Tempt Our Fate (Sutten Mountain, #2)(51)

He buttons his slacks, looking down at the ground where his ripped shirt lies.

I laugh. “Tommy might think it’s a little odd for you to be holding a late-night meeting with him shirtless.”

“I’ve got a spare in my office.”

I nod, stepping away from his grasp. It feels cold without the warmth of his body pressed against mine. The thought pops into my mind that we’ve never really said goodbye to one another. He ran away the time we almost kissed on the mountain. He wouldn’t have said goodbye to me tonight if I hadn’t angrily chased him.

“Last chance to fuck me,” I say, backing away toward the entrance.

“It won’t be the last,” he responds confidently, tucking his hands into his pockets. He looks hot as hell, standing in nothing but a pair of dress pants.

“You’re going to have to work for it, then.”

His eyes roam down my body. “I plan on it.”

And right before I walk out the door, he closes the distance between us and lays a chaste kiss to my lips.

“Goodbye, shortcake.”

I press my fingers to my lips, watching him back away as my mind reels with what just happened.





29





CAMDEN





I stare at my computer screen, watching the minutes turn as one of my buyers on the other line drones on about something I should be paying attention to.

It’s been two days since the walls came crashing down between Pippa and me. Our encounter in her cafe, in the gallery, has been playing over and over again in my head, despite the mountain of work I’m supposed to be getting done.

“How does that sound?” Leo asks, pulling me from my thoughts. I sit up in my chair, running a hand down my face because I have no fucking clue what he’s talking about.

“Run it by me again,” I clip.

If Leo suspects I haven’t paid attention to a word he’s saying, he doesn’t say so. Instead, he takes a deep breath and rehashes everything I’ve missed while I’ve been daydreaming about the sounds Pippa made while coming undone under my tongue.

“So to sum it up, I think the best plan of action would be to move the Franklin piece to a later show at the Sutten location—or wait until winter and do it in Manhattan—and we add these new pieces from the inn owner to the Sutten Collection. An entire show dedicated to the people of Sutten. It’s a genius marketing move, Mr. Hunter.”

I grunt. I wish the idea was my own and not Pippa’s.

“How soon can we get it all together?” I push all thoughts of Pippa to the back of my mind, needing to have this conversation with Leo. He’s been my best buyer from the moment I could afford someone else seeking out new talent other than myself. He’s a loyal guy—something I appreciate immensely—and he has a superb eye for spotting the next big thing.

I manage to keep her from my thoughts long enough to iron out some details for the next show. I’m surprised by how excited I am for this one. It is panning out to be the most unique exhibit I’ve ever done. It’s new and fresh and something I hope pushes this new venture to the next step.

With Leo no longer on the other line and Trisha back in Manhattan, I’m left in the silence of my office. It’s too quiet here. In New York, you can hear the bustle outside the windows. Even into the early hours of the morning, you can hear the thrum of bass from the clubs down the street. You can hear laughter from the sidewalks as people walk home. The sound of honking taxis. None of that is here in Sutten. It’s truly silent. Maybe it isn’t like that during tourist season, but right now, you can hear everything—and that everything leaves me alone with my thoughts.

Suddenly, I’m really wanting a coffee. I look at my coffee cup from earlier, the hot pink lid taunting me. It’s barely noon. I don’t need another coffee, but Pippa hadn’t been at her shop this morning. And I hate to admit it, but I need an excuse to stop by to see her. I’ve been thinking about her leaving the gallery. She told me I had to work for it—and it’s the only thing I can think about.

I want to work for it, a realization I don’t care to dwell on.

It wouldn’t hurt to stop by the coffee shop again. We are next-door neighbors, and she makes the best coffee in this town. It makes total sense for me to drop in. It’s better than texting her, something I’ve thought about doing numerous times as I look at the one text we’ve shared in our thread. The photo of her in the lingerie. The photo that sent me spiraling from the moment I saw her. Even though I didn’t want to admit it then, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her from my mind after that. And after tasting her, I know I’ll do anything to experience more with her. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d work for her. I look forward to biding my time and winning her over.

I sigh, scrubbing my hand along the stubble on my chin. It’s out of character for me to chase a woman, but I can’t help it with her. She gets on every one of my nerves, but I can’t stop.

It’s the very reason I find myself stepping through the hot pink door of her cafe. My eyes immediately travel around the space, looking for her in the group of people. It’s busy, some eyes catching mine as I search for her familiar gaze. I don’t find her at the tables, and when I look at the counter, she isn’t there either.

“Here for another?” the girl behind the register asks. She’d been the one to help me this morning right when the cafe opened.