Page 339 of Hate Mates

Paige watched as Trisha plated it up for her and added a free chocolate chip cookie, for which she was grateful. Once her coffee was also ready, she took her drink and plate with thanks and headed for a table in the far corner of the café. She loved to sit and watch the people in it with her. People watching was one of her favorite pastimes.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to reach her preferred table without passing by the one her nemesis was sitting at, but she gave it as wide a berth as possible as she neared him. But ofcourse, he couldn’t just be a decent human being and let her go past without comment.

He pushed the plate with the untouched blueberry muffin toward her. “Want to split it with me, Freckles?” he offered in lieu of a greeting. She ran her gaze over his face, looking for any proof he was being insincere or trying to mock her, but his face was much like his last name. She hated that she couldn’t read him. Didn’t know if he was offering a truce or trying to rile her up even more.

Paige wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how pissed she was he’d purposely taken the muffin she’d been craving all day. “I’d rather dig a hole to the center of the earth with my tongue,” she proclaimed, before flouncing off to her table without glancing back.

The position of the table meant she was facing Asher’s back, and as she sat she couldn’t help but look at it, only to discover his shoulders were shaking. What the hell? Was he…

But then he turned and looked over at her, and she could see he waslaughing. The insufferable man was laughing at her! In a fit of pique, she gave him the finger, which only seemed to make him laugh harder.

Ugh. She was done with Asher fucking Stone. He didn’t deserve a moment more of her time. Digging through her tote, she pulled out her e-reader and continued on with the romance she was currently reading. Which was a much better distraction than the sexy, muffin-stealing, first-class jerk whose gaze Paige just knew was directed her way without looking.

Chapter Three

The following morning, Paige had shaken off any bad feelings about her encounter with Asher at the café and was wearing the biggest smile on her face as she walked down Main Street. She was heading toward the commercial space which would become her brand-new bookstore.

As she approached the corner store—her tote full with her tablet, measuring tape, and various paint, carpet, and wood samples she wanted to test out in the space—she could see the lights were already on, which meant the realtor had arrived ahead of her. Like a little kid outside a toy store, Paige couldn’t help but press her nose against the window to peek inside.

What she saw wiped any trace of a smile off her face.

The realtor, a fifty-something-year-old blonde woman, was escorting none other than Asher fucking Stone around Paige’s store. He was dressed as though going to a business meeting: black dress pants and shoes, and a crisp shirt the same gorgeous blue as his eyes. Her mouth fell open. What in the actual fuck? She was there to sign the contract!

Throwing the door open, Paige stepped into the store and headed straight over to where her enemy stood with the realtor,Margaret. “What’s going on here?” Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at them both.

Margaret appeared uneasy, shifting from foot to foot. “Ms. Ellis, it’s nice to see you.”

“Why is Asher Stone being shown around my shop?” Paige knew she was being rude, but she couldn’t stop herself. The realtor had no right to be showing anyone around the shop she was about to sign the lease for, let alonehim.

“Calm down, Freckles,” an amused voice told her.

She narrowed her eyes at the gorgeous man standing in front of her, unwillingly focusing on his soft, full lips. “Mind your own business, Stone. You have no right to be in here. This is my store!”

“You haven’t signed the contract yet.”

“I’m here to do that right now,” she snapped back in the frostiest tone she could muster. What was it about this man that could get her heated up so quickly? Part of her wondered what it would be like if he wasn’t aggravating her but instead using that sinful mouth to bring her pleasure instead.

Liquid fire burst through her veins at the sudden thought of being naked with him, and her face flushed. And when the corners of Asher’s mouth turned up, as though he knew exactly what she was thinking, her cheeks started to burn much like her blood was.

“I asked Margaret if I could have another look around and she was kind enough to oblige.”

“Mrs. Martin has already agreed to lease the property to me, so nobody should be looking anywhere. You need to leave. Right now.” Paige pointed to the door.

Asher held up his hands. “What are you getting so worked up about, Paige? I never said I was here to steal your store, but I can’t lie. I am interested in the space.”

“Mrs. Martin said?—”

“It doesn’t matter what Mrs. Martin said. Until you sign the lease—which I’d like to point out you have not at this time—this space is fair game. And I’m considering making Mrs. Martin a very generous offer.”

Paige felt her mouth fall open as a lock of red hair fell loose from her ponytail. “You…youwhat?”

“I’m considering this space for my new business.”

“You….” Rage like she’d never known it washed over her, and she exploded in a rare fit of temper which had been building for a year. Ever since she’d moved to Firelight Mountain and met Asher fucking Stone. She then said something which would have made her mother very disappointed in her. “You motherfucker.”

Margaret gasped loudly, although whether it was because of the curse word in particular or whether it was because it was directed at the town’s golden boy, Paige wasn’t sure. Asher merely raised his eyebrows, and Paige must have been seeing things because surely the corners of his mouth weren’t curved up ever so slightly.

“Ms. Ellis, that’s highly inappropriate.”

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