“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Emmett murmured over my shoulder the next morning as I hammered a nail into the campaign sign in front of the restaurant. When I arrived ten minutes prior, one of the wooden stakes had split.
He wore a white t-shirt that looked great against his tan, but he knew that, and knowing he knew that annoyed me. My gaze flicked over the hem of his sleeve, fitted but not too tight. I caught a glimpse of his forearms.
I woke up horny this morning, and that made me grumpy.
Focus, I reminded myself.
We had a meeting with the bank in an hour, during which Emmett would sign on the dotted line and the restaurant would be all mine.
Well, not quite. This was just the business loan portion. Keiko and I would meet in a few weeks to sign the paperwork. Today was a big deal, though. After today, I’d be in the home stretch. All I had to do was hold up my end of the bargain with Emmett and play his adoring fiancée.
I wasn’t sure where staring at his forearms fit into that.
Focus, I reminded myself again.
“Your sign is falling apart.” I hammered another nail in and jiggled the post to make sure it was secure. “You should take better care of these.”
He stooped down to inspect my work. “Where’d you get that hammer?”
“I borrowed it from Jim at the hardware store.” I stood and brushed my hands off.
Emmett shot me a curious expression before a smile grew on his face. “Thanks.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t do it for you.” My tone sounded sharper than I intended.
“Oh, yeah?” His eyebrow rose. He didn’t believe me. “Why are you so grouchy today?” A devilish grin came over his features. “Miss me last night?” He winked and bit his lip.
Irritation spiked in my shoulders. “If you’re going to block my restaurant with this monstrosity, at least keep it in good condition.”
“It’s not your restaurant yet,” he reminded me with a grin, and I frowned at him.
His smile brightened. “Relax, Adams, everything will go smoothly today at the bank.” He reached for the hammer. “I’ll take that back to Jim. Thanks for helping out on the Emmett Rhodes campaign.” He leaned down and, fast as lightning, tilted my chin up and gave me a quick kiss before striding away, crossing the street, and disappearing into the hardware store.
From that instant of contact, my pulse had picked up. My body had tasted Emmett’s mouth, and my body wanted more.
My grouchiness kicked up one notch.
I glanced around at the empty street. There were a few tourists out but no locals that I could spot, and the sign had hid us from diners inside the restaurant.
I narrowed my eyes at the hardware store. What was Emmett up to? There was no one around to keep the charade up for.
The pressure I tried to relieve last night? It was still there. I stared at the door of the hardware store Emmett had disappeared through. I was still wound tight, thinking about his mouth on my neck, his teeth scraping my skin, his hands all over me, his fingers where mine were last night.
Shit. I think I have to sleep with Emmett Rhodes.
I barked a laugh and climbed the steps to the restaurant. One hundred percent no. Never, ever.
“What’s so funny?” Max asked when I stepped inside.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“CAN you not do that here, please?” I asked Emmett later as he returned to his stool at the bar after greeting a family who had just been seated. “This is a family place. They don’t want to see you schmoozing all over the place.”
“I’m just saying hello to some friends.” He took a sip of water. “Friends are people you talk to on a regular basis and spend time with,” he explained slowly.
I gave him a blank stare, which only made him grin harder as I wiped the counter.
“Wow, you are just a wealth of knowledge. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.”
“For you, Adams? Anytime.” He turned as Holden took the seat next to him. “There he is.”
Holden nodded once at me in greeting. “Avery.”
“Hi, Holden. Can I get you anything?”
Emmett glanced around. “Don’t you have staff who can take our orders? This doesn’t seem like an effective use of your time.”
“Relax,” I scolded him. “I like talking to customers. It’s called customer service.”
Emmett gestured at himself. “I’m a customer, and I want you to take a break, sit down, and eat lunch with us.”
Holden nodded. “Join us, Avery. I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you yet.” He paused, thinking. “Congratulations.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks, Holden.” A man of few words and no pretense. If only Emmett could be more like him. I would never, ever admit this out loud, but Emmett was a bit better-looking than Holden. Holden was a big guy, tall and broad. Emmett was a bit slimmer, still tall, but he had a swimmer’s body, all long, lean muscle. Long, lean muscle that looked pretty good in a white t-shirt. Too bad his insides didn’t match his outsides. Holden had him there.
“Why can’t you be more like Holden?” I asked Emmett, gesturing to his brother. “Men should be seen and not heard.” My gaze snagged on where his t-shirt stretched across his shoulders.
The corner of Holden’s mouth kicked up. Emmett stretched out in his chair, taking up as much space as he could. He cocked an eyebrow at me with a little smile on his face. “Yeah? And do you like what you see, Adams?”
My face heated. I did, and he knew I did, and somehow, that made it worse.
Something in my expression made Emmett laugh, and he dropped the teasing tone. “Sit with us and have lunch.”
