Crushing on Love (The Bradens of Peaceful Harbor, Book Four) (3 page)

“I’m not alone all the time, and I happen to like my life the way it is,” he told her, just as he had a hundred times before. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “Where are we headed? Grocery store or the corner market?”

“Oh! I just realized we’re close to the bakery. Can we
please
, please stop there? I know I said just one stop, but it’s only two, and I’m starved. Do you mind?” She turned hopeful eyes toward him, and he felt a pull in the pit of his stomach. “Please? Saralou makes those yummy chocolate- and fruit-filled croissants. Come on. We’ll get your favorite. What is your favorite anyway?”

Laughing at her never-ending sentences, he shook his head and pulled down the next street, heading for the bakery. “Is there anything you don’t get excited about?”

“I don’t know. Should there be?” She tilted her head and smiled. “I take life as it comes, and usually it’s pretty fun. I know people who are Negative Nellies, and they’re such bores. I hope I never become like them. I can’t imagine being negative all the time.”

He parked in front of the bakery and relaxed back into his seat.

“You’re not coming in?”

The disappointment in her voice was palpable, but he needed a moment to pull his head together. He thought he’d had his attraction to her under control, but he wasn’t even close. She was still right there under his skin. Every moment they were together was like a tug-of-war between wanting to get closer and needing to keep his distance.

“It’s your thing,” he said. “Go ahead.”

“But I don’t know your favorite flavor.” Her full lips curved down into a perfectly orchestrated pout that tugged at his heartstrings—reiterating his need for distance.

“It’s okay. Grab whatever you like.” He reached for his wallet. “Need some money?”

“No, I don’t need your money,” she huffed as she climbed out of the truck, and he closed his eyes.

He startled when his door was yanked open. “What the—”

Shannon grabbed his hand and pulled—hard.

“You’re already in town,” she said with a look of fierce determination. “Get your butt out of the truck and pretend to be sociable. If I needed a chauffeur, I would have called one. I think you’ve lost some of your marbles up on that mountain. I wanted your company, dumbass.”

“Dumbass?” he muttered, stepping from the truck. “You’re not quite as sweet as I thought you were.”

“Get over it.” She flashed a haughty smile and dragged him toward the bakery.

“What happened to you in Maryland? Did someone shoot you up with pushiness?” He held the door open and followed her in. The sweet aroma of sugary goodness filled his senses.

“Heaven have mercy. Look who the cat dragged in.” Saralou Carmell, the owner of Sweet Sensations Bakery, came around the counter and hugged Steve. He had gone to high school with her daughter, Krista. She drew back with a warm smile that reached her blue eyes, which were currently scanning his face. “Sweetheart, you need a trim, but you are just as handsome as ever.”

“Thanks, Saralou,” he said pleasantly. “I haven’t had time to get it cut. How’s Krista?”

“Just dandy. Her little boy is cute as a button. Did you hear about the Cumberlands’ ranch? I hear there’s a development company sniffing around. As if those Cumberland boys don’t have enough on their plates these days.”

Steve gritted his teeth. He’d thought he’d have time before the vultures swooped in, but who was he kidding? Probably half the town already knew about this. He should come into town more often, just to stay in the loop. Not surprising, that town gossip was one of the reasons he didn’t like hanging around. That and the fact that it took forever to get in and out of anyplace he went. Everyone wanted to chat.

Before he could answer, Saralou said, “Jade was in the other morning with baby Hal. Goodness gracious, your nephew is the spitting image of his daddy, isn’t he?”

“That he is,” he said with a smile, thinking of baby Hal’s sweet face.

Saralou winked at Shannon. “And you, Ms. Braden. I have no idea how you got him off that mountain, but you did a good thing, honey. What can I get y’all?”

“Let’s see…” Shannon leaned over the pastry display and began humming. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she looked over the cupcakes, croissants, pies, and cakes. She crouched to see the cookies on the lower shelves, and her tongue moved back and forth over her lower lip. Her eyes narrowed in concentration.

