“I’m impressed you guys ate three pizzas,” I told Willa as I loaded up their empty pans.
“We were hungry.” She shrugged, taking her half-full beer glass over to the bar.
Her parents had just left, snuggling together as they’d walked out the door.
Willa pretended to be grossed out by their not-so-subtle innuendo, but as she watched them leave, her dreamy smile told a different story.
As she sat on a stool, I hustled the empty pizza pans to the kitchen sink, then came back to clear the martini glasses and wipe down the table. After I did a lap around the room, making sure the other customers didn’t need anything else, I went back behind the bar and stood across from Willa.
What I really wanted to do was kick everyone out for the night. I’d finally gotten Willa to agree to spend some time with me, and I wanted to give her my undivided attention. But it was busy tonight and I didn’t have another option.
“Want another beer?” I asked.
“No, thanks. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow and I need to be fresh. Two beers make me a little woogidy the next morning.”
“Woogidy?” I grinned. “That’s not a word.”
“It’s kind of a word,” she muttered. Her face flushed and she looked down at the bar.
Damn, she was cute. Cute in a sexy, drop-me-on-my-ass kind of way. I smiled at her rosy cheeks and the way her shoulders crept up to her ears.
I liked that I had the ability to unsettle her a bit. It meant that somewhere in there, her crush on me wasn’t completely gone.
“Woogidy.” I leaned in closer. “I like it. I might have to use that one myself.”
She lifted her chin and gave me a shy smile.
“How about a Coke?”
“Please.” She nodded and I filled her a glass.
A table of three caught my attention, so I left her to bring them another round. I came back and checked in with Willa just as a table of two signaled for their check.
And that was how the evening went.
When I wasn’t filling a drink or waiting on someone, I’d stand at my post across from Willa. We chatted about nothing major, and while I worked, she watched the ballgame I had on the corner television.
I assumed after an hour of her sipping Coke and me being too busy to really talk much that she’d slip away.
But she stayed.
She sat quietly, taking the moments I had to spare until the place finally cleared out five hours later.
“Sorry.” I set down the last batch of dirty glasses I’d collected from the room. “I haven’t been good company tonight. But I’m glad you stayed.”
“It’s okay.” She slid over her empty glass. “And me too. It’s kind of fun watching you in action.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “You work fast. I’m not sure how you keep everything straight, always doing three things at once. It’s impressive.”
Now it was my turn to blush. I don’t think I’d ever been complimented on my bartending skills before. Other than the women who’d come in and compliment me on my body, I didn’t get a lot of praise, even from Hazel and Thea.
Those two loved me, but aside from the occasional hug, razzing me was how they expressed their affection.
Willa’s simple compliment made me feel ten feet tall.
“I like watching you work too,” I told her. “You’ve got a gift with those kids at the camp. You should have been a teacher.”
“That’s what I have my degree in.”
“But you didn’t get a job at the school?”
She shook her head. “There aren’t a lot of openings here. I probably could have moved to Kalispell and gotten a job there, but I wanted to live in Lark Cove. And the camp director position was open, so I took it instead. I figured it was a job I could keep until something else opened up, but then I just never wanted to leave.”
“Then it’s good that it all worked out.”
She smiled. “Exactly. Maybe when my dad retires, I’ll take his spot as the science teacher.”
It was good she had a long-term plan, unlike me. If the bar were to ever close down, I’d be without another skill to fall back on if I wanted to stay in Lark Cove.
“Did you go to college?” she asked.
“Nah. I was lucky to graduate high school.”
“Well, if you ever wanted to go, I’m sure you’d do great.”
I blinked, surprised for the second time in five minutes.
Willa had such confidence in her statement. It was way more than I deserved, especially from a woman who had every right to consider me a cocky ass. But she looked at me like I could do anything in the world.
It was unnerving. It was a rush.
“College isn’t for me,” I told her. “I don’t need anything other than my bar.”
“Have you ever wanted to do anything else?” Her voice was only full of curiosity, not an ounce of judgment. She wasn’t asking because she thought I could do better. She just wanted to know.
“Not really. I’ve been bartending ever since I turned eighteen. Liked it then. Still like it now. Someone has to serve pizza and beer, right?”
She smiled. “True.”
“I like my job,” I told her honestly. “I like working with Thea. I like that by working here, I can help fund Hazel’s retirement. And I don’t see myself living anywhere other than Lark Cove, so this all works.”
“I’m glad. There are a lot of people miserable in their daily lives, always wishing for something bigger and better. It’s nice to be around someone who just wants to enjoy a simple life.”
I nearly toppled over. Who was this woman? Was she for real?
Most women who sat across from me thought I could do better for myself. To them, I was just a good-looking bartender with no ambition.
I didn’t let it bother me. Hell, I capitalized on it. My occupation was the perfect way to get no-strings-attached sex because the rich women coming through town would only ever see me as a fling.
I wasn’t the guy you brought home to meet Daddy.
Except I already knew Willa’s dad. Her mom had practically ordered her to stay here with me tonight.
