by Kennedy Fox
He clapped Travis on the shoulder, much harder than necessary, and barely bit back the smile at the guy’s sharp Oof. “Just so there’s no confusion,” he said, his tone low but firm, “I absolutely will not represent you in a sexual harassment case.”
Travis chuckled and shook his head. “Aw, c’mon, man. I was just playin’ around. She’s hot, though, isn’t she? A little young and innocent for my usual tastes, but I can definitely work with that. Dirty her up, know what I’m sayin’? Think she was just givin’ me a line about havin’ a boyfriend?”
Cole refused to look back at Sadie Rollins—aforementioned “young and innocent,” his undeclared nemesis, and possibly the most idealistic, not to mention gorgeous, woman he’d ever met. Also, one of a very few people in Havenbrook responsible for keeping him in business.
After all, without marriages, there wouldn’t be divorces, and he’d be out of a job.
Sadie might be there to set those couples up with the illusion of their happy ending, but Cole was the one who was around to pick up the pieces when it inevitably fell apart.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Cole said, concealing all emotion in his tone. With a firm hand, he guided Travis toward his ostentatious truck—the one Cole liked to refer to as Travis’s Small-Dick Express—eager to put an end to this interaction. “And you shouldn’t either. If you want that laundry list of demands from your wife, you better not get caught fucking around in town.”
Travis held up his hands. “All right, man. Point taken.” He shot finger guns—complete with sound effects—in Cole’s direction before opening the door to his jacked-up F-250 and climbing up. “I’m so damn glad we rushed the same fraternity back in the day. I wouldn’t be gettin’ fuck-all if it weren’t for you.”
Without another word, Travis slid into the driver’s seat before starting the overdone beast and peeling out of the driveway.
“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Cole muttered to himself as he ran a tired hand through his hair.
Working with people like Travis hadn’t always been so exhausting. Ever since his ex-wife—the she-devil—had blindsided him with the one-two punch of sleeping with his former best friend and then serving him with divorce papers after he found out, he’d gladly slid into his role as take-no-prisoners divorce attorney, able to move past that deception by representing men in similar situations and making sure they got their revenge in court. And he’d made a name for himself by doing so. Enough that it was no longer only wronged men who sought him out.
But somehow, revenge wasn’t enough anymore. He didn’t know what had changed in the past few months, but lately, he’d felt…unsettled. Though, his current upheaval certainly wasn’t helping things. Cole didn’t do well with change, and he was presently living in a constant state of it, thanks to his temporary home.
He inhaled a few lungfuls of the crisp December air as he pressed his thumb and forefinger to his closed eyes and mentally counted down how many days he had left in this hellhole.
“What’re you doin’ out here in the cold, sugar?” Edna, Havenbrook’s mail carrier, called from her old Jeep before stepping out with a package in tow.
“Afternoon, Edna.” He tipped his head at the older woman currently decked out in a flashing holiday sweater that read, Come deck my halls, Santa. “How’s your day been?”
“It’s about to get a lot better.” She hooked her hand around Cole’s elbow as she not so subtly guided them up the front porch steps and to the inn’s entrance. “I always coordinate any package drop-offs with Sadie’s afternoon bakin’ session. If my calculations are correct—and they are because this isn’t my first rodeo—those cookies will still be warm from the oven.”
Ah, yes. That which had been tempting him every day since he’d arrived on Monday, the mouthwatering scent making him hungry like he hadn’t been in years. Cookies. Yeah, it was definitely the cookies that had evoked that reaction.
“Then we better get you inside.” He held open the ornate front door, the carved mahogany no doubt an original fixture of the late-1800’s home, as Edna strolled through as if she owned the place. Though, from her outfit that coordinated with the inn’s festive interior, he wouldn’t be surprised.
Even though it was only a week past Thanksgiving, the front entryway was laden with fresh garland and wreaths, clusters of flickering candles in glass terrariums, and its own tree—one of too damn many to keep track of in the inn. White lights twinkled everywhere his eyes landed as he strode into the main gathering space, the scents of cinnamon and, yep, freshly baked cookies wafting his way.
