Page 40 of It's Only Love

“Mmm, all those muscles rippling and bodies getting sweaty. Is it hard having Beau around?” Justine asked, Christy shook her head.

“No, we agreed that we’re better off as friends. There was no sexual chemistry, but we get on so well that we wanted to keep hanging out.”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I maybe asked him out?” Justine asked her sheepishly, Taylor dropped a glass and it shattered all over the floor.

“Fuck!” Taylor hissed, and a round of cheers echoed around the bar from the other patrons. She stepped lightly around the shards and reached for the broom that was propped at the end of the bar. She stumbled and promptly knocked it on the floor, rolling her eyes as she bent to pick it up.

“Jesus, someone’s clumsy today,” Christy teased.

“Yeah, you gonna chew yourself out like you would if Kayleigh had broken that glass?” Justine joked. Taylor flipped them both off and started sweeping.

“Excuse me ladies, can you tell me who the owner of this bar is?” asked a deep voice from behind them. Christy turned to see a tall, well-built man standing behind her and Justine. He removed his sunglasses to reveal a pair of slate gray eyes with thick dark lashes fanning out from them. He ran his hand through his dark wavy curls that needed a trim. He. Was. Gorgeous. Permanent frown lines etched across his forehead and a slight furrow in his brows gave him a haughty but brooding expression. His cheekbones were set high, his square jaw covered in dark hair, which was neatly groomed and outlined his flat unsmiling mouth.

He was wearing a black t-shirt tucked into black jeans which was insane in this heat, but he didn’t look like he was struggling at all. His bicep flexed as he tucked his sunglasses in the pocket of his t-shirt, and Christy noted he clearly worked out. He oozed seriousness in spades which did not bode well for dealing with Taylor, but to Christy’s surprise, she behaved herself.

“Hey, gorgeous, I’m Taylor,” she said, smiling at him. Tall, dark and broody gave her a quick once over before turning his attention to look around the bar.

“Do you own this establishment?” he asked.

“Establishment makes it sound much fancier than it is but yeah, well I own half of it anyway. Who wants to know?” Taylor put her hand on her hip and raised a delicate eyebrow at him. He continued to survey the bar with such scrutiny that Christy got the vibe he catalogued every detail he saw. He knew how many people were in here, where the nearest exits were, and what could be used as a weapon if needed, who the hell was he?

“I’m the new deputy sheriff of Citrus Pines, Blake Miller.”

Christy noticed Justine stiffen next to her and she watched as Justine turned on her barstool to face away from them. Taylor cursed quietly.

“Great, did Dean send you to check on me? I swear that man sometimes…” she trailed off, coming out from behind the bar.

Christy frowned, “why would Dean send him to check on you? What’s going on?”

“No one sent me. I’m going to be starting soon and just wanted to familiarize myself with the town and become friendly with the local business owners, get to know them,” Blake said with no hint of a smile or friendliness.

“This is you being friendly?” Taylor asked doubtfully.

“Obviously,” Blake deadpanned, and Christy fought a smile. “I’ve not spoken to Dean but is there a reason he would ask me to check on you?”

“Excuse me,” Justine muttered quietly, she slipped off her barstool and headed towards the restrooms. Taylor sighed.

“Look, I don’t wanna make a big deal out of anything, but I have a teeny, tiny problem with an ex of mine. Nothing’s happened yet, Dale just shows up, mouths off and tries to intimidate me, that’s all.” She shrugged like it was nothing.

“Taylor! What the hell? How come you never said anything? This is serious!” Christy cried, worry clouding her expression.

“This ex of yours, has he been violent in the past?” Blake asked, ignoring Christy and fixing Taylor with a hard stare.

“Um, I don’t know. Not to me he hasn’t, but I think he could get that way.”

“Okay, who’s Dean?”

“He’s my brother, if you’re going around meeting everyone, you’ll get to him. He owns the garage in town,” Taylor replied, a note of pride in her tone.

Wait, what? Dean owned the garage? Blake pulled out a small notebook and a pen from his back jeans pocket and took a few details down from Taylor on her ex.

“Well, I don’t officially start until next month, but I’m in the area if you need me. In the meantime, stay safe and call me if you have any more trouble,” Blake said, tearing off a bit of paper and giving it to Taylor. She took it from him and looked at it before thanking him, the corners of Blake’s mouth twitched upwards in what Christy thought might have been an attempt at a smile, but it disappeared immediately. He put his sunglasses back on, nodded at Christy and turned around, leaving the bar.

“He seems…nice,” Christy said, staring after him. Taylor nodded, then when he was out of sight, she finished sweeping up the glass and put it in the bin. Justine reappeared and sat back on her stool, sipping her drink.

“He was gorgeous, all serious and broody, did you check out his ass? That man is thicc!” Taylor said saucily.

“What did you think, Justine? I’m surprised you weren’t all over him,” Christy joked, nudging Justine.

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