Page 27 of You've Got Male

He closed the distance. “Are those your mom’s snickerdoodles?”

She smiled. “Two dozen.”

“It will take more than some cookies to turn my day around.”Which was a lie. Just being close to her made the pressure between his shoulders relax.

She set the cookies on the fence next to his tea. “How can I help?” Suspicion skated up his back. “Why do you look so startled?”

“Because you’ve never once offered to help,” he said and her gaze quickly darted away. “So why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“I’ve had a week, too,” she admitted. “Do you want to talk about yours first?”

“I think I need something stronger than iced tea for that kind of chat.”

Jonah walked to the deck and grabbed two beers by the neck from a cooler. Spending time with her would be anything but a hardship, but when he twisted off the cap and extended one to Evie, she eyed it like it was Pandora’s box.

“Is that such a good idea?”

“Probably not.” He took a long pull and leaned against the railing.

“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself.

“Staring at my chest again,” he informed her, since she didn’t seem to know that her gorgeous eyes had darted south.

“Then maybe you should put on a shirt.”

“Didn’t know that a little sweat would turn you on.”

She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not turned on.”

“Did you know that you play with your hair when you’re lying?”

“I’m not lying.”

“Really? Then why do you look like I just asked you to play strip Jenga?”

“That’s a game?”

“It is now,” he said and she laughed.

“Look, I just spent my morning with my dad at dialysis, theafternoon going over the shop’s numbers for the third time, and I’m avoiding an important conversation with Camila. I can barely manage things as they are, so this probably isn’t the right time for me to be making questionable decisions.”

“Then let’s make a good decision. You, me, those beers, and nothing more than two friends throwing back a few. I won’t bite.” She reached for the beer but he didn’t let it go. “Unless you ask me to.”

She yanked the beer from his hand and sat next to him. The step wasn’t very wide so their thighs brushed when she sat. She tried to scooch away but there wasn’t enough room so her attempts only caused their bodies to rub back and forth.

He tapped her bottle with his, then took a sip. “Now why are you buttering me up?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“You brought me cookies and they don’t look laced.”

She stared up at the sky as if seeking divine intervention. “I need a favor.”

It must be a doozie because he knew she worked tirelessly to appear like she had it all under control. Accepting help, especially from him, went against her cool-as-a-cucumber facade.

“My family’s driving me crazy,” she said. “Like batshit crazy.” Funny, that. Evie was driving him crazy every time the bottom of the short-enough-to-ride-above-her-knees skirt moved with the summer breeze, tickling his leg.

She took a long sip, nearly draining her bottle.

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