Page 47 of Just My Luck

“This bed has compact plants—mostly hot peppers like jalapeño and Hungarian wax, but also some herbs. Sage, basil, rosemary.” I shrugged. “That kind of thing.”

Sloane plucked a small piece of rosemary and held it to her nose. “Mmm. I love fresh rosemary.” She flicked the stem with her finger. “Kind of smells like you.”

I harrumphed, and she laughed before pointing to another raised garden bed a few feet over. “What’s growing in there?”

I looked and said, “Yarrow, lavender. That pinkish one is heather.” I pointed along a manicured section at the far side of the yard. “Over there are some juniper bushes, and I’ve got some pie pumpkin vines trailing along the edge—the long vines act as a bit of insulation from the summer heat.”

Sloane sat back on her heels and sighed. “Do you have plans for all these ingredients?”

I laughed. “Not really. Random ideas mostly.”

Sloane continued to dig in the dirt beside me. “Tell me some of them.”

I glanced up, heat blooming across my chest as I took in the slight sheen of sweat forming at her hairline. “Share my secrets? Why, so you can steal them?”

Her laugh was quick and bright. “Please. In a matter of days I’ll be half owner of the brewery. I am allowed to knowallof your secrets.”

Heat prickled at the base of my skull. “Am I allowed to know yours?”

“My secrets?” She lifted an eyebrow with a sly smile. “Of course not.”

I laughed and turned my hat backward. “Figures.”

Sloane continued to garden with a smile on her face as I watched her from the corner of my eye. A slow, creeping sense of ease washed over my shoulders. Something about digging in the dirt with a gorgeous woman in the summer sun was a balm for my soul. I cleared my throat and decided to offer a small piece of myself to her. “That mint in those containers over there?”

I used my hand spade to point at the large pots between the craggy juniper bushes. “MJ’s name is Julep, but over time it morphed into Mint Julep, and then just settled into MJ. I was thinking up a beer that’s kind of a play on a mint julep cocktail.” I shrugged, listening to how dumb it sounded when I actually admitted it aloud.

Sloane clicked her tongue and swiped a hand across her cheek, leaving behind a small streak of dirt. “Aww... that is so sweet. I bet she’ll love it.”

“She doesn’t know,” I quietly admitted.

Sloane’s big hazel eyes blinked up at me. “I won’t ruin the surprise. I promise.”

Without thinking, I reached up and brushed my thumb across the peak of her cheekbone, swiping away the dirt. “You couldn’t ruin anything.”

Sloane swallowed hard but didn’t move away from my touch. My thumb danced across her cheek, and I let my fingertips trail down the side of her neck, where her pulse hummed.

Memories of the kiss we had shared in the district court judge’s office flooded back—the feel of my body wrapped around her in that ridiculous room only hours before.

Sloane’s hand followed mine, wiping away the small patch of dirt that had been on her delicate skin. “Thanks.”

I cleared my throat, desperate to rein in the flurry of emotions I was having.

Sloane’s small laugh tittered between us. “You better be careful, Abel. You keep looking at me like that, and I might forget this whole marriage is supposed to be fake.”

The air around us was hot and sticky. My heart hammered beneath my ribs. “It might not all be fake.”

Color rose in her cheeks. The secluded yard hid us from the rest of the world as I nearly unraveled before her.

“Oh yeah?” she finally asked, barely allowing her eyes to catch on mine. “Which parts?”

I huffed a laugh. Typical Sloane to call me out on it. I swallowed hard and gathered the guts to share yet another secret.

I allowed my eyes to steady on her beautiful face. “The part when I kissed you in the courthouse. I meant every second of that fucking kiss.”

Without hesitation, Sloane reached forward, gripping my shirt in her fist as she yanked. My mouth slammed to hers. Across the corner of the garden bed I stretched to meet her. We both rose to our knees, damning the edge of the gardenbed between us. My hand gripped the back of her neck. Her tits pressed against my chest as my lips pressed against her.

She opened for me with a soft moan, and I swiped my tongue across hers. Our kiss was sweet and warm and wet. My cock surged and pressed against the fly of my jeans. Sloane’s hands gripped at my T-shirt as I wound my free hand to her back and pressed her into me.

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