Okay, so Starlight Haven wasn’t actually a hellhole. It was a gorgeous, recently renovated home that had been maintained well. Though, from what he knew of the inn’s history, neither that maintenance nor renovation fell at the feet of the woman who was both his biggest irritation and temptation.
“Forgot to drop this off for you earlier, Sadie,” Edna said, holding up the package.
“Well, you came at the perfect time. I just took these out of the oven.”
“Oh, what luck!”
With a snort, Cole paused just inside the room, his hand in the pocket of his suit pants, and watched Sadie interact with Edna. Her whole face lit up when she spoke to someone she didn’t hate—obviously something he didn’t usually have the pleasure of witnessing.
Christ, she was gorgeous, all fiery hair, bright blue eyes, and soft pink lips. The worst part about Sadie the Temptress was that she had no idea the power she held. She snagged his attention without even trying—something she’d managed to do nearly every day since he’d moved to Havenbrook shortly after his divorce four years ago.
It was really too bad he’d caught her attention for all the wrong reasons.
They hadn’t spoken a single word to each other before they’d officially met when he’d represented her complete asshole of an ex-brother-in-law. But even if they had, it wouldn’t have mattered. He could’ve been a saint—and, to be clear, he absolutely was not a saint—and she still would’ve hated him on principle alone. All because he did his job and he did it well. It wasn’t his fault her sister’s ex-husband had cheated. But it was his doing that Alec had walked away paying less in alimony than Elise had requested and with a hefty chunk of the Rollins’ family antiques, even after his indiscretions.
“Honey, you should quit starin’ and just go on and get yourself a cookie.” A woman in her late sixties with burnished bronze skin and a riot of gray curls unabashedly brushed crumbs from her sweater as she sat in front of one of the many fireplaces. “I swear I’m tastin’ heaven in my mouth right now.”
Cole tore his eyes away from Sadie and dipped his chin in the older woman’s direction. “Thanks for the suggestion, ma’am, but I don’t wanna spoil my supper.”
The woman waved her hand in front of her face and gestured behind him. “Nonsense! Sadie’s deliciousness is definitely worth spoilin’ your supper over.”
He couldn’t explain why those words—so sweet and innocent coming from someone older than his momma—conjured up thoughts of him feasting on all of Sadie’s deliciousness. He’d fall to his knees right in front of where she stood, duck his head under her flouncy red skirt, and lick up all the sweetness he had no doubt she was entirely made of.
“This nice lady’s right, Cole,” Edna agreed, ganging up on him. See if he offered her free legal advice the next time she put another dead animal in her ex-husband’s house. “Sadie’s goodies taste delicious.”
“Well, go on, then,” the other woman said to Sadie. “Offer this gentleman some of your goodies.” With a wink, she added, “Need to do all you can to lock down a man as handsome as this one.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Edna said. “Been preachin’ that for years. It’s our job to guide these young people, you know. Never too early to—”
As Edna prattled on about the horrors of modern dating, Cole allowed himself to drink in the sight of the woman who always seemed to throw him for a loop. She wore bla
ck leather boots up to her knees and a short red dress that twisted and twirled when she walked. Enough that a tiny voice in the back of his head prayed for a glimpse of panties any time she moved.
When he finally lifted his eyes to meet Sadie’s gaze, it was full of a fire she was obviously struggling to subdue, and his lips twitched in response. What was it about this woman he was so obviously incompatible with that got him so damn hot…and hard?
“Yes,” she bit out between clenched teeth, which she probably intended to be a smile. “Please. Help yourself.”
The buzz of conversation between Edna and her new friend settled into background noise as he strode toward Sadie, stopping a foot from where she stood. Barring the day he’d checked in, this was as close to her as he’d ever been. Probably for the better, considering the state of his body right now. His cock always had been a disloyal bastard.
