Page 71 of Happy Endings

“I promise I’ll talk to Keisha—on my terms.” He turned and kissed her thumb. “Soon.”

Trixie sighed. Getting him to admit he was scared and needed help was already a big step. She’d pushed him enough for one day. Once he told his sister, the three of them would come up with a solution to save the restaurant and open her boutique.

“You know I’ll keep asking you until you tell her.” Trixie closed her eyes and let the familiar heat flush her body.

He sighed loudly. “It’s hard to get into your pants when you’re talking about my sister.”

“You know we can’t fix everything with sex,” she replied half-heartedly, her body already giving in to his touch.

“At least let me apologize for yelling at you.” His hand cupped her ass. “If you’ll let me,” he whispered into her ear.

Trixie’s willpower slipped away with each kiss and caress. Dimly, she knew she wouldn’t be so mad if she didn’t care for him so much. Mixing business and pleasure was too complicated. She wanted him, even if he could be a hardheaded jerk sometimes.

“Okay, but only if I’m on top.” Trixie pushed him against his desk. He grinned and pulled off his shirt. She reached for his jeans and resolutely pushed everything else out of her brain.

Chapter 27

Since our massage oil comes in so many flavors, I’ve asked our resident bartender, Andre, to help us demonstrate them.” Everyone turned as Trixie gestured to the bar. Today he wore a burgundy long-sleeved shirt that accentuated his hard chest. “Let’s give him a warm welcome!”

The women cheered and hooted. Trixie grinned as Andre played to the crowd. He flexed his biceps and pumped his fists in the air as he strutted to her demo table. Like he was accepting an award for Best Bartender in the Universe. She didn’t know enough bartenders to be certain of that title, but he absolutely won Sexiest Man Alive.

Using Andre as a guinea pig for the warming massage oil had been so successful, Trixie asked him to volunteer for all her pop-ups. The women—and some men—in the crowd swooned over his muscular forearms and his charm. Not only did her sales double, but she liked having him as a demo partner. They planned out the flavor pairings beforehand. During the pop-up, she made sure to add only a few drops of the flavor combo on his arm. After the tasting, he announced that evening’s specialty cocktail.

Including Andre as part of her pop-ups was fun. She’d been so focused on the contest this year that she had forgotten how funher job was. She could be stuck in a stuffy law office shuffling paper! Instead she talked about sex toys and helped others discover how fun sex could be. With Andre next to her during these pop-ups, she experienced the products through his uninitiated eyes and felt rejuvenated after each one.

Andre was good in front of a crowd. His charm and easygoing manner put people at ease. Demoing the massage oil together also meant she had an excuse to touch him.

At first, things had been awkward after their meeting with Kait. Following her personal decision to keep things uncomplicated, she didn’t bring up the co-op again. Asking him to go with her to the co-op had been a moment of weakness. She didn’t need his advice or support when she had the Boss Babes. What she needed, however, was to continue their very successful pop-ups. Every dollar she could put toward the co-op would help her succeed.

Once the pop-up was done, they could continue touching each other in the privacy of his office. Sometimes she even grabbed a bottle of massage oil for “research and development.” So they could plan the next pop-up’s signature cocktail.

“Whew!” Andre mocked fanning himself as Trixie blew on his arm. “Is it getting warm in here?”

“Maybe a taste will cool you down?” Trixie replied, winking at the crowd. Tonight, they had chosen Pep-in-Your-Step Peppermint, with a peppermint chocolate martini to pair with it.

The diners chuckled at Andre’s exaggerated happily surprised reaction as he licked the sweet peppermint oil from his well-massaged arm. Trixie repeated the flavor options while everyone wrote them down. The crowd clamored to order that evening’s signature cocktail. Trixie took the brief break to straighten the items on her demo table.

“You two are hilarious together!” a familiar voice spoke behind her.

“Zoe! What are you doing here?”

“The food, of course.” Zoe rubbed her stomach. “After all the rave reviews from you and Reina at our Boss Babes meetings, I had to see for myself. And the studio was dead, so I closed early and came here.”

Zoe handed her a chocolate martini. She nodded at the bar. “You’ve been talking about Andre nonstop, so I wanted to meet him. I finally understand what all the fuss is about.”

“Well, he knows how to work a crowd.” Trixie sipped the drink. “Wow, this is really good. Did you get one for yourself? Put it on my tab.”

“Of course. I can’t resist chocolate alcohol.” She pointed at an empty barstool where a martini glass waited for her.

“What bad things is he saying about me?” Trixie joked.

“He sung your praises—that was before he found out I was your roommate.”

“I’m glad you approve. Let’s hope Reina doesn’t show up and threaten him again.”

They both chuckled.

“That man is head over heels in love with you,” Zoe said.

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