Everly turned away from him and closed her eyes as though she didn’t want him to see her emotion, but it was too late. It drew him to her the same way it had the night he’d kissed her. There was something so genuine about her. Something wholesome and innocent—worth protecting—but something strong, too.
“It takes a lot of courage to do what you did. To start over somewhere else.” He gently pulled on her arm to bring her closer, but she winced and stepped back.
“I knew I hurt you.” He dropped his gaze to her hand, which had protectively covered the lower side of her left rib cage.
“It’s fine. Just sore.” She smiled a little. “Small price to pay for being able to breathe.”
Funny, he hadn’t choked on anything, and yet breathing had suddenly gotten more difficult for him. She stood close enough to trigger the memories of holding her against him, of kissing her lips. They were soft and full. So rich and sweet and tempting. “Where does it hurt?” He placed his hand where hers had been. Warmth from her body seeped into his palm through that sexy apron and sent a charge of arousal all through him. This time he couldn’t shoot down the thoughts, the fantasies, the desires she stirred in him.
Touching her made him want them all.
Chapter Eleven
Mateo’s touch brought a soothing rush to the sore muscles beneath her ribs. Sparks pinged through her in heated flashes that struck every erogenous area of her body. “The pain’s not so bad. I hardly feel it.” At the moment she only felt him, touching her, charging the air around her.
When she looked up, she saw much more than detached concern in his eyes. They were darker, so focused on her, as though he was trying to read the feelings hidden in her heart. They couldn’t have been difficult to decipher. Every emotion rose straight to her face—hope and desire and want. God, she wanted him to kiss her again.
“You have flour on your face.” Mateo’s voice had lowered in a deep, seductive tenor. He reached up to brush the dusting off her cheek, and then trailed his fingers across her jaw and down her neck, sweeping her hair back over her shoulder. There was a hesitation in his touch, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. His gaze stayed with hers as though searching out his next move.
Everly didn’t look away. It felt good to be touched, to feel her heart beating again.
“I should go to my room,” he murmured, not breaking his stare.
“No.” Everly moved an inch closer. He didn’t want to go to his room. His voice was as ragged as hers. “Don’t walk away.” She had to know if his mouth would taste as good as she remembered—rich and spicy like sandalwood and cloves.
A smile twitched on Mateo’s mouth right before he kissed her, his lips moving against hers in a seductive overture. Shivers rippled through her when his tongue skimmed her bottom lip. Her hands moved over his shoulders, gripping tightly to maintain her balance. She was falling, spinning, reeling from the intensity of his hot mouth against hers. She kissed him back eagerly, seeking his tongue, pressing her body against his, grasping at his shirt, letting the release of passion sweep her away.
Mateo’s breaths came as heavy and fast as hers. He pulled away to gaze at her face, to flash her that sexy grin before bringing his mouth back to hers at a different angle. “Quiero besarte para siempre,” he whispered.
She didn’t know what it meant, only that it sounded beautiful and intimate.
Mateo lifted her to the counter and she straddled his waist as he skimmed his lips to the base of her jaw, then her neck, then her collarbone, kissing and murmuring about how good she tasted.
There was another sound, too. A sound that didn’t fit. Knocking. Pounding…
“The door!” She pushed Mateo away and sprang off the counter, flailing to catch herself before she fell.
“Do you really have to answer—”
Another round of knocking drowned him out. “Everly! Are you in there?” Charity’s voice could’ve easily made it through a steel vault.
Oh God. “Hold on,” she croaked, straightening her shirt. Her legs teetered, but somehow she made it to the door and managed to get it open.
“Where have you been?” Darla barged in, followed by Charity. “We looked everywhere! We thought you would meet us back at my place, but you never came. We were so worried about you.”
“Someone at the restaurant said you choked.” Charity looked her over as though searching for visible damage.
“Uh…” Everly’s body still smoldered in the afterglow of Mateo’s breathtaking kiss. She gulped down a hard swallow. “Yeah. I choked on the garlic bread.” Hopefully they assumed her spastic breathing was from the earlier trauma.
“And Mateo saved your life?” Darla hadn’t seemed to notice him standing off in the corner of the kitchen yet. She was too focused on Everly.
“Don’t know about that, but I definitely bruised her ribs.” He sauntered over and gave Everly a small private smile.
“Well, well, well.” Charity looked back and forth between the two of them like she knew exactly what they’d just been up to. “You look a little flushed, Everly. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m…great.” Unsteady and shaky and still dizzy in a really fun way.
“And what about you, Mateo?” Charity addressed him like a mother talking to her little boy. “Are you okay? Because you look a little sweaty.”
“Never been better.” He didn’t look away from Everly even for a second.
She quickly whirled and traipsed back to the kitchen as buoyant as if she were hopping from one cloud to the next.
“Did we interrupt something?” Darla asked, slapping her hands on her hips.
“No.” Everly couldn’t look at Mateo. Couldn’t even look in the vicinity of Mateo. That kiss…wow. She peered into the bowl at the dough for her scones. She’d definitely overmixed it. “Why do you ask?”
“Because it took you a while to answer the door.” Darla marched across the room, suspicion still lurking in her eyes.
