“And thank the god of mud pies for that.” He pulled her against him and wrapped her up in a whole-body hug. Ooh, he was good at that. She breathed him in, pine and leather and Noah, and sagged against him, safe and warm in his strong arms.
“I’m glad for you and for Helene that you didn’t find her dead on your floor,” she mumbled against his chest.
“You and me both, babe.”
“Do you think Sandy got the message?”
“Fuck if I know. How much did you hear?”
“Most of it.”
He drew back and looked at her. “I’m sorry about that.”
She placed her hands against the hard wall of his chest, brushing her fingertips over the soft fabric of his T-shirt. Being able to touch him was both natural and … exhilarating. “I’m not. And it’s not that I was enjoying being a fly on the wall, but I figured me being there could come in handy if you needed a witness.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Good thing you’re so smart.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I want to hire you.”
“To do what, exactly, and what kind of hours are we talking about?”
“Whatever hours you’ll give me. As for what, I want you to wait tables, pour beers, mix simple cocktails. I’ll train you.”
“Ooh, that sounds intriguing. And kinda sexy.” He didn’t know it yet, but she was going to say yes. Not because she needed the money, which she did, but because he was entangled in a huge mess she was compelled to help him getdisentangled from.
“Mind out of the gutter, surfer girl. Save it for our date later.” His eyebrows bounced.
A giggle bubbled up inside her. “Got it.” Her mind zipped to the sexy pant set she planned to wear tonight. Suddenly flushed, she cleared her throat. “I’ve never pulled taps before.”
Releasing her, he nudged her behind the bar. “I’ll show you. Thirsty?”
“Sure, I could stand a pint of something.”
He grabbed a glass and demonstrated, using different taps to show her how the different pours behaved. Then he handed her a clean glass. “Your turn.”
“What’ll it be?”
One corner of his scandalous mouth quirked. “I’ll take a Lizard Head Red, please.”
It wasn’t a perfect pour—she had some coaxing to do—but she didn’t muff it completely. She handed it to him. “Is this okay, or should I pour you another one?”
He dipped an eyebrow. “You didn’t spit in it, did you?”
“Of course not. That would be a health code violation.” She inched her nose up, trying not to bust out with a laugh.
“Thank God I have my ownformerhealth inspector on the payroll.”
They clinked glasses and sat side by side on barstools. She told him about Amy’s far-fetched idea about Helene’s store, and his eyebrows hit his hairline.
“I know,” Hailey agreed. “Besides the place not being available, that’s just crazy talk.”
“What if you started small?”
“How? Where?”
A grin spread over his handsome face. “The coffee shop. Amy’s got more space than she needs, and sometimes it feels empty in there. You could rent out a section and set up your own store, like a permanent pop-up. A few bookshelves, a small display table, and Mountain Coffee becomes a cozy book-and-coffee shop. If it can work for the big stores, why not here?”
Hailey’s mouth swung open. “That’s genius!”
He gave her a smug smile. “That’s me. Genius.”