They didn’t think less of me because of my job and neither did Willa.
“Thanks,” I managed to choke out. “Not many people think like that.”
She nodded. “I know. But I do.”
Her smile was so warm and inviting, I leaned in a bit. God, I could kiss her. Her lips were such a pretty color. They were completely natural, free of heavy lipstick or thick gloss. They were just soft and pink.
And familiar.
Something in the back of my mind told me that if I kissed her right now, I’d taste peppermint lip balm. I’d bet the bar on it.
Weird.
That creepy déjà vu feeling was back. The one I still had whenever I looked at her staircase.
“Hey.” Willa waved a hand in front of my eyes. “Where’d you go?”
I blinked, standing straight and swiping up a bar rag. “Sorry. You have nice . . . lips.”
“Oh, um, thank you.” She blushed again, this time pulling at her long braid over her shoulder as she attempted to hide among all that hair.
Damn, but I wanted my fingers in her hair. I wanted to take that braid and unfasten all the loops until the golden waves hung loose. I knew it would be like touching silk, just like I knew what she tasted like.
Which was fucking crazy because until a week ago, I hadn’t known much about Willa Doon. I wanted to kick my own ass for being such a blind fool.
“I need to get things wiped down and cleaned up,” I told her, wiping the bar by her side. “I’m not going to stay open until two. We can call it a night. But would you stay? I don’t want you walking home in the dark.”
“Sure, but only if I can help clean up. My butt is sick of this stool.”
Willa stood and smoothed down her green shorts, running her hands over the tight globes of her ass. It wasn’t meant to be sexy, but damn, this woman hit all the right buttons. Her smooth skin, tanned for the summer, was begging to be licked. Her toned legs would feel incredible wrapped around my hips.
Underneath her tank, a yellow bra strap was peeking out. Did her panties match? Whether they did or not, yellow was my new favorite color.
Especially the yellow color of her hair.
The sight of her stretching out stiff muscles had my dick straining against my zipper. I was just glad she couldn’t see it from her side of the bar. I didn’t need to freak her out with a bulge behind my jeans.
I tossed her a rag, deciding to keep my lower half hidden until my cock settled back down. “Just wipe down the tables and then we’ll stack up the chairs.”
“Okay.” She smiled and got to work.
Willa made cleaning the bar more fun than it had ever been. A lot of bars had swampers, people who would come in during the early morning hours to scrub the place down. But Thea and I had always done the cleaning ourselves to save money.
Every night, we’d deep clean some part of the place. Once a month, the two of us would meet early on a Sunday morning and scour away built-up grime. It was a way we could afford to give Hazel a bigger cut each month.
Tonight, besides all the regular cleaning, I had to wash the windows. It normally took me over an hour to clean each night, but with Willa’s help, we left after thirty minutes, both of us smelling like bleach and ammonia.
I led her out the back, locking the back door behind us. After tossing the last bag of trash in the Dumpster, I escorted her around the side of the building.
“Thanks for the help.”
“No problem. It was kind of fun to see what you do after the crowd leaves.”
“Sorry to keep you up so late. Are you going to be too woogidy tomorrow morning?”
She giggled as I used her word. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’re welcome to join me every night,” I told her. “I’ll make you all the pizza you can eat for the chance to have your company.”
She just smiled as we turned down the street that would lead us both home. It wasn’t a flat-out no, so I’d take it.
We walked half a block quietly. Since her house was on the way to mine, it wasn’t out of my way to escort her home. I lived two blocks up from her place, and after leaving her notes all week, I knew it took four minutes to get from my front door to hers.
“So, what was that idea you had for Charlie?” she asked.
“What?”
“You asked me to stay at the bar to talk about an idea you had for Charlie. What was it?”
Shit. “The truth? There wasn’t anything. I was just desperate to get you to stay and I used her name as bait.”
“Sneaky. I’ll have to remember that in the future.” She looked up, her blue eyes sparkling under the dim moonlight. “Though I would have probably stayed anyway.”
“Good to know.” Progress. I was making progress. Finally.
I wasn’t sure if it was the cheesy notes or the visits to camp that had done the trick—maybe both—but I was glad she was giving me an inch. Not that it had been a hardship to spend time around her.
In truth, I liked visiting Willa and her camp. Those kids were always so excited and full of life. Watching them gave me more energy than my morning ten cups of coffee. And I liked writing her those notes too. Somehow, scribbling on a square, yellow piece of paper had become a highlight of my day.
We walked the rest of the way to her street in silence and slowed at the corner. There was an overgrown shrub crowding the sidewalk, forcing my body right beside hers. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to let her go first, but I didn’t want to lose her at my side. So I stayed close and when we rounded the corner, my arm brushed against the bare skin of hers.
It was an electric touch, sparking a flame under my skin. It made my heart pound and her breath catch.
Willa tripped on a seam in the sidewalk, but before she could fall, I grabbed her hand, steadying her with my grip.
“You good?” I asked.
