“You’re cute, city boy.” I chuckle as she pinches his cheeks.
He doesn’t seem to mind as he pulls her in and kisses her. Poppy slaps his chest, saying something about being in front of a church, but that doesn’t stop Harris.
“We’re gonna go.” I wave them off, not wanting to be witness to their make-out session.
“Are you sure you’re fine with this?” I ask Averly as soon as we’re alone in my truck.
She smiles over at me and reaches for my hand. “I promise.” She makes an X over her heart. Then, she leans over the center console and kisses me. “Now, let’s hurry so I can grab a coffee at Cup-O-Joe before we have to leave.”
I shake my head with a smile and head home to grab the rest of the things we need.
…
“This is stunning,” Tinley, Matthew’s wife, says as we walk through a trail lined with pine trees and the white mountains in front of us.
“You don’t get views like this back in the South,” Sutton, the country singer that Knox and Harris signed to their record label, says. She’s a spunky, short woman.
Averly looks at me with a secret smile and winks while everyone else talks about the views, the wedding last night, and random topics.
“Look over there,” Lia whispers, pointing with her pole to the side where the ground is hilly.
“An elk,” Ainsley says as we all stop to look at it. You almost miss it as it stands behind bare branches that blend with its antlers.
“Gorgeous,” Averly says. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head, covered in a beanie.
Suddenly, we hear, “Ainsley,” coming from Knox and turn to see her bending over in laugher. Knox has snow on the side of his face.
He bends down and packs a snowball, Ainsley’s eyes widening as she tries to run but can’t with the snowshoes.
“Damn it,” she calls out as a snowball hits her back.
“I’m in,” Axel says.
Before we know what’s happening, Averly and I look at each other as everyone participates in a snowball fight. A dangerous smile crosses Averly’s face as she fills her hand with snow and throws it at me, hitting my chin.
I raise my brows in silence and join in on the snowball fight. I feel a hard hit on my back and turn around to see Knox grinning at me. Fucker.
Snowballs fly from all angles, hitting whoever is in their way. No mercy. I catch a glimpse of Averly a few feet away, laughing as she hits Poppy with packed snow and make my way toward her as discreetly as possible.
I keep the snowball in my hand tightly packed until I’m right behind her. I lift my arm, Poppy’s eyes widening across from me, and I cringe. Averly turns around, but before she can react, I smash the snow on top of her head. She screeches, and her eyes pop open as bits of snow fall onto her face.
“Oh, no, you didn’t.” I’m cackling as she bends down to get snow in her palm. When she stands, she smashes it into my face, some of it landing in my mouth as I laugh. I sputter the snow out of my mouth, and Averly giggles, trying to get away from me.
I haven’t had this much wholesome fun in a long time. I’m going to have to thank Ainsley once we’re done because from what I hear, she’s lethal when it comes to snowball fights.
“This is fun,” Sutton announces.
“Yeah, my first kiss with Knox was after a snowball fight,” Ainsley smiles at Knox.
“Sure was, Mrs. Bentley.” He kisses her, and everyone cheers.
I shake my head and look at Averly, standing nearby, staring at me instead of the newlyweds. I wink at her, and zero in on her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip.
When Axel suggests we head back so we can make it to Bear Paw Cottage in time for lunch, everyone agrees. I wait for them to walk in front of me, taking my time to walk toward Averly. By the time I reach her, our friends are a few feet ahead of us and too distracted talking to miss us.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her as I press the poles into the snow.
She smiles and waits for me to kiss her. I hold her face and lean down, pressing my lips to hers. Averly’s hands move to my back, gripping my shirt as she leans into the kiss, parting those pretty lips for me. I sweep my tongue against hers, kissing her fervently as my body jolts with the need for her.
“Eli,” she says against my lips.
“Hmm?” I don’t stop kissing her.
“Later.” She tries to pull her away, but I keep my hands wrapped around her cheeks, wanting more.
