Page 65 of Play Pretend

I can’t ask you to be my daily coffee deliverer.

ME:

I don’t mind.

RONAN:

You’re sweet.

I’ll have to do something for you in return.

ME:

Well, actually.

There is something…

RONAN:

I shouldn’t have said anything haha.

What is it?

ME:

I have a giant bag of fertilizer in my car. Do you think you could carry it to my backyard later?

RONAN:

Of course, shortcake.

I’ll take care of it when I get home.

ronan

Ibarely tapped my knuckles against Willow’s door before it opened. Her hair was wild, and she looked slightly sweaty. I tilted my head to the side, taking in her disheveled appearance.

“You okay?” I glanced around her house, noting it was a lot neater than it had been the last time I saw it.

“Yeah, just cleaning up.” She threw her thumb over her shoulder. I nearly laughed, and I couldn’t keep my grin contained. “No more fire hazards.” I pointed at the white string thing on her wall, and she rolled her eyes. Folding her arms over her chest, she popped her hip to the side. “If you try to take my macrame from me, Ronan Caldwell, Iwillchop your hands off.”

My brows rose. “Threatening the sheriff, shortcake?”

“It’s not a threat,” she smiled. “It’s a warning.Sheriff.”

Goosebumps rippled over my arms at the way she said sheriff. It shouldn’t have any effect on me, yet it did. But, if I were being totally honest, everything she did had an effect on me.

She was wearing a flowy, rust-colored dress today that fit tightly over her breasts. I tried not to focus on them, but it was impossible. The swell and dip of them, the way the fabricstrained across the generous swells. My fingers itched to graze along her smooth skin. My palms ached to cup them, to gently squeeze them.

Roughly, I cleared my throat as I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind. “Fertilizer?” I blurted, and she blinked.

She gestured behind me as she grabbed her keys from a little bowl sitting on the table by the door. “It’s in my car,” she said. I stepped to the side, letting her go first. Her ass swayed in the sundress, and I was helpless to do anything but watch as she walked down the few creaky steps to the ground. She glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled. “You coming?”

I trailed behind her, the leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. The sun was setting, and a slight chill filled the air. We stopped at her car, and she yanked the door open, the hinges squeaking.

“Sorry about that,” she muttered, pink tinging her cheeks. I crouched to get a better look at it.

“A little oil and it’ll stop making that sound,” I said. “I have some in my truck.” I rounded her car to my truck. The toolbox mounted in the back was unlocked, and I rummaged around, finding the spray can of oil. When I turned, she was just staring at me. “What?”

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