up at him.

“You promised me a gold mine and it’s my duty to check it out. Thoroughly.”

“You won’t be disappointed.” I practically skip over to his waiting Tesla SUV, which unlocks as he draws near. It’s sleek and expensive and gorgeous.

I always wanted one, even if they aren’t the most practical for the occasional cross-country drive to DC and back when my boss wasn’t flying us.

I guess this is a good time to figure out if it’s something Iactuallywant one day.

Just like everything else in my life.

If there’s ever been a time to reinvent Winnie Emberly, it’s now.

As I strap myself in, I beam at him.

One corner of his mouth curls up into an easy, cool smile. On Archer Rory, that’s a Cheshire cat’s grin.

Without another word, he starts the vehicle and we set off.

If someone toldme a few days ago that this no-nonsense, fussy lunk would make me double over laughing, I’d have called them a liar.

Yet here I am.

Breathless, sore, bent over and clutching my stomach, all while he eyes the bees with downright suspicion.

“They’re so… loud.” His nose wrinkles and he bares his teeth.

“Well, yeah. They’rebees!” I gasp, trying not to fall into another laughing fit.

He really is a human bear, clumsily shooing them away with his large hands when they get too close.

Except here, they’re always too close because technically we’re in their space.

“Aren’t you supposed to smoke them out or something?”

“Nah. Some keepers use smoke to keep them docile while they get the honey, but we’re not doing that. We’re just looking today.” I catch his arm when he moves to shoo more of them away. “Don’t do it. If you antagonize them, you’ll get stung for sure.”

“Isn’t there a way to keep them the hell out of my face?”

“Dude, relax. Slow movements. No fear, no anger. If you scare them or show up flapping your hands around, that’s when they consider you a threat.”

“They’re not bothering you.” He glares at me.

I raise a hand, watching as the bees fly past. A couple land on my arm, crawl around for a few seconds, then fly off.

“See? No harm, no foul. You just have to wait and trust they won’t hurt you.”

“They sting, Winnie.”

I laugh. “Archer, I’m aware. That doesn’t mean they lash out for no reason.”

A bee tangles up in my hair. I wait for it to figure out how to free itself.

Archer looks like he wants to help, but I shake my head slowly. He doesn’t have my bee-whisperer skills or my patience.

Knowing him, he’ll try to flick the bee out of my hair and get me stung right in the ear.

“I reached out to some other beekeepers in the area,” I say once the bee flies off. “I sent them a few pics of the honey and they were pumped. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything like this in the region.”

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