She giggles and shakes her head. When my tongue strokes hers again, she moans softly. For a few moments, Averly gives in, angling her head and kissing me back with as much desire as I am. Her chest is pressed against mine as her gloved hands roam up and down my back, wishing I could feel her nails digging into me.
We freeze when we hear rustling, and Averly breaks the kiss.
“We should go,” she whispers.
I look to the right and see the elk has returned to its spot by the trees.
“Yeah.”
We walk back quietly, and I sneak glances in her direction every so often. A small smile is permanently streaked on her lips, and her cheeks are rosy from the cold. I can’t believe a couple of weeks ago we were arguing like cats and dogs. It must be true that opposites attract because I’m dead-set on building this relationship with her.
Averly
The past week and a half have flown by in a blur. It feels as if time has been sucked by a giant vacuum. The good thing about it is that I’ll be moving into the guest house in two weeks, and I’m so ready for that move. I’m ready to have a place that’s mine.
“Hey.” I look up from my laptop and see Ainsley standing by the table.
“Whoa.” My eyes widen, and I quickly try to get my surprise under control.
“I know.” She shakes her head, her eyes laughing with amusement. “Here’s a tip, when you plan to lay out in the sun for a few hours, don’t ignore your husband’s borderline annoying demands to put on sunscreen.”
I look at her face, lobster red. “Are you sunburned everywhere?” I wince.
“Pretty much every inch that was exposed to the sun. It hurts like hell, too.” She takes a seat, carefully, her face screwing as she bends her body.
“We totally could’ve rescheduled.” I take in her pained expression.
“No way,” Ainsley shakes her head. “It’s just momentary pain when my skin stretches.”
“Okay, but if you want to go, I’ll be okay with that,” I emphasize.
“Thanks.”
We order two coffees before I ask her about her honeymoon.
“Besides the sunburn, how was Jamaica?” I can’t imagine how nice it must be to escape to a warm beach after months of snow.
“Ah-mazing,” she smiles. “It’s beautiful, and everyone was so nice. The beach was stunning,” her eyes widen with meaning. “I’ve never seen a beach with such clear water. Not that I’ve been to many beaches in my life.” She waves a hand in the air, causing me to chuckle.
“That sounds wonderful. I’m sure it was a nice change from the cold.” I fold my arms on the table and lean forward.
“It was, although I missed the snow. It’s magical, you know?” She looks out the window with a soft sigh.
“Yeah,” I nod, knowing exactly what she means. Despite the freezing temperatures and crazy winds, snow brings a certain mood with it. A whimsical spirit that almost feels as if we were in a different world. Well, that’s when you’re not cursing while shoveling snow or falling on your ass on a patch of ice. But still, it’s magic.
Ainsley tells me more about her honeymoon—the excursions they went on, the views, and the people they met. She shows me some pictures on her phone, and a smile appears on my face as I see Knox and her smiling. They really love each other.
My mind wanders to Eli, and I wonder if we’ll be one of the couples that stick. I hope we are. I want that…with him. This past month together has given me a sense of hope that I lost a long time ago.
/>
As if reading my mind, Ainsley asks, “How are things with Eli?” She smiles wide, her eyebrows bouncing up and down.
I giggle, shaking my head to hide my blush. “Great.” I look at Ainsley, biting down my smile, but the corners of my lips force themselves up.
“I’m so happy to hear that. He’s such a good guy, and he needs someone kind.”
“Thank you. Although, I wouldn’t use kind to describe the way I treated him at first.” My nose scrunches up.
“He probably deserved it. I love Eli. He was one of the only people in town that welcomed me when I first moved here, but he speaks what he thinks without considering how people will react. You gave back tenfold, I’m sure,” Ainsley chuckles.
“That I did. We definitely had our conflicts and arguments…” I trail off, thinking about Eli and my interactions at The Farm House.
“And probably killer sex because of it,” she interrupts me.
My eyes pop out of my head, and my neck heats, but I laugh. “Yeah,” I can’t deny it. “Definitely helped in that department.”
“Oh, change topics,” Ainsley whispers, leaning forward on the table. “Mrs. Rowe is looking at us, probably taking notes for her gossip session with her nosey friends later.”
