Page 3 of Harvesting with Hayes
Shit.
CHAPTER TWO
Serena
“Who was that?”Derek asked loudly as the hottest man I’d ever seen before walked away. Damn. “Never seen him before.”
Where had he been hiding?
Oh wait, that’s right, he wasn’t hiding. He just wasn’t from around here. Figures.
“Just a guy at the festival, Derek. Maybe a potential customer?”
“Mmhmm,” Derek teased with a roll of his eyes. “Looks like he has the hots for my older sister.”
“He doesnot. It was friendly, nice to meet you type of conversation, nothing else. He’s running a booth here and introducing himself.”
“Which one?”
“I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be hard to figure out, but it’s the one over there.” I nodded toward his booth, the sign reading Spicy Apple, large and eye catching, with bright red font and a delicious looking icy apple cider. I needed to sample the goods before the day ended.
“I think I should go say hi and introduce myself. Let him know my sister is off limits to out of towners.”
I snorted. “Last time I checked, your opinion didn’t matter regarding my love life.”
“Oh, it does, sis. Even Becky agrees.”
“Okay, whatever you say. Now scoot along. I’ve got jewelry to sell.”
“Don’t miss me too much.” Derek said, before sauntering away in the direction of Hayes. I loved my brother, but he was a busybody, always up in everyone’s business. Hell, if he paid half the attention he paid to me to his own problems, he’d have none.
Besides, he took the easy way out when it came to love. He proposed to his high school sweetheart. Never had his heart broken. Luckily, he scored a high-paying job in the city as soon as he graduated, using some of his money to help with our family’s debt, including paying off our parent’s mortgage. Now he claimed he wanted to see me happy. But my happiness wasn’t reliant on my love life. All I wanted was a successful career doing what I always loved to do- make jewelry.
This was the first year I was brave enough to come here and sell my pieces, my mom insisting the fall festival we went to every year would be a good start. Locals would be supportive and plenty of people from all around came, giving me more exposure.
Fear held me back time and time again, doubting my pieces and my art. But when I began selling online to eventually selling out within a day of a new drop, I decided it was time to put myself out there.
Last thing I needed was a guy screwing me all up. Usually, guys didn’t hold my interest. So why him?
I braced myself as I watched Derek move closer to the Spicy Apple booth, but thankfully at the last minute, he turned in the opposite direction, yet not before flashing me a smirk.
Younger brothers- gotta love them.
I recognized the Spicy Apple booth from last year and even several years prior, as our family made it a yearly tradition to come here, but I didn’t recall seeing Hayes before. Maybe he took over?
Normally, I’d skip the cider and go for a warm drink, the October air chilly especially after the sun went down, but I would’ve remembered seeing him whether or not I stopped at the booth.
As the festival started and the crowds rolled in, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I stole glances at him every chance I got and at one point, he caught my eye, held up a can of cider in a mock cheer to me, and took a sip.
The simple action set my body on fire. I imagined his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he drank down the cold liquid, the muscles in his arm flexing as he chugged.
“Miss? Miss, hello. Are you okay?”
Shit.I blinked a few times, attempting to refocus my attention on the customer before me. “Yes, sorry. Are you interested in purchasing that piece?” I pointed at the dark orange jewels of the bracelet she held, one of my favorite pieces representing the fall season.
“Yes, please. May I try it on first?”
“Of course.” I busied myself with the sale and told myself enough was enough. Hayes wasn’t making me money or promoting my jewelry, and staring at him only made me lose potential customers.
