Page 73 of Brewing Temptation

“Well, thank you very much. Are you going to put some money where your mouth is?”

I smirked. It would be physically impossible not to indulge her pride. Nodding, I said, “Yeah, baby, but I brought you something first.” Something deeply primal loved the way her eyes flashed at the wordbaby. Had the shithead not given her any pet names? For fuck's sake. Without another word, I held out her pint, arguing with the smile threatening to take over my face as she accepted.

“What’s this?”

“Local ale, thought you’d like to try a Mistyvale brewery.”

“I didn’t even know we had a brewery on the island!” She swished it around like some hoity-toity wine sampling. Why in God’s name did I have it in my head that I could ever satisfy some high-maintenance city—

“Damn! That’s good,” she said excitedly, shifting the cue to her side, the handle now firmly planted on the ground so she could savor her next drink. Satisfaction heated my chest, and I wove my body between her and my brother.

“What the hell?” I hissed under my breath. His shit-eating grin was beyond aggravating.

“What?” Axel said, tone innocent even as his smirk said differently.

“Keep your hands off my girl, asshole.”

“Yourgirl,” he scoffed. “There’s a thought. Besides, we keep things close.”

“Notthatclose.”

When he made to step back into her space, I shifted my weight to block him.

“Ease up, James.”

“The town needs to believe we’re together.”

“Please,” he drawled, tonguing at his front tooth. “You’ve had plenty of chances to do something. Mark my words, man. If you don’t get your shit together, somebody else will.”

“You two having a staring contest over there?” Noel quipped, and I turned back to find amusement over her face, a bit of froth on her cheek. Smirking, I leaned forward, raising a hand to wipe it away and smiling when she flushed, looking to her feet. “Uh—thanks, I didn’t realize—”

Her words cut off as I stepped in close, wrapping a hand around her waist and opting to pretend my brother no longer existed. A delicate palm came to settle on my chest, and Axel lunged to catch the cue stick she’d abandoned. I chuckled.

“Hey,” I said, lowering my voice.

“Hey,” she parroted back, blinking up at me as her breath coasted over my neck. Her freckles were fucking adorable, and I realized the darkest of them made up a distinct jagged ‘w’ where the rest were light little sprinkles. Gently, I raised my free hand to cup the side of her face, and ran my thumb over her cheek, tracing them. “What’s that for?” she breathed.

Chuckling, I said, “You have Cassiopeia on your cheek.”

“What?” She giggled, leaning back enough to bring her beer up and take a sip, not breaking eye contact. Goddamn, she was gorgeous. “The vanity chick?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“Never took you for a mythology guy. Hell, never took you as an astronomy guy.” Her amusement was a palpable thing, and, honestly, I was just floored she knew the reference.

“Never asked.”

She narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips as her head bobbed. “Touché, Rhodes.”

“So?”

“So…what?” Noel quirked her head.

“How’s the beer?” I clarified, stepping back, needing to either taste her again or distance us.

“So good! I like the citrus a lot. Reminds me of home.”

“Wanna meet the mastermind behind it?”

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