I laugh and fight to not look at Mrs. Rowe, an Everton neighbor, sitting at a table across from us.
“So, what have you been working on?” Ainsley claps her hands, and just like that, we’re back to business. Or starting to work on business since the first thirty minutes have been chatting about honeymoons and sexy boyfriends. Well, just one boyfriend. Ainsley has a sexy husband.
When I finish with Ainsley, I stop at The Sub Shop and grab lunch for Eli and me. I can’t contain my smile as I drive to the bed and breakfast, knowing I’ll find him working on the guest house. He’s made it his mission to complete that project for me in time to move in at the end of the month. He has no idea how grateful I am for that, and if I can surprise him with lunch sometimes, I will.
I sigh in relief when I see his truck is parked on the property and hop out of my car with the bags in hand. I skip walking through the main house and head directly to the cottage. As I approach, I tiptoe to the door and quietly push it open to surprise him.
A low gasp leaves my lips when I see him, and I stay by the open door. My goodness, he’s hot. Eli’s muscles strain and flex under his tee shirt as he drills the cabinet door onto the hinge in the kitchen. His biceps move and the knots of muscle on his forearms show off their strength.
I sigh and lean my head against the doorframe, dreamily watching and admiring. Is there anything hotter than a man who knows how to use his hands? There isn’t. Not one bit. I don’t care who argues with me, this right here is a straight button to turn-me-on-land.
When he wipes sweat from his brow using the hem of his shirt, giving me a side peek at his V lines, I whimper.
“You’re drooling there, darlin’.”
My eyes snap up to Eli’s amused ones and widen. My hand instinctively moves to my mouth. “Oh my God, I literally am.” To my horror, I have a drop of drool pooling in the corner of my mouth. I wipe it away, turning a lot redder than Ainsley’s lobster sunburn.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we’ll have to christen the house before it’s officially completed,” Eli winks, placing the drill on the worktable he set up in the kitchen.
“You look really hot when you’re focused on work,” I say as he walks toward me. I close the door behind me and meet him in the middle of the living room.
“You don’t say?” His eyebrow quirks in amusement.
“Oh yeah.” I run my hand down his chest, feeling his muscles twitch under my touch. Smiling, I lean in and kiss him slowly, only allowing a quick stroke of tongues before pulling back. We won’t stop if we kiss any deeper, not with how worked up I got watching him work.
Eli’s hands hold my waist as he groans, “Babe.”
“I know.” I put my hand on his cheek, his scruff scratching my palm. “Later,” I promise. “I did bring lunch, though.” My mouth opens in a wide smile, and my eyebrows shoot up as if I announced that he won a million dollars in a gameshow.
I hold up the bags holding our subs. “And I brought you your favorite.”
“Philly cheesesteak,” he says, kissing my cheek. “You’re the best, I’m starving.”
While Eli cleans up, I place our lunch on the small, round plastic table we set up here when our lunch dates became more frequent. Eli brought it along with two folding chairs from his place one day, making sure we’d have somewhere comfortable to sit, eat, and talk.
“What did you get?” He eyes my sub as I open the paper it’s wrapped in.
“French onion dip.”
“That smells good,” he licks his lips.
I remove the lid on the dip and ask, “Want a bite?” One side of his lips move up in a mischievous smirk. “Not here.” I open my eyes in warning when I read the expression on his face.
Eli laughs, reaching for my hand, and squeezing. “Yeah, gimme a bite.”
I smirk, rolling my eyes playfully, and hand him my sub.
“That’s good,” he nods, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
“Want to do half and half?” I ask, my mouth watering as I gaze at his Philly cheesesteak. I was torn between both, so I may just get lucky.
“Hell, yeah.” Eli cuts his sub in half, using his hands, and then does the same to mine. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, even if we don’t have the proper utensils.
“How’s Ainsley?” Eli asks as he pours his bag of chips on the open wrapper his sandwich was in.
“Burnt to a crisp, but she said they had a great time, and she looks really happy.”
