I love him too much to drag him into a relationship he doesn’t really want to be in.
I find his booth smack dab in the middle of things. My heart pounds at the sight of him. Hidden in the crowd, I watch with a grin as he slowly counts out a customer’s change.
When the customer walks away, I sneak up behind him and cover his eyes. “Surprise!” I say at the shell of his ear.
He chuckles, turning to face me. “Oh, you think you’re sneaky?”
“Admit it—I got you good.” I grin into his face.
“Yeah, you got me.” He shrugs a big shoulder, his eyes twinkling happily. “But I’m gonna get you back. I hope you know that.”
I roll my eyes. “I wish you would,” I say daringly. “You’re all talk. Your threats never go anywhere.”
He grunts.
My breath hitches when his hands slide around my middle, and he captures my mouth between those delicious lips of his. The kiss turns fiery hot in seconds.
We’ve done plenty of this alone in his cabin, but this public display of affection is new for us. I feel curious eyes pointed our way, but I don’t dare break out of his embrace. This man owns me. Body, mind and soul.
So if he wants to kiss the shit out of me right in the town’s square, then so be it.
Let everyone watch.
Let everyone talk.
When he releases me, Walker immediately drops to his knees in front of me. He runs his strong fingers over my belly before bracing his palms on either side. He says his hello’s to the babies.
I yank his cowboy hat off his head and slip it onto mine. “I’ll just wait until you guys are finished,” I quip. I’m just teasing. Secretly, I love it when he showers my belly with attention. It makes me feel like I’m melting from the inside out.
Smirking, he stands to his full height. He plants one more kiss on my forehead, then he finally steps back and beams at me. “You were saying?”
I roll my eyes and lift my arm in front of me, holding out the small cooler. “I brought you dinner. Just an avocado and turkey sandwich.”
Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten used to eating dinner with Walker every evening at the cabin. It felt weird eating alone tonight, and I knew I just couldn’t stay away. I missed him. Plus, this superhuman man works more than twelve hours a day before coming home and tending to my every need at night. He needs a little sustenance. And he deserves to have someone taking care of him, too.
“Mmm. Sounds delicious.” He grabs the lunch bag and thanks me with another quick kiss. Then, he stalks off to the pile of empty wooden crates at a distance where he sits to devour his meal.
While he eats, I slide behind the counter to help him with the market. He won’t admit it, but he hates doing math in his head so I slyly take over that part of his evening. When he’s done eating, he comes back to the vegetable stand. He handles bagging up the customer orders and I handle the money.
I like the way this feels. Him and me, doing this together. It sort of feels like we’re a team. Maybe we can be. I just need to make sure he’s in this for the right reasons.
When we’re almost sold out of corn, Walker tells me he’ll be right back. He heads off to his trailer to grab a few more bags of produce.
As I enjoy the view of the sexy farmer jogging away, a familiar-looking older gentleman approaches the booth. “Well, hello, miss.”
“Hey. How are you doing?” I greet Chest Hair/Moustache Combo with a smile.
“It all looks so good. What do you recommend?” As he glances around at the options displayed on the table, the ruggedly handsome man scratches the bushy chest hair peeking out at the collar of his shirt.
Oh boy. I stifle down a laugh.
Regardless, he’s still handsome—in a ‘charming, old guy’ kind of way—just like he was the night I met him at the bar.
I don’t know a whole lot about the different vegetable options, so thankfully, it turns out that the man is more interested in conversation than buying.
As I serve the steady trickle of customers, we make small talk—mostly about his interest in getting a date with Aunt Lucille. I let the man down easy. He seems lonely, and I’m happy to chat, but I need him to understand—him and my aunt? Not gonna happen.
Eventually, he gives up and I sense our conversation coming to an end. His eyes zero in on my face. His expression is almost wistful. He smiles. “You’re positively glowing, miss. Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
I reach down to rub a hand over my belly. “Thank you.”
“You and your husband must be so excited about the baby. Such an exciting time,” the man says, gazing at me softly.
Why do I suddenly get the impression that he’s fishing for information?
Before I have the chance to correct the old man, Walker comes stomping up behind me. “What the fuck is going on here?” His voice booms in the air, loud enough to draw attention from the vendors nearby.
I nearly leap out of my skin, but he’s not glaring at me. He’s shooting daggers at the poor man in front of us. Chest Hair/Moustache Combo stumbles backward with his hands raised.
Around us, the bustling crowd seems to slow to a stop as they watch.
“Walker,” I scold, gripping his bicep and trying to placate him.
He lightly shakes me off his arm. “Don’t you talk to her! Ever!” he continues to yell at the man, giving zero shits that he’s causing a scene. “Get the hell out of here. And don’t come back!”
Shamefaced, the