“She spilled some of that dough on the floor and we were trying to clean it up.” The lie flowed so easily from Mateo. Not one blip in his voice. Not one flicker in his easy gaze. He was probably used to getting caught in compromising positions.
Her friends both glanced around the kitchen as though looking to confirm the story. Thankfully, there were still blobs of dough all over the place from her mixing tirade.
Both women seemed satisfied enough to let the inquisition go.
“Well, now that we found you, are you coming to book club with us?” Charity asked.
“Can’t.” Everly busied herself with rinsing the dishes that were piled in the sink. “I’m in the middle of baking.” Actually, she’d have to start over now.
“Then maybe we should move book club here,” Darla suggested. Without waiting for permission, she dug her phone out of her purse and started typing away. “I’ll just let Naomi and Jessa know we’re changing locations.”
Well, crap. That wouldn’t be good. They’d definitely find out she’d kissed Mateo if they stayed. She couldn’t even look in his direction without her cheeks getting all warm. Everly shut off the water. “Actually—”
“Sounds good to me.” Charity went straight for the refrigerator. “I’ll search for some snacks.”
“Guess that means I’ll go hang out in my room. I still have some unpacking to do anyway.” Mateo gave Everly a look that made it very tempting to follow him, but where would that put her? Mateo might know exactly how to make her feel good with those hot kisses and his strong hands caressing her body, but that didn’t change the fact that he got to do whatever he wanted with her farm.
He was in a position to screw her over, and she had to stop forgetting that.
The only good thing about old farmhouses was that the walls happened to be paper-thin. That, combined with the fact that Darla and Charity seemed to have no volume control, meant Mateo could listen in on the cross-examination currently taking place in Everly’s living room.
So f
ar, Everly hadn’t said much. He wouldn’t know what to say, either. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but the moment she’d told him she didn’t want him to go to his room, he’d lost control. Couldn’t stop himself. Couldn’t hold back. The woman completely undid him.
The trouble had started when he’d walked into the house and saw that ruffled apron she had on. His body ignited just thinking about that damn apron. It had been tied tight around her waist, emphasizing the shape of her body, hitting him with an instant fantasy about how she would look in that apron and nothing else.
It wasn’t only her body, though. It was that sadness in her. He wanted to take it away, to make her feel good, to give her a reason to smile. Mateo slumped to the bed. What was he thinking? Kissing her like that might give her a reason to smile, but he’d only take it away from her when she found out about his plans for the farm.
“So you’re telling me that you and Mateo were simply hanging out in the kitchen together?” The wall hardly muffled Charity’s pointed question.
“Yes. That’s what I’m telling you.” Everly’s voice was too rigid to be believable. Charity would never buy it. The woman had a sixth sense for sniffing out bullshit.
“Hanging out can mean a lot of different things,” Darla said.
“Actually, we weren’t hanging out. I was baking and he was telling me about his dinner with his sister.”
He had to strain to hear her. She obviously didn’t want him listening in. Nice recovery, though.
“His sister?” Darla repeated. “You’re telling me we followed him on a date with his sister?”
“Shhhh, be quiet,” Everly hissed.
They’d followed him to the restaurant? Mateo almost laughed, but that would’ve been bad. They would’ve heard him, and he didn’t want to miss this.
“His sister was passing through town and wanted to have dinner with him,” she said in a lower voice. “So yes. Because of you two geniuses, we followed him on a date with his sister. And then you ditched me when our cover was blown.”
Mateo pressed a fist against his mouth. He was going to hell for this. Eavesdropping and laughing at a woman who was clearly not amused by any of the evening’s events. He happened to be very amused. Not to mention still aroused. Damn it all, why’d Everly have to be his tenant?
“So you two are getting along, then?” Darla asked, the words as sharp as a probe.
“Of course.” Everly’s nonchalance shrugged off any insinuations that they were doing more than getting along. “We’re getting along fine. I actually wish he would spend more time around here so he can understand why the farm is so important. That’s the only reason I invited him to stay. I don’t want him to change anything around here now that he owns the place.”
Ohhhh. He’d been shocked when Everly invited him to move in with her, but now it made sense. She wanted him to leave the farm alone. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Mateo lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Like the rest of the drywall, there were cracks everywhere. Because it was an old, run-down farmhouse that would drain his savings account instead of growing it.
“He won’t change anything around here,” Darla insisted, twisting the blade of guilt stuck between his ribs. “Actually, I think he has a thing for you. He sure doesn’t look at me the way he looks at you.”
No. He didn’t look at Darla the way he looked at Everly. He didn’t even look at Chrissy, his Tumble Inn groupie, like that. It did seem he’d developed a thing for Everly, but that was about to become irrelevant. He had to tell her the truth. Had to tell her about Blake and the resort. She deserved to know. He couldn’t wait anymore.
Groaning, he dragged himself off the bed and trudged to the door. Dread crammed his stomach as he cracked it open. “Hey, Everly,” he called. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
There was a long silence. He could picture those three women staring at each other, wondering what he could possibly have to say to her right now. He wished he could say something else. Something about how much he admired her strength and the depth of her emotions. He’d always thought feelings made you weak, but that wasn’t true for her. She was driven by her heart, and something in him envied that. Of course, she wouldn’t want to hear those things from him after he told her about the farm.