Christ
. The hair? The tongue? The happy little humming? He seriously needed to walk straight out that door and keep going until he was too far away to even
think
about her. Since that wasn’t an option, he hoped to at least hurry her up and lessen the lip licking, hair twirling, sexy-sweet torture she was doling out.

He crouched beside her. “Big decision?”

“Mm-hm.”

“You said you wanted croissants,” he reminded her.

“I know.” She began humming again.

He pointed to the croissants. “Right there.”

She gave him a deadpan look. “Can you really look at all this deliciousness and make a decision that fast? I mean,
look
at those cookies. And that pink frosting on those cupcakes? Don’t you just want to dip your finger in it and suck it off?”

Holy. Hell
. Like
that
image wouldn’t run rampant in his mind all day.

“And look at the pies,” she said a little breathlessly. “And the muffins…”

Nope. No pies or muffins or acts of God would erase the image of Shannon sucking frosting off of her finger.

“It’s a wonder you don’t weigh three hundred pounds.” He wasn’t into string-skinny girls, and Shannon had curves in all the right places. Another thing he was trying not to think about. But the truth was, even if she’d weighed three hundred pounds she’d still be irresistible. It was her essence, her vivacious personality, and that sassy, brazen wit that called him on his shit that he was drawn to.

He took her hand and rose to his feet, bringing her up beside him.

“Saralou, we’ll take a chocolate croissant, a cherry croissant, a blueberry muffin, a cranberry muffin, one of each type of cookie, and”—he would surely be struck by lightning for this one—“one of those cupcakes with pink frosting, please.”

Shannon squealed and hugged him again. “Thank you. I knew you would want something.”

You have no idea how much
something
I want.
He couldn’t look at her mouth without picturing her sucking…
Christ.
What was it about her that had him thinking about sex every time she was near? He was usually so good at keeping those thoughts locked away. She grinned up at him as if she were innocent of the mental lock picking she was doing.

“Those aren’t for me,” he finally said, and paid for the pastries, trying to ignore the way Saralou was eyeing the two of them approvingly.
There’s nothing to approve of here. Carry on
.

“I can’t eat all that,” Shannon insisted as they left the bakery. “I didn’t invite you in so you could pay for everything either. I’ll pay you back.”

“You didn’t invite me in. You dragged me.” He opened the passenger door, and once she was settled in, he climbed into the driver’s side and opened the bakery box. “If it were left up to you, we’d have stood there all day debating pastries. Now you have choices.”

“But you don’t even know if I like all of these.”

Was there any point she wouldn’t argue? With the meeting with the Cumberlands looming, and the freaking inferno she stoked in him, he was a hot mess.
Here comes lightning strike number two
. “No, but I knew you wanted to taste the pink frosting.”

“SERIOUSLY? YOU BOUGHT that cupcake just so I could taste the icing? You have just risen to favorite mountain man status. That was really sweet of you.” She dipped her finger into the thick, creamy pink frosting.

“Not really,” he mumbled as he started the truck.

She put her finger in her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring the sweetness as it melted on her tongue. “Mm.”

When she opened her eyes, his heated gaze was locked on her mouth—with her finger still in it. A wolfish grin lifted his lips, and she nearly burst into flames.

“You just paid me back,” he said in a low voice that ignited even more heat.

Her finger dropped from her lips with a
pop
. “You…”
Holy hotness
. She had no idea how to react to
that
look. “I can’t believe you did that.”

He laughed as he drove away from the curb. “Hey, you’re the one who planted the idea in my head.”

“Planted the idea? You’re a pig!” She scooped up another fingerful of frosting and turned away. “To think I was going to offer you a taste.
Tsk
.”

He grabbed her hand, both of them laughing as she struggled to pull it away. He kept one hand on the steering wheel while pulling her finger toward his mouth.

