Page 59 of The Player in New Zealand
“Why not really?” Lila frowned. I busied myself with wiping down the counter. This was none of my business. “You love him. Youkisshim. You want tomarryhim.” Her lips tipped up and she danced a little bit on her barstool. “I bet you’d even have his babies. Your babies would be so cute.”
“Let’s try a sailing season together first. We have a boat for a baby.”
Lila snorted.
“Where are your menfolk?” I asked, saving Mia from her drunken possible-future-sister-in-law. Lila wobbled on her stool.
“Out throwing axes, probably.”
Tane passed by, and instead of pushing my hips against the sink in front of me, I might have swayed back just a little bit. Our clothes brushed against each other’s, and I turned my head slightly to try to catch a whiff. Tane always smelled so good, and I thought he’d been out axe throwing earlier.
But what really made my stomach flip was that way Tane slid a hand over my hip, giving me a squeeze. In another time, the bar empty, I pictured Tane using that grip to tug me backward into his body.
I watched him open the door to the storeroom, and as he turned to grab the knob and close it, our eyes met.
Fuck, he was so hot.
“Who wasthat?” came a breathy voice. I turned my attention back to the two women at the bar. Lila stared at the stockroom door, while Mia just looked amused.
“My boss.”
“He’s beautiful too. What do they put in the water here?”
I laughed, then leaned in to whisper, “He’s kind of a jerk.” I peeked back at the closed door and dropped my voice even lower. “A hot jerk.” A hot jerk who was probably waiting for me right on the other side of that door.
And then I felt a bit bad about it. Could I call Tane a hot jerk anymore? He had been a jerk; alcohol changes people. Instead of an asshole, Tane had turned out to be sweet and kind. And okay, yes, grumpy as fuck sometimes.
Lila nodded, bringing my thoughts back. “Hot jerks can be good for some things.”
“Who is a hot jerk?” Two men had walked up behind my customers. The one who spoke, the shorter and stockier of the two, threw his arms out just in time to catch Lila as she squealed and threw herself at him.
“Eivind!” she exclaimed.
He smirked down at her, bemused. “Hello, lil Lila. How are you feeling?”
“We’re getting married this weekend.” She leaned into his arms and he tweaked her nose.
With the guests distracted, I slipped aside and made eye contact with Alec. “I’m going to grab another Tanqueray,” I told him, and opened the door to the stockroom.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Tane’s voice teased me from the dark when the door shut behind me. The lights were off, with just a sliver of bright light under the doorway casting a very faint glow.
“Me? You’re the creeper hanging out in the dark waiting for me.” A soft chuckle, and hands glided up onto my hips. Tane’s lips were soft and warm, but I pulled back before we could get too deep. There were a lot of customers here and I couldn’t do that to Alec.
“You know,” Tane said into the dark, “I enjoy teasing and kissing you more than I think I’ve ever enjoyed even sex with anyone else.”
I couldn’t decide if I hated that it was dark—I wanted to see Tane’s face when he said that—or grateful so he wouldn’t see my reaction to what may have been the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me. “Dangerous words, sir.”
Tane was quiet, and then I really did wish the lights were on. What was he thinking? What was he waiting for?
“Do they scare you,ma’am?”
The word sounded funny in his accent, but it didn’t detract from his meaning. This was getting serious, at least to him.
I cleared my throat. “I really do need to get a bottle of gin. That’s what I told Alec I was doing.”
“Ready for the lights?”
“Yeah.” I blinked when they turned on, Tane’s hand beside my shoulder on the switch. He looked at me carefully.