He reached out and plucked a warm cookie from the tray she held in front of her breasts—also probably for the better—and tried not to catalog the different shades of red in her hair or why those fire-spitting eyes were turning him on so fucking much. The cookies were small enough that he had no problem popping the entire thing into his mouth.
“So nice of you to savor it,” she said dryly.
“Would you prefer I take this next one nice and slow?” He grabbed another cookie from the tray and bit off an exaggeratedly small bite before chewing thoroughly.
“I don’t care how you take it,” she said, even as she watched his lips with rapt attention.
Cole’s eyebrows rose as he studied her studying him. Interesting… Apparently, he wasn’t the only one feeling a bit off-balance, because, as far as he knew, she’d never before given him a second glance.
Unable to help himself from poking the bear, he leaned down, bringing their faces closer together. “I’m not sure that’s true, firecracker.”
His words seemed to jolt her out of her trance, and she huffed out an irritated sound, spun around, and clicked away in those wet-dream-inducing boots, taking her sweet cookies and even sweeter ass with her.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts from the delusions sleep deprivation had no doubt caused. Thanks to the change in location, he’d been running on fewer than four hours of sleep this whole week. On top of that, the coffee here wasn’t the pour over espresso he usually started his day with, he hadn’t been able to get his suits completely wrinkle-free after the trip over, and the mattress in his room was too soft.
He’d been living out of a suitcase for only three days, and he was already over it. He was just going to have to suck it up because he still had another three weeks of being exiled from his home while King Haven Construction renovated his kitchen and master bedroom. Eventually, he’d get used to the bed, and he’d probably start being able to function on the watered-down trash they called coffee. Based on his current circumstances, it was no wonder he’d been feeling so off-kilter.
It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the gorgeous redhead shooting death glares his way like she wanted to rip him a new one…right before she ripped off his clothes.
Chapter Three
“Please, Sadie. I’m seriously beggin’ for it.”
Sadie stared into the pleading eyes of her cousin, Natalie Haven. Her elbows were propped on the front desk, chin resting on top of her hands, folded as if in prayer.
“I don’t know, Nat…”
“Please! You’re seriously my last hope. The original couple I’d planned to photograph can’t do it because they came down with the flu. And these pictures are due to this magazine next week.”
Sadie felt bad for the situation her cousin was in, but what she was trying to pull off—photographing two random strangers as if already in a relationship—was so far out of Sadie’s comfort zone, she couldn’t even see the outline of her boundaries.
“You could probably find someone better suited for this than me,” Sadie said. “Maybe someone with modeling experience?”
Nat shook her head. “Nope. No. They don’t want models. They want real people—that’s the whole point of this spread. Showcasing real love with real couples across the globe.”
“It sounds amazing.”
“It is! I’ve loved shootin’ these. My favorite session was this couple in Montreal. Neither of the men was very comfortable in front of the camera, but five minutes in, and they totally forgot I was there. It was just them and their love.”
“But that’s the thing—right now, it’s just me. No love here.”
“Let me worry about that after you say yes.”
“Oh, you’re so sure of my agreement, are you?” Sadie asked flatly.
“I think very highly of myself, yes, so I’m fairly certain I can get you to agree.”
Sadie snorted and shook her head. “I don’t know… I don’t really do well in front of the camera.”
Nat tipped her head back and blew out a heavy sigh toward the ceiling. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell people this—you don’t have to be good in front of a camera. I have to be good behind a camera. You let me worry about it. All you need to focus on is followin’ directions—something you are excellent at, by the way. I’m always the one who screws up.”
Her cousin certainly wasn’t wrong. Ever since they were little, she’d been nothing but a troublemaker, especially when she was around her two best friends.
“You do not,” Sadie offered without much insistence behind it.
Nat snorted. “Don’t even try that. Besides, I’m workin’ on it. I’m back here, aren’t I? Even though I was just home a couple weeks ago. After everything that happened with Daddy, I’ve been tryin’ to get back more, despite the fact that I hate it here.”
