On the Shore (Cottonwood Cove, #3)(71)

“You two sure do spend a lot of time together. You sure it’s all work and no pleasure?” Mrs. Runither purred as she leaned over the table. One of her nipples was fully exposed when her low-cut dress flopped open. She clearly wasn’t wearing a bra, and my taste for macaroni and cheese had just completely vanished. I looked at my girlfriend because I wanted to look anywhere but at the tit that was currently resting next to my menu.

These weren’t the kind of knockers that you wanted displayed across your lunch table.

Brinkley glanced over at me with a wicked grin and then turned her attention back to the older woman. “He’s a full-time job, Mrs. Runither. And you’ve got yourself a little situation or, er, a big situation going on.”

The woman glanced down and chuckled. “Ahhh… maybe that’s what you two need to get a little motivated.”

“Definitely not,” I grunted under my breath so only Brinkley could hear me.

“All work and no play makes Lincoln a very boring boy.” Her tangerine lips were unusually large, and it wasn’t a good look.

“Trust me, there’s nothing boring going on here.” I winked.

She clapped her hands together. “I’m sure there isn’t. I’ll get those orders right out.”

“That woman would be green with envy to know that I woke up with your head buried between my legs this morning.” Brinkley leaned close and whispered in my ear.

“I fucking love hearing you cry out my name before the sun comes up.”

She smiled, cheeks pink and eyes hooded. She was the sexiest woman I’d ever known, and the thought of not waking up with her every day had me on edge. I was a selfish prick. I wanted her to take a job out in New York and move in with me. But at the same time, I wrestled with it, because seeing her happy was equally important to me. And if working for the magazine that was based in San Francisco was what she wanted, I wanted that for her, as well.

At least I was trying to.

I held up my glass of lemonade. “Congrats on the article, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, thank you. They’ve been really great to work with.”

“Sport-X has?”

“Yep. The editor is amazing and really positive. They sent someone out to shoot photos of Breen and sent them to me for approval. They just really include the journalist in the process, and that isn’t always the case.”

“And where are they located?”

She rolled her eyes and then smirked. “Funny you should ask. They’re located in the Big Apple.”

“Ah, New York City, huh?”

She chuckled. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know that. But they focus primarily on hockey, and I don’t want to be stuck writing about one sport. I mean, if I was going to do that, it would be football. But everyone wants this story, and it makes me a more desirable package. So, hopefully, the three magazines I’m talking to make me a fair offer.”

“Oh, you’re desirable all right. And it has nothing to do with me.” My hand found her thigh beneath the table.

“Hands to yourself, Captain.” She raised a brow. “I won’t be sad when we can be out in the open with our relationship. Although, I’m guessing everyone in Cottonwood Cove suspects something’s going on with all the time we spend together.”

“Good. I want every fucker out there to know that you’re mine.”

“So possessive,” she purred.

Mrs. Runither approached the table and set our food down, and the way she paused and stared at me as she slowly licked her plump bottom lip made me shiver with discomfort. She chuckled and walked away.

“You are so dramatic.” Brinkley swatted my shoulder, and then we both reached for our forks.

“What? She freaks me out. I can tell she’s visualizing me naked while she’s licking those sausage lips.”

Brinkley laughed, and we spent the next hour talking about all her options. All the places that she’d applied to.

I didn’t like that the future was unknown at this point. I knew where I was going, and I wanted to know where she was going.

She was currently writing the story about me since we’d finished the interview. Each night, she let me read what she’d written, and her talent was blatantly apparent in her words.

When we pulled up to my house, there was a dude standing near the front door with an enormous floral arrangement.

“Oh, that’s Jeremy Farmer. I used to babysit Jeremy when I was in high school.” She chuckled as we both got out of the car.

“Brinkley, hey,” the dude said as his gaze landed on me. “Oh, wow. It’s really you. Everyone has seen you around town, but this is my first time. I’m a big fan.”

“Nice to meet you, Jeremy.” I extended my hand before taking the flowers from him.

“I, er, took them to your house, but then Janine told me to bring them over here, because you two work together a lot, I guess. We didn’t want to leave them outside.”

“Janine owns Cottonwood Blooms,” Brinkley said to me because I didn’t have a clue who she was. “Thanks for hunting me down, Jeremy.”

Only in a small town do the delivery people forgo the address and just go find you themselves.

Brinkley gave him a quick hug, and we said goodbye, but the kid was still standing there, gaping at me.