Page 47 of Wildflower and Whiskey
“I meant what I said,” I whispered against her lips. “You’re the only one I want.”
She swallowed, her voice trembling but sure. “Then don’t let me run this time.”
I rested my forehead against hers, heart hammering. “I won’t.”Chapter Twenty-Five
Elyna
A week had passed since that afternoon in the stockroom when Phoenix told me I was the only one he wanted. A week of whispered words and hot nights tangled together, of learning his rhythms, of memorizing the weight of his hands, and the rough scrape of his jaw against my skin.
Every morning, he slipped out before dawn, back to his house or the brewery, leaving me with Braden curled at my side and a heart that raced too fast. I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew something had shifted. We weren’t just falling into each other’s beds anymore. We were finding our way into something deeper, scarier.
I hadn’t heard from Riley again. That should’ve been a relief, but the silence felt loaded, like he was waiting for the perfect time to remind me he still existed. The unease lurked at the edges of everything. But tonight, I wanted to push it back. Tonight, I wanted to focus on Phoenix.
“I’m cooking you dinner,” I told him at the brewery that afternoon.
His brow shot up, and a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’re cooking? Should I have Dominic on standby with takeout?”
I smacked his arm with the bar towel. “You’ll eat what I make, and you’ll like it.”
He leaned in close enough that his breath tickled my ear. “Fine. But I’m bringing something too.”
“You really don’t have to but if you insist, the apple crumble is to die for,” I grinned and then I leaned in and pecked his lips.
“Do you two ever stop?” Cooper chimed.
I pulled away, blushing.
“Mind your own business, Coop,” Phoenix growled playfully. That just made Cooper laugh harder, to the point that his shoulders were shaking.
“Where did you two meet?” I asked the two of them. Cooper was the easygoing fun guy, and Phoenix was so serious, yet they were the best of friends.
“In Prague,” Cooper answered immediately, grinning. “Backpacking hostel. He looked like a surly lumberjack who’d taken a wrong turn.”
Phoenix groaned. “I wasn’t surly. And I didn’t look like a lumberjack.”
“Oh, you did,” Cooper said, leaning against the bar. “Flannel shirt, beard that hadn’t seen a razor in months. Sat in the corner nursing a beer like you were auditioning for a brooding movie role.”
My laugh bubbled up before I could stop it. Phoenix’s glare swung between the two of us.
“I was traveling,” Phoenix said flatly. “After high school, I needed to get out. See something different. Europe seemed like a good place to figure myself out.”
“And by ‘figure himself out,’” Cooper added, “he means getting lost in Rome, nearly starting a fight in Amsterdam, and refusing to admit he couldn’t read the German train schedule.”
Phoenix shot him a look. “You missed your train too, genius.”
“Only because I was waiting for you.” Cooper shrugged. “Someone had to keep you alive.”
I shook my head, grinning. “So you’ve basically been bailing him out ever since?”
“Pretty much,” Cooper said cheerfully.
Phoenix muttered something about finding new friends, but there was a faint smile tugging at his mouth. I realized then this was Phoenix at ease. And seeing him like that only made me fall harder.
“That’s really sweet,” I countered.
“Men don’t like to be called sweet,” Cooper replied with his dashing smile and English accent.
“Sorry, my bad. Well, I better get going. I have to pick up Braden from daycare and cook dinner. Have a good night,” I said to Cooper and to Dominic, who was standing a couple of feet away.