“Don’t you dare—”

He captured her finger in his mouth and swirled his tongue over it, sucking ever so gently and sending rivers of heat slithering through her, silencing her laughter along with every other thought in her head. He stopped at a traffic light, holding her gaze as he withdrew her finger from his mouth and licked his lips. It was all she could do to remember to breathe.

“You’re right,” he said seductively. “That was mind-blowingly good.”

The light changed, and he shifted his eyes to the road, chuckling. “So, where to?” he asked casually. “Did you really need to get anything at the store, or did you just want to pick up your requisite sugar fix?”

She closed her gaping mouth, still hung up on how strong and soft his tongue had felt as it slid over her finger, like it was made for giving pleasure—
to my finger?
Oh my God. I’m losing it
.

She forced herself to square her shoulders and lift her chin, regaining a modicum of control. “You have no idea where my finger’s been.”

“Sure I do.” He slid his slate-blue eyes her way, and another wave of heat consumed her. “I watched it go in that smart mouth of yours just before it went in mine.”

Holy cow, you are so hot
.

“Don’t get all weird on me. I was just messing with you.” He slowed at the corner of Main and South and asked, “Which way? Grocery store or corner market?”

Messing with me? Heck yeah, you were messing with me. You made my whole body hot. Another second and I would have had to change my underwear
.

“Corner market.” She glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice, which also annoyed her. What kind of game was he playing?

He parked at the market and got out of the truck.

“You’re coming in?” she asked.

“I’m suddenly feeling hot. I thought I’d get a nice cold drink.” He put a hand on her lower back and nudged her through the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t watch you buy your lady things.”

Oh shit. She’d forgotten about that ruse. It didn’t matter now. She wasn’t about to buy
lady things
in front of him. Especially after what he’d done. There was no way she wanted him thinking she was on her period. No way. She wanted him to have sexy thoughts about her.

She snagged the Pop-Tarts and toilet paper, thinking twice about the toilet paper. That wasn’t exactly sexy, but it was necessary. Maybe he’d think that was what she’d been referring to. She walked through the aisles trying to think of something sexy to buy. They didn’t even have lip gloss. ChapStick would definitely not do the trick. Too bad they didn’t sell sexy lingerie.

After ten minutes of searching for something sexy, she gave up and carried her purchases to the cashier. She spotted Steve outside talking with Rachel Gray, a local hairdresser. Rachel had worked wonders for Callie, her cousin Wes’s wife, on their wedding day a few months ago. Rachel was a pixie of a girl at barely five feet tall, with gorgeous green eyes and silky blond hair. Shannon had met her at the wedding. She was sweet
and
smart, a total package. It was no wonder guys waited weeks just to sit in her chair.

And she’s smiling flirtatiously at Grizz
.

Jealousy she had no right feeling prickled her skin. She paid for her purchases and headed out to the truck.

“Shannon? Oh my gosh!” Rachel touched Steve’s forearm, said something Shannon couldn’t hear, then hurried over and hugged her. “I had no idea you were back in town.”

“I’m staying up on the mountain for a while, doing another research project.”

Steve glanced at her on his way back to the truck, and her blood ran hot.

“Lucky you,” Rachel said. “It’s beautiful up there. Maybe we can get the girls together while you’re here. Have you seen Callie’s baby bump? She’s just started showing, and I swear she’s the cutest pregnant gal around!”

“I saw her at my uncle’s barbecue last night. She looks amazing, and Wes is over the moon.” Steve started the truck, and Shannon took the hint. “I’d better go. He’s my ride home.”

“Oh,” Rachel said with an inquisitive light in her eyes. “You’re even luckier than I thought.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “He wasn’t always quite so reclusive. Maybe you can bring him out of his shell again.”

Don’t I wish
. She had the urge to ask if he was always hot and cold, or if that was new, too. But she bit her tongue, knowing the small town’s rumor mill plucked gossip from the air like flies to fly strips.