Page 33 of Autumn Kissed

“There’s only six in there? I might’ve agreed for a dozen, but now...” I trail off with a disappointed click of my tongue.

She scoots away from the bar. “Fine, I’ll go back and buy the bakery out of them if I have to.”

I hold out my hand to stop her. “Okay, okay. I’ll take the six and answer your questions.”

She smiles far too happily. I might’ve made a mistake agreeing so easily.

“Perfect. My first one is—” I chuckle, and she pauses. “What?”

“You have them prepared already?”

“Of course I do. They’ve been on the tip of my tongue since Friday.”

I glance down at her lips as if I could see the words behind them. All I see is the slight curve of her lips and the shimmering bar lights glinting off the bottom one that’s slightly more plump than the top.

Hal delivers our waters, and Juliet takes a sip through her straw. Time to look away.

“Okay,” I say, “I’ll answer your questions, but not here.”

“Why?”

I motion around with a wave of my finger. “Too many prying ears.”

“This is too many people?” She glances at the three couples seated in the booths behind us and the one man at the far end of the bar staring dazedly into his drink. “The entire town is overrun because of the upcoming festival. What’s emptier than this?”

“I joined your world the last time I saw you. It’s high time you join me in mine.”

Her brows raise with realization. “Horseshoe Holler?”

“You up for a little trail ride, Miss Monroe?”

I’m flirting with fire. No. Worse than fire. I’m flirting with the mayor’s daughter.

“Are you serious?”

“’Course.”

Juliet isn’t going to let her questions go—the maple bars make that fairly obvious—and the stables are the only place I know where Mayor Monroe won’t interrupt our conversation. There’s no chance she’ll believe me over her dad, but at least in going first, I’ll have a better chance at explaining my side of things.

“All right,” she says, laying her hand flat on the bar. “You’ve got yourself a deal. When are we making this happen?”

“I’m free now.”

Her eyes sparkle. “Me too.”

We take our food to go, and I carry both bags as Juliet grabs the maple bars.

Leaving the restaurant behind, I motion to my truck parked nearby. “Want a ride? Unless you’ve fixed your car?”

She blows out a scoff. “Nope. Miss Sunfire is now safely tucked away in the junkyard exactly where she belongs.”

“A ride it is, then.”

I open her door, and I’m brought back to when I picked her up on the side of the road. A wave of regret rushes over me.

I wish I would’ve known who she was before. I would have kept my guard up and not fallen for her so swiftly.

Now, I have to drop it completely as I air the dirty laundry from my past and wave it in front of this pristinely polished mayor’s daughter whose only mistake in life was probably getting in the truck with me in the first place.