Page 43 of Just This Once

“I think I’ll start checking people in,” Sloane chirped and scurried away.

“I’ll be on cleanup duty,” MJ added with a laugh.

She bumped my elbow lightheartedly as she walked past in search of the broom.

I sized up Abel King. He had his brother beat in both height and bulk. There was a darker edge to him that hinted there was something a bit dangerous about him.

Never one to be intimidated, I smiled brightly and stuck out my hand. “Mr. King. I’m Emily Ward. I believe we spoke on the phone. I wanted to thank you in person for the use of your facility for our fundraiser.”

“It’s fine.” His voice was quiet yet commanding as he briefly shook my hand.

Oookay... apparently he was also a man of few words.

“Well, it was very generous of you to donate the space. The foundation would have happily rented it, but we appreciate it nonetheless.”

His hard eyes looked me over. “I said it’s fine. It’s for the kids, and extra traffic is always good for business.”

Silence and tension hung in the air. I opened my mouth to speak but was unable to come up with anything to move the conversation forward. I landed on “Great.”

Without so much as a nod, Abel turned and disappeared down a darkened hallway toward the back of the brewery.

“Don’t mind Abe,” MJ whispered from behind me, holding a broom. “There really is a good guy hiding beneath his gruff exterior.” She looked affectionately at her oldest brother and shrugged. “At least I think so.”

Her face scrunched, which broke the tension, and I laughed alongside her. MJ was funny and bubbly, and I felt a kinship developing between us.

It was kind of a shame I couldn’t stop thinking about her brother and whether he might show up to the fundraiser. It seemed as though the whole town might turn out, but despite scouring the list of names, Whip’s had not been one of them.

Refocusing, I smiled at MJ, who made quick work of sweeping up the broken glass. “Thanks for your help. I really couldn’t have pulled this off without you and the Bluebirds.”

She lifted her shoulders as if it were nothing at all to ask this of them. “It’s what we do. Oh shoot, my brother is my plus-one, and he just walked in. I’ve got to get him his bracelet. Be right back!”

My pulse quickened, and my eyes went wide as she moved past me. I didn’t actually know how many other King brothers there were, but I couldn’t risk turning around and seeing Whip for the first time since he kissed the fuck out of me in my parents’ driveway.

Instead, I chose the coward’s way out and found the DJ so we could get the fundraiser started.

SIXTEEN

EMILY

Forty minutesin and the Forrest Grumps were absolutelydominatingthe competition. The team of eight elderly gentlemen looked unassuming, but their combined knowledge of pop culture references was astounding.

I hadn’t intended to join a team, but MJ and Rachel insisted that I sit at the table with them, Brooklyn, and Whip. Rachel and Brooklyn sat next to each other with MJ across from the duo. I quickly took the seat next to Rachel to avoid any kind of proximity to Whip. I figured he would opt for the seat at the head of the high-top table. Instead he, of course, sat in the stool directly across from me.

The man was utterly confusing. First, he grabbed me in my parents’ driveway and absolutely destroyed my panties with a soul-searing kiss; then he told me I wasn’t worth it. Instead of stuffing it down and acting like it never happened like anormal person would do, he was staring at me. Sneaking glances and eyes that flicked from my eyes to my mouth to my tits and then back again. It was like he was interested but also beating himself up over it. I didn’t have the energy to keep up.

I massaged the side of my neck and gave it a stretch as we waited for the next round to begin.

Rachel’s forehead creased. “Something wrong with your neck?”

I stretched my neck from side to side. “Just a bit of whiplash, I think.” I shot a pointed look across the table, and Whip ducked his gaze as he took a sip of his beer.

“You should see my masseuse, Ricardo. He’s amazing with his hands,” Rachel offered.

“That sounds perfect. Thanks.” I flashed a demure smile, and when Whip shot me a fierce look, a hot rush moved down my thighs. My body hummed with awareness at his attention. Intentionally, I ignored his presence and focused my attention and enthusiasm on the rest of our table.

Whip scowled into his beer, and I allowed myself a smirk of satisfaction at pissing him off a little.

I bet Ricardo wouldn’t tell me I’m not worth it.

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