Page 20 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It (Oak Valley)

Archer slammed his laptop shut. “Hey, Dragan. Let’s go to Cheers. I’ll text the guys to join.”

“Really?” Dragan looked at him over his computer.

“Yeah, it’s Saturday night. Let’s blow this joint.”

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Dragan shut his computer and stood. “I’ll meet you there, I need to run home and change.”

Archer stood, collecting their mugs and plates. “Sounds good, I’m sure it’ll take some time to get the other guys on board. You could ask Colt, though, since you’re next door.”

Dragan nodded, packing his laptop in his bag. “Catch you soon.” He left without another word, the door clicking close behind him.

Archer sighed, packing the dishes into the dishwasher. A distraction, that’s what he needed. Even if it was at the only bar in their small town of Oak Valley, he knew best case he wouldn’t see Molly until Monday, when he was next on duty and her dinner would set off the alarms. Again. He thought about last night, the smoky haze from her chicken shawarma and how she put herself toe-to-toe with him, yelling at him about the too-high ceilings and the over-sensitive detector. Of course he did what he was able to, but as a firefighter he couldn’t do anything but tell her to ventilate the area and talk to her landlord.

Which naturally pissed her off, and she stood close enough he could smell her shampoo, something floral and fresh. But he could only ask her to calm down, which riled her up more. Which made him smirk, and made her even more riled. They were caught in a game of cat and mouse, but Archer didn’t mind. He chuckled at the thought of her unruly hair, dark brown curls that framed her round face, the way her cheeks grew rosy and her eyes flashed when he showed up.

Yeah, he needed a distraction.

But first, a shower.

He stripped, careful not to glance at himself in the mirror. He didn’t need to see the shrapnel reminders, or the tally marks of those lost during tours overseas. The Marine globe and eagle on his forearm was enough, and he washed it carefully as he tried to push his mind from his past and toward his future.

The app was his ticket forward. He was grateful for his time in the military, working as a data systems specialist before leaving two years ago. Left with too much time on his hands, he decided to renovate the home his parents left him when they passed and join the local PD while working on coding personal gaming projects. But he wanted to leave a mark, to do something big. To change lives. This app was just the start — the money they made from it could fund future projects, building a company that focused on making life in small-towns more connected to the global ecosphere.

The money would also help build the dream life he’d always wanted. As an only child who arrived late to two doting parents, he wanted nothing more than to have a large family of his own. Hell, at this point even if he couldn’t find the right woman he would look into adopting. Nothing had stopped him in the past, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let that stop him now.

He thrust off the water, annoyed that while he was looking for his future partner his mind was constantly returning to someone who definitely could not be it.

A good lad’s night out should fix the problem.

15

Dragan welcomed the brisk twilight air, the mere thought of June igniting a fire in him. Archer’s suggestion of a guy’s night was just what he needed, and based on the intensity in Archer’s eyes, the coiled tension in his shoulders, his friend needed it, too.

He took the road between the supermarket and one of the churches, hooking a right on Elm Street and a left on his street, South Street, the long stretch that held the bookstore, a few small shops, and tons of apartment buildings. He passed the turn for Main Street, the crowd at Cheers at the end of the road already spilling out into the empty street. Dragan kept walking and stopped outside The Little Prince, the lights off upstairs and down. He threw his head back, closing his eyes to the moon glowing in the purple sky. June Beaumont had infiltrated every one of his senses, haunting him even when they were apart. He knew there was no going back. If he were a better man, a less selfish man, he would end their fake relationship before it really began.

But he wasn’t going to do that.

Because the entire time he stood across from her, next to her, away from her, one word had played through his mind.

Mine.

And over his dead body would he ever let that go.

“Dragan?”

He opened his eyes and took a deep breath before looking down the street. Colton was coming straight toward him, a goofy smile on his face.

“Hey.”

“Hey, man. What’s up, you okay?”

Dragan cleared his throat and nodded, not ready to confide what had just happened. How every birthday wish he’d ever made was on the verge of coming true.

No, this was theirs. At least for the moment, he would guard this. It wasn’t worth the jinx that it was too good to be true.

“Where you headed, Colt?”

“Weare headed to Cheers,” Colton said, jostling Dragan with his arm. “C’mon, the guys are gonna be there for happy hour.”

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