Page 62 of The Matchmaker
“Yes. You’ve been labeled a spy.”
“Must be a pretty bad one if I’ve been found out.”
“Well, if you’re not, then why are you here?”
He looks surprised by the question. “I figured this is where you’d be.”
Voices call to each other from around the front of the pub as more people leave, but no one comes out back and I don’t move from my spot, except to swing on the balls of my feet. I feel restless. Like I’m waiting for something, but I don’t know what.
He picks up on it, of course. I’m not exactly being subtle about it. “You okay?”
“You make me nervous,” I admit, and he nods like he knew that already.
“Good nervous or bad nervous?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Still got a chance then,” he says, and I have no idea what to say to that, so I don’t say anything at all. “Or maybe not.” His expression grows thoughtful. “Do you want me to leave?”
“No,” I say quickly. I’m aware I’m being confusing, but that’s because I’m confused, and being this close to him isn’t helping matters.
More noises. More voices. Still, we’re left alone.
“Do you know how many projects like these I’ve been on?” he asks, when I just stand there. “Dozens. This is the biggest one, but I’ve worked on office blocks and housing estates. Hotels. Shopping centers. You always have to knock down to build up these days. Always. And I’ve never thought about it before. We’ve demolished houses and shops that were sometimes a hundred years old, and I’ve never cared about them. It was always just a job. And I always just got on with it. But with you…” He trails off, his brow furrowing like he’s figuring out his own thoughts as he says them. “He’s nervous about this. Jack. He won’t say it, but I know he thought you’d fold after a couple of days. The fact that you didn’t has him on edge. You’re getting to him. And you should keep going. If you want to save your pub, you should keep going.”
I stare at him, confused. “Youworkfor him.”
“Yes.”
“So why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t like what we’re doing here. Or maybe I’m just bored and want to stir the pot.” Callum’s gaze snags on mine, and the feel of it is so intense that I almost look away. “Or maybe,” he continues. “It’s because I don’t know how I’m going to tear down your favorite place in the world when I can barely stand the thought of you getting caught in the rain.”
There’s a strange pang in my chest, one that hurts in the best kind of way.
Green eyes, I decide. I like men with green eyes and men who look at me like that.
Like I’m the only person in the world.
He takes another step, closing the distance between us, and I force myself to keep still as he slowly,finallybrushes a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
His lips are soft.
I don’t know why I’m so surprised by this. Maybe because the rest of him feels so tough, but his lips are very, very soft, and it’s all I can think about as he tilts his face, his nose skimming mine as my eyes flutter closed.
I hadn’t planned on getting kissed tonight.
I would have put on some Chapstick if I knew. Maybe double-checked that chin zit I’d been diligently applying toothpaste to. But as colossal as those worries were a second ago, they fly out the window as soon as he captures my bottom lip between his, giving it a gentle tug that I feel all the way down to my belly. He does it again, and I shuffle closer, slipping a tentative hand between the folds of his open jacket. His body feels hard beneath his T-shirt, hard and warm and perfect, and I curl my fingers into the material as his own hand burrows into the hair behind my ear, sending prickles of pleasure down my spine.
Oh man, I could do this all night. All night and tomorrow night and the night after that and the night after—
“Ahem.”
The pointed cough breaks through the haze I’d slipped under, and I break away so fast I almost get whiplash.
Gemma stands in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. I have no idea how long she’s been watching us. But I know it’s too long. And even with her scarily neutral expression I know she’s not happy.
“Adam’s looking for you,” she says, when neither of us moves. “And I’m going to head if you want to say goodbye to Noah.”
