Page 23 of After the Vows

“Can Natalia hang out with us for a while?” I ask.

He crosses his arms over his chest and I try to ignore how his biceps flex with the motion. I lose the battle. It’s a toss up which is sexier. His calves or his biceps. I’d have to touch them to make a decision.

Which will not be happening, I remind myself. Lucas doesn’t want to roll in the hay with me. He’s made himself perfectly obvious.

“Actually.” He clears his throat. “I need to speak to you.”

“Go ahead.” My arms are aching from holding the four pints, but I want to hear what he has to say more than I want relief for my arms.

“There you are,” Nova says as she walks toward us. Maya and Paisley are following her.

I hold up the drinks. “The line was obnoxious.” I nod to Natalia. “This is my neighbor, Natalia. She’s going to hang out with us today. Assuming it’s okay with her dad.”

Lucas clears his throat. “I took the day off to spend it with my daughter.”

“We won’t steal her away then,” I say. “I’ll see you soon, Natalia.”

“Wait!” Lucas orders before I have a chance to escape. “I do need to speak to you.”

I raise my eyebrows. “About what?”

“Dad wants you to marry him because my mom is threatening to sue him for sole custody,” Natalia answers.

My jaw drops open. Lucas wants to marry me? The woman who, according to him, is more annoying than itching powder in a jockstrap.

Nova wraps an arm around Natalia’s shoulders. “We should let your dad and Chloe be alone to discuss this.” She leads her away but Maya and Paisley don’t follow. “Come on. Give Chloe some privacy.”

Maya sighs. “But it’s romantic.”

“We’ll leave you alone,” Paisley says as she drags Maya away.

I face Lucas. “It’s possible Natalia has been watching too many movies.”

He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Actually.”

Chapter 9

Proposal – when you ask your sexy neighbor to marry you to save your daughter

Lucas

Iwasn’t planning on discussing my idea of faking a marriage with Chloe at the festival but Natalia let the cat out of the bag. Time to man up.

“Shall we go somewhere private to discuss this?”

Chloe bites her lip as she considers my question. I want to be the one biting her lip. I want to taste her mouth. Inhale her scent. Memorize every inch of her.

“Um, most places are closed for the festival butPirates Pastriesis open.” She points across the street to a bakery.

I place a hand on her lower back to guide her through the crowd. She shivers and my cock perks up. It knows what it wants and can’t understand why I’ve resisted Chloe this long. Especially since she’s made it obvious she’s interested.

I nearly lost my battle to resist her the day she cleaned her car. Wet and soapy is a good look on her.

“Hi, Parker!” Chloe greets the woman behind the counter when we enter. “I’m surprised you’re open today.”

Parker frowns. “I thought it would be a good day to earn some extra income but everyone started drinking at nine a.m. Apparently, muffins and moonshine don’t mix.”

“It’s your lucky day. I have a big order. I need a dozen baked peaches and cream whiskey muffins, a dozen pirate’s plunder muffins, and a dozen shipwreck cookies. Oh, and a dozen of Blackbeard’s revenge cookies.”

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