Page 7 of Hitch Me

"Manhandled in public!" She finishes with a scandalized gasp.

Geoffrey clears his throat. "Ma'am, I apologize for the, uh, inappropriate contact. We were just trying to help, and things got a little tangled up."

"Tangled up," Mom repeats flatly. "Is that what we're calling it?"

"Mom, it was an accident," I say, though I'm pretty sure the heat in my cheeks is telling a different story. “We were trying to help and bumped into each other.”

“Yes, dry humping happens.” Geoffreys adds, and I choke on a laugh.

"It happens," she echoes, looking between Geoffrey and me like we're exhibits in a museum of moral decay. "Well, let metell you what's going to happen. I'm going home to shower the poultry... off myself. When I'm done, we're having a serious discussion about boundaries and professional behavior."

I can’t help but roll my eyes. “Sure, if you want to.”

She stalks toward her Cadillac. I can’t believe she let me off that easily. But before she gets in the car, she turns back to us. "And Brynn Rose? We're also going to discuss why you thought it was appropriate to laugh while your mother was being attacked."

The car door slams with enough force to rattle windows three counties over. She goes full on Cruella with a sack of puppies in tow. Mom peels out of the driveway like she's fleeing a crime scene.

Geoffrey and I stand there in the settling dust. We watch her taillights in silence as they disappear down the road. Even Choke seems exhausted. He tucks his head under his shoulder as Geoffrey cradles him like a football.

"Well," Geoffrey says finally. "That was..."

"A nightmare.”

"I was going to say entertaining, but a nightmare works too." He grins at me, and despite everything that just happened, I feel that familiar flutter in my stomach. "Your mom's got quite the dramatic flair."

"She's had years of practice," I say, then immediately feel guilty for talking about her like that. Even if it's true.

The way he's looking at me makes my pulse skip, and I realize we're alone now. Really alone. No angry roosters, no horrified mothers, just us and the golden light of the setting sun.

""For what it's worth," Geoffrey says, his voice going softer, “Choke really does have excellent instincts about people. I hope she doesn’t always talk to you like that. You don’t deserve?—”

I put my hand on the center of his chest to stop him. “Who’s the therapist now?”

He lets out a chuckle. “Okay, got it.”

"I should probably go. You want to get on with your night and decompress. Thank you for being so patient today.”And kind and sexy and charming.

"Should you go?" Geoffrey asks, taking a step closer. "Because I was thinking you should come up to the barn with me instead. I’ve got top shelf liquor up there that’s just begging to be pulled down.”

Despite everything. My better judgment. My mother's warnings. My own carefully constructed walls. I find myself nodding… And so we go.

CHAPTER 6

GEOFFREY

The more we talk,the more that careful control she's always maintained starts to slip. Her laugh becomes genuine, unguarded. She leans closer when she talks, her hand occasionally brushing mine. And every innocent touch sends electricity racing through my system.

“This place really has gotten a glow up since the last time I was here.” Brynn Rose takes another sip of the drink I poured for her.

“I can’t believe you even remember the last time you were here,” I chuckle. “From what I recall you were face first in the hayloft when we finally found you.”

“Shut it.” She laughs and it reaches the corners of her eyes.

She launches into a story about the salon and I could stay here all night. I don’t know if it’s the drinks or the fact that she’s grinning up at me from beneath her long lashes, but I want to throw caution to the wind. Hell, I’m in love with this girl and I’ve got half a mind to tell her.

Before I can make a stupid decision, Brynn's phone starts buzzing on the bar top. The caller ID flashesMomand I watch her face fall. Anger courses through me.

"I should probably..." she starts, reaching for the phone.

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