This was going to suck.
“Uh, I’ll be right there.” Footsteps hurried down the hall and she slipped inside his room, her face so lovely and rosy that he was tempted to continue avoiding the truth so he could kiss her again.
“Is everything okay?” Everly looked around the room awkwardly.
“There’s something you need to know.” Buying time, Mateo closed the door behind her, but no matter how long or hard he thought about it, there would be no easy way to say the words. He forced himself to look directly into her eyes and braced for the fallout. “I’m not planning to renew your lease.”
“What?”
He shifted his gaze to the floor, couldn’t stand to see the heartbreak in her eyes. “When I bought the property from Owen, I thought you’d go back to your life in San Francisco.” After their date, he’d been so sure. She’d told him straight up that she could petition to get her license back. It wasn’t like she’d shot down the idea. He’d assumed she’d go for it eventually.
Everly crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “But I’m not going back. I’m never going back.”
“I get that now, but I bought this place as an investment property.” He said it as gently as he could. “I have to take care of my family. They depend on me, and I don’t know how much longer I can keep competing.”
Everly seemed to teeter. She steadied a hand against the wall. “What are you saying?”
Truth. He had to tell her all of it. “I’ve been talking with Blake Wilder about developing a condo resort here.”
“And the farm?” Her voice had hollowed.
Mateo ignored his own surge of emotion—guilt and regret and anger at himself for stringing her along. “I can’t keep it. It’s too run-down. You have to see that. This place is way past its prime. Financially, it doesn’t make sense to restore it.”
A breath of pain escaped from her lips. He went to touch her shoulder but she shrank out of reach.
“I’m sorry.” He should’ve told her the day when she’d hit him with that martini glass. “I won’t do anything until your lease is up. That should give you time to find—”
“Get out.”
Aw, hell, she was about to cry. “Everly—”
“Get out of my house.” She marched closer and got in his face. “Right now, this is still my home and I want you out.”
He backed up, raised his hands. “Sure. Okay.” She had every right to be pissed. “That’s fine. I’ll pack up my stuff and—”
“No.” She pushed his shoulder toward the door. “You can get your stuff tomorrow. When I’m not here. Right now, you’re going to get the hell away from me.” She pushed him again. “Get out!”
“I’m going.” He swiped his keys off the dresser. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Screw you, Mateo.” She’d officially started to cry.
He deserved that. Deserved worse probably. He bolted out the door, but Charity and Darla were ready to intercept him in the hallway.
“What the hell, Mateo?” Charity smacked him on the arm.
He kept right on walking.
“If I weighed more, I’d kick your ass for this,” Darla called after him.
This time he stopped. Turned around to face them. “I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t handle this whole thing the way I should’ve.” He shouldn’t have kissed her ten minutes ago. That was on him. “But I won’t apologize for doing what I can to take care of my mom and sisters. When’s the last time either of you have had to ask someone for money on the street?”
Neither one of them said anything.
Yeah, he didn’t think so. “I had to do it all the time. We had nothing. I tried to make things better, but I c
ouldn’t. Not when I was kid. I had to watch my mom work twelve hours a day so she could struggle to feed us, and I couldn’t help her. But I can now.”
Charity stared at him, wide-eyed. “I had no idea. You never said anything.”
“That’s because I knew you wouldn’t understand.” None of them understood. They had no idea where he’d come from. As much as he’d like to forget, he couldn’t. “Take care of Everly,” he said, turning around so he could get out of there. “Make sure she has the support she needs to find another place.” They would. These women took care of each other.
God knew Everly would be a lot better off with them than she would be with someone like him.
Chapter Twelve
Lucky for Mateo, the lights were on at Levi’s house. He parked the truck and waded through the muck of lingering guilt on his way up to the porch. It might not seem like it right now, but he knew things were better this way. He’d told Everly the truth, and now he could get on with making plans. His first order of business was finding a place to stay until he had his trailer back.
He knocked on the door. Somewhere inside, his dog went crazy. Dante had probably assumed it was only a matter of time until Mateo screwed up and had to join him over at Levi’s. At least someone would be thrilled to have him.
His friend answered the door with a confused look. “What’re you doing here? Poker night’s tomorrow.”
Mateo stepped inside and took a knee to accept slobbery kisses from his favorite mutt. “Looks like every night might be poker night for a while.” Not that either one of them could afford it, the way Ty repeatedly kicked their asses. He stood and kicked off his boots. Compared to the farmhouse, Levi and Cassidy had a rustic mountain castle. It was at least four times the size of Everly’s place, and all new. No flickering lights here. No mixed-up water faucets. Levi had built it with the help of his brothers. The wood floors gleamed with polish, and the open concept living area and kitchen could have easily accommodated a hundred people. There was a grand stone fireplace that went all the way up to the vaulted ceiling and enough picture windows that you wouldn’t want to walk around naked. “I don’t think I’ll be going back to the farm for a while.” Until Everly’s lease was up, most likely.
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