“He said to hisfreehelp. What the hell crawled up your butt anyway? You were yukking it up just a few minutes ago. Are you mad because Carly and I—”
From out of the hallway’s shadows, Dixie appeared. “Someone with the initialsUandJcrawled up his butt and sucked all the happy out of him,” she whisper-shouted on her way to the ladies’ room. “And I’m not talking about the good kind of sucking,” she added right before shutting the door.
Charlie chuffed at Dixie’s joke before turning narrowed eyes on Noah. “Did Ursula jack you up again? How did I miss that?”
Noah’s chest deflated. As his eyes slid to the dried-out mistletoe, he decided not to tell Charlie that, for reasons he didn’t comprehend, it was a different woman messing him up. It sounded too depressing. “You were too busy flirting withCarlyto notice. Sorry you caught the brunt just now.”
“Yeah, Ursula’s definitely your kryptonite.”
Kryptonite implied Noah had a weakness for her, which he didn’t. “I’d describe her as more of a Lyme disease-carrying tick that I can’t tweezer out of my life.”
“Whatever. Next time let me know so I’m ready for the brunt transfer, okay? Or is that a bro transfer?” Charlie’s mouth twitched with a grin.
How his brother let shit slide off him and keep up his cheerfulness was beyond Noah. Then again, the grin might have something to do with the girl Charlie was about to get lucky with. Sometimes he envied his brother’s charisma.
Noah pushed himself off his desk. “It was a bro brunt transfer, I think. Either way, I’m sorry for being a jerk, and thanks.”
“C’mon. Let’s get you back to your bar so you can have a fresh pour and start counting tonight’s receipts. Then you’ll find your happy place.”
Noah angled toward the bar. “Not sure I’ll ever find it again. Women basically suck.”
Charlie fell in behind him with a laugh. “Dixie might be on to something. Maybe you need to find the ones that suck the right way.”
Noah grunted. While Hailey blowing him off held a wicked sting—God, he had to get away from the BJ metaphors!—it was probably better this way. The last thing he needed was another “fling” that ended in disaster. What business did he have pursuing that girl—any girl—right now?
Absolutely none.
Hailey let herself insidethe Loose Moose and leaned against the front door as the roar of Micky’s engine faded away. A frisson of regret wormed its way through her body as it hit home that she wasn’t part of this community and would never be. Maybe she’d let Bruno Keating chase her from the Miners Tavern, but she hadn’t even said proper good-byes to the people that, for just tonight, she’d pretended were her family. Instead, she’d chickened out and fled. How had she become so attached so quickly?
Dropping onto the couch, she toed out of her hiking shoes. At least she’d been able to leave the pointy torture devices behind, though she’d foregone swapping out the sleazy barmaid outfit for herrealclothes in her hurry to catch a ride with Amy and Micky. She swung her blistered feet up and onto the armrest as she stared up at the tongue-and-groove ceiling.
Her phone chimed. She slid it from the pocket of her tiny green skirt and scowled at Noah’s text. Apparently, he wasn’t going to make this easy on her.Hey, didn’t know you were planning to go or I would’ve driven you myself.
“Ha!” she snorted aloud. “How would your girlfriend have felt about that, I wonder?” She tapped out a speedy response:Are you in the habit of kissing women who aren’t your girlfriend? And just how many girlfriends do you have anyway?Just as quickly, she deleted her angry words.
But embarrassment, more than anger, was the prevailing emotion whirling in her blender of thoughts. Hailey had always been wary when it came to relationships of the heart. Her parents had been terrible role models, and neither she nor Kaylee had fallen into romantic entanglements—they left you too vulnerable. Well, that had been true in Kaylee’s case until Vince, who appeared to be one of the rare honest ones.
Nevertheless, tonight had been a good reminder that trust was fragile and that Hailey needed to guard her heart. She’d let herself be played for a fool, and it left a sour taste. She was also in mourning because, oh, the chemistry that had played between her and Noah! Now she was left tounimagine his mistletoe kiss that had curled her toes beyond their curling capacity.
Flirting with him had been the most fun she’d had in a while. She’d come alive, vibrating with energy, and anticipation had ignited every nerve in her body. To have had a bite at fruit she didn’t know was forbidden saddened her. Dormant desire had been wrenched from hibernation, and hope had carried her off on the wings of anamazingkiss she wouldn’t soon forget, despite its unfortunate brevity. A new measure had been set for some other man to come along and reach—if he even existed.
And it wasn’t just the lip lock that had made her a little swoony inside. She had been lured into Noah Hunnicutt’s web by other traits she found appealing. He was so comfortable in his masculine skin. He was broody, yes, but he had a lighter side he let show when he was firing up a pirate podcast in dire circumstances or adopting an abused animal or when he joked and laughed with customers from behind the bar. That glimpse had tempted her. She found herself wanting to be the one that coaxed that part of him out of hiding.
And let’s not dismiss the bod and the swivel-hips dance moves.Phew! Back on track, girl.
A big heart beat inside his sculpted chest. It showed in how he treated his family and his staff. It showed in how he had saved her from a storm evenaftershe’d caused him to crash. It showed in how he’d made sure her vehicle made it off the mountain and now sat in the bungalow’s driveway. And not to be forgotten by her—ever—was how he’d picked out every single blue M&M in the trail mix.
“Who does that?” she asked the room.Noah Hunnicutt.
Which put his womanizer ways at odds with his “nice guy” attributes. Logic dictated they didn’t go together, but cheaters came in an assortment of sizes and flavors and were good at disguising their deceptive sides when they wanted to, right? Bruno Keating and Cliff Meissner were living, breathing proof the statement was true. Noah misleading her even though he belonged to Ursula was, therefore, entirely possible.
And now she had a prince’s kiss for the ages to revisit over and over again.
Her phone chimed with another Noah text. He wanted to stop by to say good night. Now? And where was he going to stashUrsulain the meantime? She suppressed the unwelcome sting behind her breastbone.
They traded a few more messages until Hailey essentially ended the back-and-forth with something akin to, “Have a nice life,” though worryfor Rover made her waver. Not seeing his sweet fuzzy face again weighed her down with regret.
And then there was quirky, abrasive, wonderful Dixie. She’d pulled the stunned woman in for a brief hug, saying, “I have to go, but I really enjoyed meeting you.” She’d rambled on about the box with the dog names. A sudden rush of tears had burned her eyes as she’d thrown out a final good-bye. Outside, she’d followed Amy toward a pickup truck puffing clouds of white exhaust steam. She’d given the Miners Tavern with its warmth glowing inside one last glance.