She nodded, righting her feet as her delicate fingers stayed locked in my grasp.
We stayed side by side, neither of us stepping forward or breaking apart, even after she regained her balance. We just stood there as the night went still. The crickets chirping, the stars sparkling, the leaves rustling—it all disappeared until there was nothing left but Willa’s hand holding mine.
I hadn’t held a woman’s hand in . . . well, ever. Was that right? Had I really never held a woman’s hand before?
I hadn’t expected it to be so intimate, maybe even more so than a kiss.
It made me dizzy and steady all at the same time, like the feeling I got after being on a boat for too long. Even when I got back to land, I would still sway with the waves.
“Is this okay?” I asked, squeezing her fingers. I didn’t want to let them go but I would if she was uncomfortable.
“Um, yeah. It’s okay,” she whispered.
A rush of excitement stirred and I unstuck my feet and led us around the corner. As we passed the first house, I realized how great this felt, not just touching Willa, but simply being with her. I was proud to be holding her hand. I wished it wasn’t dark so her neighbors could see us together.
The smile on my face stretched wider as she relaxed her hand, flattening her palm into mine. She pressed into me like she wanted to memorize our touch.
We reached her parents’ house much too soon. I wanted to loop around the block a few times, but Willa had a busy day ahead.
“I can make it from here.” She slipped her hand from mine as we stood at the end of the driveway. “Thanks for walking me home.”
“You’re welcome, but you’re not home yet.” I grabbed her hand again, grinning as I tugged her behind me.
“You really think the boogeyman is going to snatch me from my own yard?”
I chuckled. “Better safe than sorry.”
She laughed as we crept past her parents’ dark house. “I guess it’s probably faster for you to get home by cutting through the playground anyway than circling the whole block.”
Normally a woman admitting she knew where I lived would freak me the hell out. But like everything else about Willa, she was the exception. “Since you know where I live, maybe one of these days you’ll leave me a note.”
“Maybe.”
I grinned. “Maybe you can tell me why you had a crush on me at one point but don’t anymore.”
“Oh, um . . . it’s not like that. I mean, it is. Kind of.” She was getting flustered. “I did like you.”
“And now you don’t?” I asked her as we stopped by the base of her stairs.
“No.”
I flinched. Hard. I hadn’t expected that answer. I thought we were making progress, but she just laid it out there, clear as day.
She used to like me.
Now she didn’t.
My hands fisted by my sides and I silently cursed the dream I’d been having for weeks. That fucking dream had twisted shit up in my head. It had made me believe there was more with Willa than there really was.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” I made a move to leave, but her hands shot out and grabbed my wrist.
“No, wait! That’s not what I meant.” Her voice echoed off the garage. She sighed, then lowered her voice. “No, I do. I do still like you.”
I about fell over. The relief that ran from my head to my boots told me exactly how much trouble I was in with this woman.
In a flash, I stepped right into her space, erasing the inches between us. I broke free of the grasp she had on my wrist and cupped her face, holding it still as I crushed my mouth to hers.
I swallowed her gasp, keeping my eyes open. Hers stared right back, wide and bright and so blue.
I slowly molded my lips to hers, pressing in even deeper, until her eyes finally drifted shut. Then I let mine do the same to concentrate on kissing this amazing woman breathless.
My hands drifted off her cheeks and into her hair. Silk. My tongue traced the seam between her lips, persuading them apart for a taste. Peppermint.
Just like I’d expected.
As my tongue dove deeper, Willa tensed for a split second. It was enough to make me pause and realize that I’d stolen this kiss. So I backed off a bit, letting my tongue retreat. She shocked me by following my tongue with her own, out of her mouth and into mine.
Her hands, which had been hanging loose at her sides, came to my waist. They traveled up slowly and her fingertips dug into my T-shirt as they crawled all the way to my shoulders. Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself up so that her breasts were flush with my chest.
I groaned into her mouth, loving the feel of her against me and wishing we weren’t separated by these damn clothes.
The kiss turned from hot to scorching in an instant. I wrapped her up tight, forgetting her hair as my hands traveled up and down her back. When she didn’t push away, I went farther, molding my palms to the curves of her ass.
“Jackson,” she moaned into my mouth. Her arms clutched me like I was going to run away.
But I wasn’t going anywhere.
I poured everything I had into this kiss, not wanting her to forget it anytime soon. When I showed up at her camp tomorrow morning, I wanted her running toward me, not away.
So with her ass in my hands and her tits against my chest, I devoured her. I led the way and she followed, copying my every move like we’d kissed a million times. The strokes. The nips. The flutter of a tongue. It was magic.
It was . . . not the first time.
I broke away from Willa, panting for breath. She stood back and looked up at me with hooded eyes. Her lips were swollen and her hair mussed.
I’d seen it all before except it wasn’t from my dream. A night I’d forgotten came rushing back, fast, sending me rocking backward on my heels.
I caught my breath and scowled down at Willa. “When were you going to tell me that we’ve kissed before?”
