Page 146 of A Very Merry Mistake

“You’re gonna freeze customers out,” I tell her, giving her a hard time.

“No such thing,” she says. “I want it fifty in here. Maybe it being like a freezer will encourage them to take a break out of the heat. Oh, what time do the fireworks start tonight?” she asks over her shoulder.

“At dark, so nine-ish,” I tell her.

“Great. I’ll probably stay here and finish unpacking the inventory. I want to be ready for Christmas in July. So meet you on the lawn?”

I nod as she glances out the front windows of the business. The streets are full of tourists eating red, white, and blue popsicles. Food trucks line the perimeter of the city square, and several locals have already saved their places on the grass with lawn chairs and blankets.

“These look incredible,” I whisper, my eyes trailing over the different globes she designed. Most of them are based around Merryville and the Christmas tree farm, and she’s sneakily added our special moments inside them, too. I’ve been helping her when I’m not busy on the farm, but it’s not like she needs it. She’s hired an entire crew of people who love her as a boss.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s Hudson. “Hey, I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” I tell him once I answer. I took a quick break to have lunch with my sweetheart. Leaving is always the hardest part.

“Sounds good,” he says, and the call ends.

Then I return my attention back to Claire. “Need anything else before I go?”

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. Text me when you come back this way, please?”

“Mm. I love it when you use your manners like a good girl.”

She bites her lip, and it takes every ounce of strength I have not to carry her in the back room and devour her for dessert. Hudson would probably curse me out, though.

I take four large steps, removing the space between us and capturing her lips. I grab her ass, pressing her against me. Claire moans, and the only thing that breaks us apart is the bell ringing.

“Look at you two,” BJ says, shaking her head. “You’d think you’d already be sick of each other, considering every time I see you, your tongues are sloshing together.”

“It’s not every time,” Claire tells her.

“Okay, almost every time,” BJ says. “Anyway, just making sure y’all are coming to my bonfire birthday party this weekend. I’m finally turnin’ twenty-one!”

“You know we are,” Claire says, turning to look at me. “Aren’t we?”

I shrug. “I mean, I dunno. I might have to wash my hair.”

My cousin rolls her eyes. “Okay, boomer.”

“Excuse me? I’m a millennial,” I tell her, pretending to be offended. “Sorry you didn’t grow up in one of the coolest decades ever.”

“Sure. I’m so sad.”

Claire chuckles. “I was just thinking about some facts I learned about Gen Z.”

“Share with the class,” I say, crossing my arms and staring at BJ, who is unamused.

“I thought it was cute that you stopped by to ask instead of texting,” Claire says. “Apparently, Gen Z is known for wanting to have conversations face-to-face more than online.”

She licks her lips. “It’s harder for someone to bullshit you. But I also just clocked out.”

“Ahh,” Claire says. “You sure you don’t wanna quit the coffee shop and come work for me?”

BJ looks around. “Nah. I feel like I’d break a lot of things in here. Too much glass. If I get desperate, though, I’ll think about it.”

Claire snickers. “Anything you want for your birthday?”

“A million dollars?” She laughs and waves goodbye.

“She’s a little shit,” Claire says, moving to the storage room, and I follow behind her. Everything is neatly organized by size and type, and I beam with pride. “What?” she asks.

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