Page 18 of A Fine Line
We both stayed silent as we came to the end of the aisle and rounded the corner to the next one. Someone like me. He was playing mind games, just like he always had. Let me flirt with you one minute and pretend I hate you the next. Let me spend years messing with you knowing nothing about you.
“You know, I don’t mind admitting I need your help. I can’t seem to make an entree for the life of me.”
His steps slowed a bit and he glanced my way in a look that said he obviously didn’t believe me.
I raised a hand up. “I swear. Almost burned my kitchen down twice and the one dish I actually made tasted like you bit into straight cardboard with some paprika on top.”
“What’s your point?”
My eyes rolled on their own volition, I mean how hard was this to comprehend? “My point is we each have a problem that the other person has the solution for.”
He stopped entirely then. “Explain.”
“You could help me create an entree,” he scoffed just at the notion and I continued. “I could help you perfect a dessert.”
“Why would we help each other?”
My arms flung to the sides and I groaned, geez, what was so hard about this? “Oh come on Crew, it’s obvious. We each have something the other one wants and it’s easy to fix this if you weren’t so stubborn.” His mouth twitched when my Southern twang twisted the word ‘stubborn’. “It’s not like I particularlyenjoy the thought of asking you for help but it’s obvious we both need it.”
A moment of silence passed before he spoke up in a hushed tone. “So you’re saying I would create an entree just for you and you would make a dessert for me.”
“You catch on awfully quick.” I whispered.
“That’s cheating.” His eyes glanced to the ends of the aisles with strangers passing back, like they were some food truck police waiting to take us both down.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not cheating it’s just…working the syst-”
“Let me make something very clear to you, Winnifred.” Crew took two steps to me, leaning into talk directly in my face. I hate that the first thing I noticed was how lovely his teeth are. If anyone needed a dentist billboard ad, it was this man. And he smelled…like something fresh. Something masculine and strong but behind it was a field of magnolias. One you could lie down in and look up at the clear blue sky all day. Oh my gosh…was Crew Wells actually being sexy right now? My whole face lit into a flame as his eyes danced between mine, only inches away. His hair was stuck out in twenty directions but god, he never looked better. And the way his voice turned into gravel as he spoke made my arms shiver.
“I don’t do cheaters. I never have. I never will. I draw the line there, so if you think I will let your pretty girl, get whatever you want, mind tricks play me then you’re wrong. I can take care of myself, I expect you to do the same.”
He took three steps back from me to his cart, taking his lovely smell and teeth and muscular thighs right with him as he pushed his way down the aisle. This time I was a little too stunned to follow. I don’t do cheaters. And what, like I did?
I watched as he walked away from me in large steps and couldn’t help but let the last thought in my brain bubble around.
He thinks I’m pretty?
My skin was on fire as I sped into the Romfuzzled parking lot. I went into Costco with no intentions of doing anything beyond getting some essentials and eating a load of cheap hot dogs and coming right back home.
But, just like with most of my plans, a Winnie shaped wrecking ball came gliding in and messed it all up.
“I would create an entree just for you and you would make a dessert for me.”
Her voice bounced around in my head, along with fifteen other things. How dare she even attempt to get us to work together? She looked cute. No, she didn’t. She ordered my hot dog, my freaking hot dog. Her hair was pulled back and her face was just right there, inches from mine. She got under my skin in every impossible way and she knew it too. Wicked temptress. She got on my nerves so bad I completely forgot to grab toilet paper- the reason I was there in the first place. This was what I meant, she had this way of making my brain go all topsy turvy and uncontrollable. It wasn’t fair, no woman should hold that kind of power over a man.
I quickly jumped out of my car and rushed to the side entrance of my brothers bar, opening the door that only our family and the employees used.
Sitting by the wooden bar top were Luke and Layla, her sitting on the counter and Luke staring up at her as she spoke. Okay, we get it. You’re in love. Everyone is so happy for you.
My sister in law looked up from brother. “Hey, Crew. I didn’t know you were coming, I brought some cooki-”
“Good. Great. Can’t wait.” I took my seat at the bar, thankful that it was still closed so I could avoid the loud music and lights that seemed to magically appear at eight pm on the dot.
I grabbed the porcelain plate holding a mountain of chocolate chip cookies and dragged it towards me, a scraping sound crawling through my fingertips and into my ear canals. My fingers reached out for a handful of the tiny delicacies and I shoved them in my mouth one my one, chewing angrily.
“Crew,” Layla hummed, obviously staring at my brother like I’d lost my mind. They always did that. Everyone looked at each other with this knowing look as if I wasn’t right there. Like just because I wasn’t exactly giving them all of my focus didn’t mean I didn’t have eyes.
“Are you okay, bud?” Luke asked.