All's Fair in Love and Chocolate (Marietta Chocolate Wars #1) - Amy Andrews Page 0,10

interest. And then his gaze drifted south, taking in her blouse and the logo emblazoned over her left breast. “Ohhh…” His eyes lingered there so long, Viv’s nipple hardened beneath his scrutiny. The smile tugging at his lips told her he’d noticed. “You’re the new chocolate shop manager?”

That ohh spoke volumes. Obviously news of the shop had really spread. “I am.”

“Haven’t you put the fox in the henhouse?”

It was Viv’s turn to grin. “Apparently.” They smiled at each other for a beat. “What about you? Are you in Marietta on police business from Bozeman or are you just visiting?”

“No actually, I’ve just transferred from Bozeman Sheriff’s Department to Marietta for a few months to cover a staffing shortfall.”

Viv let that sink in. She and Reuben were living in the same town.

“God…” He shoved his hands on his hips again as he looked her up and down. Not in a pervy way, more in a disbelieving way but her body, it seemed, didn’t know the difference. Goose bumps prickled on her legs and arms and hardened both nipples now. “Am I allowed to say I missed you?”

“No.” Hell no. Because that would require some kind of response and she was only just realizing that she’d missed him, too, which didn’t bear thinking about now they were living in the same small town.

Clearly unperturbed by her rebuff he continued. “Am I allowed to suggest we grab a drink together?” He held up his hands in surrender. “No agenda. Just a friendly welcome. Give you the low down on Marietta.”

Viv opened her mouth to deny him but closed it again. Clearly there was chemistry between them that hadn’t diminished because they’d fucked each other into comas six weeks ago. So, laying some ground rules with him would be good because they’d probably be running into each other a bit now and Viv didn’t want Reuben to become a string she had to cut when she left town.

“You sure you can handle being seen with the enemy?”

He smiled slow and so damn sexy Viv’s knees quivered. They actually quivered. “I think I can risk it.”

“Okay then.” She shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He gestured in the direction Viv had already been heading. “I’ll meet you at Grey’s Saloon in fifteen minutes. Just gotta get changed.”

*

Fifteen minutes later Viv was ensconced in a booth and Reuben was sliding in opposite after placing a glass of Cabernet—nothing nicer than a glass of red after a long day—down in front of her. The saloon, complete with swinging double doors and pockmarked floorboards, was apparently the oldest building in town. Half of the booths were taken and several customers occupied stools at the battered-looking bar. The low murmur of voices intermingling with the occasional clink of a glass formed a pleasant background hum.

He took his hat off and placed it on the table, ruffling his dirty-blond hair. She remembered plowing her fingers through it when he’d been busy between her legs. It was short around the back and sides and crinkly on top—just long enough to grab hold of. Viv suspected if it got any real length on it, it’d tend toward curly. The matching dirty-blond scruff on his face softened the hard angle of his jaw and the jut of his chin. It ringed his mouth, drawing her gaze to his lips.

She knew intimately how well he could use both scruff and mouth.

“Cheers,” he said, angling the neck on his bottle of Bud toward her.

Viv tapped her glass to the bottle. “Cheers.”

“So…” He lounged back against the red leather of the seat, his broad shoulders and chest seeming to take up half the space.

Solid shoulders she’d clung to. A chest that she’d licked from the hollow where his collarbones met to his nipples and lower, too. Tipping his head back he took a mouthful of his beer and Viv remembered that she’d also licked that whiskery throat.

He regarded her steadily. “Six months, huh?”

“Yep.” Viv dragged her gaze off the flex of his bicep and took a sip of her wine. “On to the next store after that. In Missouri.”

“Why six months?”

“It gives me long enough to set up the store, establish and train a manager and staff, iron out any kinks, get things running smoothly.”

“So you set up Delish franchises?”

“They’re not franchises but the company believes in giving grassroots support to all their new stores. Putting local people in place and nurturing them for a decent amount of time so they’re confident in their own abilities