Page 61 of Hoax and Kisses
I don’t understand why he’s surprised enough to mention it twice when the whole point of this charade is to get in the town’s good graces.
Behind him, his friend clears his throat.
“Right.” Matt laughs, moving out of the way. “Coop, this is Zoey Delacroix. Zoey, this is Cooper Darfield.”
Cooper holds out his hand and smiles, his eyes creasing at the corners. “Hey, Zoey. I heard you made quite the first impression.”
“Unfortunately.” Cringing, I shake his hand. “You weren’t there?”
“Oh no, those kinds of meetings are not for me. I like the folks here, but not all at once.” He shudders, as if the mere thought is terrifying.
Matt leans in so close that the heat rolling off him warms my skin. “He’s a bit of a hermit.”
“I heard that.” Cooper gathers two chairs in each arm and carries them inside.
I shoot Matt a glare. “I thought we were supposed to convince people withinfluence.”
“Who do you think people turn to when they want a drink? Who do you think listens to them talk about their problems and can easily offer his opinion in return?” He nods in Cooper’s direction, who is bent over, picking up a drill off the floor.
“Plus…” Matt adds, his lips grazing the lobe of my ear.
A treacherous shiver shoots straight to my core, and I curse myself for being so weak. Then, his voice drops, rough and smoky, and the sound rolls down my spine like the drag of his finger. “He’s a good friend.”
My breath quickens, but I shake off the haze of lust that’s fallen over me and step away. I need distance. Space. Or I’ll spend the whole afternoon looking like a horny idiot.
“You didn’t miss much,” I say to Cooper when he returns, forcing my focus on him. “Except a lot of name-calling and finger-pointing.”
“And yet you’ve managed to bag this one,” he says, hiking his thumb toward Matt, who swats him lightly. “He’s been talking my ear off about you all morning.”
“Has he, now?” My heart flips, but I keep my expression steady and smirk.
“Okay, okay, we’ve got work to do,” Matt cuts in, looping an arm around my shoulders and bringing me to his side.
My body relaxes, like a marshmallow melting over a campfire.
Being pressed up against a sweaty dude like this should make me want to run to the nearest shower, and yet… I don’t want to move. Worse.I like it. Discreetly, I lay my palm to my forehead. No, no fever. I’m not delirious.
“I’m not very good with manual labor.” I study the faded wood of the barn, the boards and chairs. This is a recipe for splinters, bloodied fingers, and chipped nails. “Do youreallyneed my help? I can confidently say I’ll be more of a nuisance than anything.”
Matt chuckles, the sound vibrating through me. “I’ll make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
I pout.
Yes, I’m fully aware that I’m acting like a brat, but I couldn’t care less. Some people love to get their hands dirty. I am not one of those people. I am the complete opposite of those people.
“What happens if I don’t do it?”
He tsks. “Then you miss out on the reward. We’re testing a few new beers before we serve them tonight, and Cooper’s got a special batch brewing for us as a thank-you for helping. But we can’t try it out until we’re done setting up.”
He nods to the chairs spread throughout the space and the sawhorses waiting for their boards.
“Okay, now you’ve got me interested,” I say, following him inside. “But I’m gonna need a pair of gloves.”
The space is huge—open and airy, with a long wooden counter lined with bottles and barrels on the far end. The air is thick with the smell of hops and malt, making me want to sitat the bar and crack open an IPA instead of carrying chairs and tables all afternoon.
“Here.” Cooper holds out a pair of bright yellow gloves.
I stare at them, keeping my arms crossed over my chest. They look like they’ve gone through the shredder and haven’t been washed in years.