“Avery, take a break,” Max urged behind me. “I can take the bar.”
It was three against one, and my stomach was rumbling with hunger, so I dropped the notepad and pen on the counter and walked around the other side.
Max pulled a pen and paper out of his apron. “Alright, lunch orders.”
“Go ahead.” Emmett placed his hand on my arm and I ignored the spike of awareness at the contact.
“Salmon burger, please.” My voice was tight.
“Holden?” Emmett asked.
“Roast beef sandwich.” He nodded once at Max. “Thank you.”
Max looked up with his pen poised. “Fries on the side?”
“Yes—’
“He’ll have a salad on the side.” Emmett glanced at Holden with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t eat enough vegetables, and the salads are good here.”
Max looked to Holden, who rolled his eyes and grunted an acknowledgment.
“And I’ll have the salmon burger with a side salad,” Emmett told Max with a smile. “Thanks, Max.”
“Thanks, Max,” I called after him as he dropped the orders off with the kitchen. “Do you always order for your brother?” I asked Emmett.
Holden stood suddenly, his phone buzzing. “Be right back.”
Emmett watched Holden walk out the front door with his phone to his ear. “I didn’t order for him, I made an adjustment.” He turned toward me, letting his gaze rake over my face.
My mouth hitched up. “Right. Adjustment.”
“The guy barely cooks for himself, and when he does, it’s something sad like Mr. Noodle.”
My mouth fell open. “Hey, what’s wrong with Mr. Noodle?”
He gave me a look. “Do not tell anyone you eat Mr. Noodle or our whole cover will be blown. No one would believe I’d marry a woman who ate Mr. Noodle.”
A laugh bubbled out of me just as the door opened and a familiar nasally voice cut through my thoughts.
“Max,” Chuck called, snapping his fingers to get Max’s attention, who was in the middle of taking a customer’s order at another table. “Get me a club sandwich to go, extra mayo.”
Max grimaced and held up a finger to Chuck to signal he’d be there in a moment.
Chuck looked over to me and raised his hands. “Hello? Can I get some service over here? Jeez.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes.
Emmett set his napkin down, stood up, and walked over to Chuck. I inhaled sharply.
What was happening?
“No, Emmett, don’t—”
Emmett stepped up to Chuck, leaned down, and said something quietly to him. He wore a pleasant, friendly smile but his gaze was hard. He leaned one hand on the wall and the other clenched into a fist at his side. Chuck’s expression changed from exasperated to defensive. Chuck spat something back at Emmett. I could only see Emmett’s profile, but his jaw hardened, his hand flexed, and whatever he said to Chuck caused the guy to look terrified.
My gaze flicked back to Emmett’s expression. My lips parted, studying his set jaw and clenched hand, and again, my mind was flooded with images of last night in his kitchen, his mouth furious against mine and his hands all over me.
I shivered.
“What’s happening over there?” Max asked at my side. “Are they going to fight?” He lowered his voice. “That would be so hot.”
“I know,” I murmured before catching myself. “I mean, no, we don’t want a fight here.”
Chuck said something to his wife and the two turned and left. Emmett watched them leave before returning to his seat like nothing happened.
“God, I can’t stand that guy,” Emmett muttered, reading through his menu. “I always take clients out to restaurants because seeing how someone treats serving staff tells me what they’re like as a person. If they’re assholes, we don’t work with them.” He glanced at me. “What? You don’t agree?”
I frowned. “No, I do. You’re right.”
Holden returned. “I gotta go.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “McKinley site,” he said to Emmett by way of explanation. “A water line broke.”
Emmett waved his hand. “Go, go. I’ll bring your lunch to the office.”
I said a quick goodbye to Holden, and he left.
Emmett and I ate our food and a funny peace settled over us. Perhaps it was only funny because it was brand-new to us. People stopped by to say hello, to say congratulations, and Emmett made brief small talk with them while I listened. I watched how people interacted with him, how they wanted to share with him, and how he remembered small details about their lives. If he was schmoozing, he was damn good at it. I suspected he wasn’t schmoozing, though. This was just Emmett.
I couldn’t stop picturing the way his jaw tensed and his fist clenched, how hot Emmett looked when he was mad. Hot enough to threaten this whole plan we had concocted. I would have to be very, very careful from here on out.
“You’re interested in people.” I tilted my head at him after someone from his company left. “You care about these people. It’s not an act.”
He gave me an amused look. “Of course it’s not an act.” He checked the time. “We should go.”
I nodded and moved to clear our plates, but Emmett put his hand on mine to stop me.
“It’s fine,” I told him. “Max is busy.”
Max appeared at my side. “I’ve got it.”
“Thanks, Max, I appreciate it.” Emmett wrapped his hand around mine and pulled me toward the door. “Come on, Adams, let’s go get you a restaurant.”
