Page 80 of After All

Heather laughed. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Chapter Twelve

Scott approachedthe door to the Come Again with trepidation. He didn’t know what the hell was going on in there, but Peyton’s truck was parked out front, so he was going in.

He stepped into the bar, expecting to see the usual crowd of people and hear the usual loud country music, laughter and conversation.

But the place was mostly empty and quiet. Well, except for the guy behind the bar, the guy sitting at the bar, and the four occupied tables. And what sounded like a muted electric drill.

And the place smelled like coffee.

What. The. Hell.

His eyes immediately found Peyton. She was already on her feet and coming toward him. Scott completely ignored Kyle and Derek—the guy behind the bar and the guy sitting at the bar—as he met her halfway across the Come Again.

Of course, they were mostly just looking at him with knowing grins, so ignoring them was pretty easy.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she came to stand in front of him, head tipped back to meet his eyes. She was wearing slip-on tennis shoes rather than the heels or boots she typically wore here, and she only came up to his chest without that extra lift. “You should be in bed.”

God, he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms. He didn’t need to even kiss her. He just wanted to touch her. He’d not touched her for so long that now the dam had broken, he couldn’t stop the flood ofwant.

“I always check it out when you’re not where I expect you to be, Trouble,” he said, settling for tucking a strand of hair that had escaped her bun behind her ear. “Seems to save me headaches later.”

She didn’t smile but she didn’t frown either. She was studying him as if searching for something. Or as if she’d just realized something. “I’ve been studying down here for a while.”

“Yeah, guess I kind of thought when you said you were getting up to study that you meant at the kitchen table or something.”

She looked around and a faint smile touched her lips. “The first couple of nights, it was just me—and Derek and Mitch and Andi—but more and more people keep showing up.”

He followed her gaze, actually taking in the other people in the room for the first time. When he realized who was there, he swung his gaze to look back at Derek and Kyle. Kyle’s sister and his ex were both back in town? Derek was grinning his usual shit-eating grin. Kyle looked, predictably, exasperated. Scott needed to get the story here.

“So you’re taking your test?” he asked, focusing on her again.

“Yeah, just, um…getting ready to.”

He looked over to where Heather sat. She gave him a little wave and he lifted a hand, then grinned down at Peyton. “Were you talking about me, Trouble?” he asked.

She crossed her arms. “Yeah, but nothing good.”

He moved in closer and put his finger under her chin. “I don’t believe you.”

She lifted a brow. “It’s true.”

“Then you didn’t tell her about the maple syrup, and that you didn’t even make it out of the pantry with it.” He was gratified to see her suck in a little breath. He grinned and leaned in, kissing her softly and taking a slow swipe over her lower lip with his tongue. He lifted his head and gave her a wink. “Go kick ass on your test.”

He watched her hesitate, wondering over that brief pause where it felt like she was going to say something—or do something. But she finally turned on her heel and headed back to her table.

As she settled in front of her computer, her eyes came up to his again. Satisfaction coursed through him. He’d drifted back to sleep after she’d left his bed, but not for long. He’d found himself reaching for her and then going to find her in the kitchen—appropriate, he’d thought, considering he was still hungry for her. But she’d been nowhere. He’d dressed and headed for her house, thinking she must have gone home to study. But passing the Come Again, he’d seen her truck and he’d of course had to pull in.

He took a seat at the bar across from Derek and next to Kyle. Derek, that stupid grin still on his face, pushed a cup toward Scott.

There was a light foam on the top and a sprinkle of…

“Is that cinnamon?” Scott asked, looking up at his friend.

“Nutmeg, actually,” Derek said, “though I’m not sure you, or I, could really tell the difference.”

He wasn’t so sure about that. He had a big thing for cinnamon. “So this would be a…” Scott trailed off, intending Derek to fill in the blank.

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