Page 31 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

“Funny, huh?” She glares at me. She then flicks her arm in my direction, and I barely dodge a clump of mud that comes flying toward me.

She goes at it again, chasing the nearest piglet. She nearly gets it, too, but it runs between her legs; spinning to get hold of it, she falls flat on her face.

The men beside me are now in an uproar, and there’s a crowd gathering behind us. She’s like a circus spectacle, a performing monkey or a clown.

She pushes herself back up and continues the chase. There are cheers coming from behind me every time she gets close, battling with men yelling instructions at her from every direction. It’s very loud, and I can’t imagine she can hear a single voice.

The man beside me belly laughs and then says, “Doesn’t she know there’s a guy who’ll do that for her?”

“Nope,” I say with a wink.

“Oh, Jake. You’re a bad ‘un,” he chortles.

This is good old country fun. The kind Tilly used to enjoy, once upon a time. This is the girl I grew up with. The girl I remember. However, she doesn’t seem to be having a great time, and when she loses her balance again, falling flat on her backside, she just sits there, clearly giving up. She does look like a mess—her facecovered in mud, her hair plastered to her face, and only small parts of her clothing still clean. I suppose it’s a saving grace that she has most of her long chestnut hair tied in a braid.

But she also looks pretty upset, and I realize she’s probably had enough. Maybe I didn’t think this through. I certainly didn’t expect every farmer in the county to come and watch her make a fool of herself. It was meant to just be a bit of fun.

I vault over the pen and head over to her.

“Come on,” I say, holding out my hand.

She places her mud-covered hand in mind, and I pull her to her feet. A great roar of applause erupts from the gathered crowd, but this time, I don’t smile.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Next time, you can get your own darned piglet,” she spits.

Bending at the knee, I hook my arms under her legs and lift her up. She wraps her arms around my neck, smelling all earthy, among other things. She’s lighter than I remember. But then, I also think she’s more slight than I remember. It has occurred to me that this thing with her ex is stressing her out. She always did drop pounds when she got stressed.

When I get her to the fence, I gently lift her over it, making sure she’s balanced on her two feet.

“Well done, girl,” someone shouts. “You nearly had him.”

“You look great,” someone else hollers.

I’m surprised to see a slight smile dancing at her lips, and when I vault over the fence and stand beside her, I say, “Right. I think that’s enough market for one day.”

When we get to the truck, there’s a guy putting the piglet in the back. It’s been boxed, and while it doesn’t seem happy right now, I know it’s going to love its new home.

“That’s him in, Jake,” Harry says. He turns to Tilly, who’s standing beside me, and grins. “You must be eager to get backinto the country life, Tilly. Only a madman would have tried to catch those piglets himself.”

I glare at Harry, shaking my head and trying to get him to shut up, but Harry doesn’t catch on.

“What?” Tilly says. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the guys would have gotten the piglet for you. Didn’t you know that?”

Tilly spins around and glares at me. “No, Harry,” she barks. “I did not know that.”

Harry, now realizing he’s opened his big mouth, says a hurried farewell and scurries away. A minute later, I feel Tilly’s hand battering down on my arm, punching me after each word.

“You. Made. Me. Go. In. There. When. There. Was. Someone. Else. Who. Could. Do. It?”

I’m laughing while trying to lightly defend myself. I’m far stronger than her, so I have to be careful.

“I didn’t know,” I lie, chuckling as I say it.

“You. Liar.” She continues with the punches. “You’re. A. Downright. Rotten. Liar.”

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