Eli chuckles. “Knox mentioned something about the burn when I spoke to him earlier. Says it’s pretty bad.”
“Yeah, but she’s taking it with humor.”
“That sounds like Ainsley,” Eli smiles. “Were you able to work on what you needed her help on?”
“Yes,” I lean back on the chair, placing my sandwich on the wrapper. “My website is almost ready. Well, a simple version, but it will be functional for now so I can drive people to it and make reservations. I’ll just need to add pictures once I have them.”
“Congrats, babe.” Eli’s golden eyes turn soft, pride reflecting in them.
“Thanks. I’m excited.” I look around the guest house, such a change from a few weeks ago. “It helps that I have a super sexy contractor working with me.”
“You don’t say?” He leans forward, a twinkle in his eyes.
“He’s a really good kisser, too,” I hold in my smile, arching an eyebrow.
“You kissin’ the help, sweetheart?”
I lean over the table, keeping my eyes trained on his. My voice drops as I say, “I’m doing more than kissing him.”
Eli groans and throws his wadded up napkin on the table. “You’re killing me.”
My eyebrows waggle in joy, and I pinch my lips into a secret smile.
“You know it, too,” he accuses.
“What?” I lean back, furrowing my brows sightly as if I were offended. “I’d never intentionally hurt you,” I say coyly.
“It ain’t hurting, what you’re doing. Well,” he cocks his heads and lifts one shoulder. “I’m in pain for a different reason.” He adjusts himself under the table.
I almost sit on his lap but think better of it. Instead, I finish my lunch while catching glimpses of Eli’s darkened eyes.
“I want to show you something. You’re going to want to thank your contractor even more after you see this.”
My eyes light up. “Is that so?” I stand, grabbing our trash and throwing it in one of the bags.
“Clean up later.” Eli rushes me, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the bedroom and bathroom.
He turns around abruptly, and I run into his chest. “Hey,” I call out.
“Sorry, I’m just excited.” He bounces on his toes. “Close your
eyes.”
My shoulders drop, and I give him a sideways glance.
“Come on, just do it.” He puts his hands over my eyes.
I laugh and swat his hands away but close my eyes. He’s too cute when he’s acting like this, and I appease him.
I jolt when I feel his lips touch mine and then smile. “Hey, give me another one.” I hold my arms out, trying to reach for him, but all I hear is a quiet snicker.
“Okay,” Eli places his hands on my shoulder and turns me slightly. “No peeking or looking ’til I tell you to. Do you promise?”
“Cross my heart.” I mark an X over my chest.
“I love it when you do that.” I shiver when I feel his breath tickling the shell of my ear and runs down my neck.
Eli pushes me slowly, and I follow his guidance, walking forward a few steps. I hear shuffling and a tapping sound, but I can't imagine what his surprise is. I’ve pretty much seen everything they’ve worked on up until now since they needed my approval.
“Open,” Eli whispers behind me, more shivers running down my spine. Goodness, this not seeing really does heighten your other senses.
I blink my eyes open, rubbing them as they adjust to my surroundings. The bathroom is completed. The vanity with granite top and the gray tiles on the floor are all familiar, but when I look to the left where the space for the bathtub was empty before, I gasp.
“Wow.” My hand covers my lips as I see a claw foot tub. That was definitely not in the budget. Placed across the bathtub is a dark wood caddy with distressed, white handles on either side to hold it like a tray. On the side, a small circular indent acts as a cup holder, or in my case, wine glass holder. In the center, two pieces of wood spaced out in front of the other act as a book holder, the front piece shorter so I can read the last line without interruption.
I turn to face Eli, my eyes soft. “Did you make that?”
“Yeah,” he shrugs sheepishly.
“Wow,” I repeat, exhaling. I smile, wrapping my arms around his waist and hug him. “It’s the most thoughtful gift. Thank you.” I place my chin on his chest and look up at him, his tall frame towering over me.
His strong arms hold me as he smiles. “I’m glad you like it. After hearing how important a tub is, I figured you’d want something to help you relax.”
Make You Mine Page 14