“How selfless of you.”
“I know, right? And I planned everything like I was supposed to. I lined up a different couple than I’d originally intended so I could work this location into my schedule, but who can predict who’s gonna get sick with the flu? Now, this might seriously fuck up my career, all because I wanted to come home and spend time with family…”
Oh, she was good. Sadie would give her that. She knew Nat was laying it on thick, but there was truth underneath it all. Her cousin had flown the coop at the earliest possible opportunity, and she hadn’t exactly made it a priority to visit Havenbrook in the years since. It was too bad it’d taken a near tragedy to bring her back, but at least she was home—even if it was temporary. And if Sadie could make her time there a little easier to encourage her to visit more often, well…wasn’t it her duty as a cousin to do so? Her aunt and Nat’s mom, Caroline, deserved that. The jury was still out on Nat’s daddy, Richard Haven, who was an insufferable ass even on his best days.
Sadie’s shoulders slumped and Nat’s eyes immediately brightened, no doubt sensing a looming victory, but Sadie held up her hand to stop Nat’s smile in its tracks. “I haven’t said yes. What about your sisters? Can’t you wrangle one of them into this?”
Nat huffed and rolled her eyes. “They’re all pains in my ass, I swear. I could probably talk Mac into doin’ it, but Hudson’s stationed in Washington right now. Will said she doesn’t wanna do anything in a wedding dress before her big day—like puttin’ on one that’s not hers is even gonna matter. And—”
“Wait, I’d have to wear a wedding dress?”
“Yes, but I promise, it’s gorgeous.” Nat swept her newly hot-pink hair out of her eyes and continued, “And Rory’s busy—something about a holiday bake sale and the girls’ school. I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t listen too much when she talks.”
Sadie laughed. “You know this would be a lot easier if you found a couple, right?”
“Uh, yeah, I do know that, actually. Unfortunately, I only know assholes who aren’t interested in helpin’ me. So, I’m gonna have to rely on my skill behind the camera and posin’ techniques to try to get the kind of chemistry that comes from two people bein’ in love.”
“I think you’re aimin’ for a miracle. You
can’t fake that kind of connection.”
“Let me worry about that.” Nat reached for Sadie’s wrist. “Look, I swear I wouldn’t be askin’ if it wasn’t a huge deal…if I didn’t really, truly need you. This spread could be career-changin’ for me. It’s gonna be in the highest-circulated wedding magazine in the country.”
Sadie’s mouth dropped open. “You got a spread in Happily Ever After?” Was it a sign that she’d just been reading the latest issue the other day?
“I did…” A slow smile spread across Nat’s mouth. “You know…I was plannin’ to shoot down by the covered bridge, but,” she said, drawing out the word, “maybe we could shoot on the grounds here at the B&B. That way, we can get the inn’s name in the magazine, too.”
Nationwide exposure for Starlight could mean serious changes for them. As in, they’d be able to do more than just skimp by every month. Not only that, but they could hire someone to work the front desk, which would free up Elise to pursue something she actually enjoyed, and Sadie could plan more weddings—ones that would hopefully be booked thanks to this spread.
“Fine. I’ll do it as long as Elise can watch the inn. But we’re shootin’ it here, and I want your assurance that the bed-and-breakfast will be highlighted in the piece.”
Nat fist-pumped and shouted an expletive that was definitely too loud and inappropriate for the older couple currently reading in front of the fireplace. Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Fischer only spared them a glance before returning their attention back to their afternoon activities. Two points to Sadie for spiking their hot chocolate excessively well today.
“Don’t get so excited,” she said. “You still have to find me a groom, right?”
Nat’s shoulders sagged as she rubbed her forehead. “Yes.”
“What about Nash? I know you said Rory had something goin’ on with the girls, but is Nash involved in that?”
Nat barked out a laugh. “Rory’d have my ass if I even thought of shootin’ her boyfriend with another woman, cousin or not.”