I put the rest of the uneaten muffins from this morning’s breakfast in containers in the small kitchen. I usually kept it all available for guests who came in later in the day or who got hungry for a snack and didn’t want to venture out into town.
“I mean, it’s not like I’m superstitious,” I told Jess.
She nodded while she made another pot of coffee. “I know. It’s just Cupid. People who aren’t from here don’t understand how it works.”
“Yes, but that’s why people come here. Because they want love. Because they want to see the magic of it all.” I snapped the tongs in her direction. “So why’s he here, then?”
Jess grinned. “Because the magazine sent him. Being open to love probably wasn’t a prerequisite.”
“I guess. But that’s going to come through in the article, isn’t it?”
“He’s a professional,” Jess said. “A professional hottie.”
I groaned. “Come on. I’m serious. I want our B&B to make a good impression on him. If he’s against love, what am I supposed to do? Kiss him? Then he might open up a little.”
“That sounds like an interesting proposition,” a voice said from the doorway.
I whipped around, nearly dropping the tongs. My cheeks flamed when I spotted Dallas leaning casually against the doorframe, his arms folded like he’d been listening for a while.
“Oh, no. I’m—I’m—” I couldn’t stop babbling. I couldn’t believe he’d overheard us. Shit! Now he really wasn’t going to give our place a good review.
“He has a really bad habit of putting his foot in his mouth,” Jess joked. “I keep telling him there are much better uses of his mouth—”
“Jess!” I set the tongs down and turned back to Dallas. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were there—”
“Clearly. Or else, this B&B goes above and beyond with customer service.”
Jess snickered, and I took a breath, trying to calm down. Dallas didn’t seem upset, so at least that was something.
“I have an idea,” Dallas said, stepping into the kitchen like he owned the place.
Jess grinned. “I like the sound of this.”
I glared at her, but then Dallas was in front of me, blocking my view of everything else but him. His sweater was dark, nearly as dark as his eyes, and tight across his chest. If I hadn’t been so embarrassed, I might have been flattered that he seemed to want to be anywhere near me.
He was several inches taller than me, putting my line of sight directly with his mouth. Lips that curved in an amused smile.
“What’s your idea?” I asked, wary.
“Let’s start over.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s start over,” he said again. “I didn’t exactly make a good impression when I first came in and you…”
“Should learn when to keep my mouth shut,” I said with a laugh.
The phone rang and Jess held up her hand. “I’ll get it.”
I didn’t miss the quick turn she made at the door to the kitchen, or her mouth quietly saying the words, “Kiss him!”
My eyes whipped to Dallas’s while I tried not to die of mortification. Hell yeah I’d kiss Dallas, if that’s all it would take to get him to give us a good review. He wasn’t hard on the eyes, and that mouth…it looked like he knew how to kiss. Well. So well, it was starting to get hot in here.
But I wanted the B&B to make a good impression on its own. And me kissing random guys wasn’t going to help my cause.
So I held out my hand. “Starting over sounds like a good idea. Hi, I’m Lewis.”
He took my hand, fingers warm this time, and just as strong as the first time. “I’m Dallas Fontaine. I’m here to write an article on your B&B.”
“We’re so happy to have you…”
His fingers still hung onto mine, his smile widening. My cheeks flamed again. Okay, was this flirting?
“I really didn’t mean it,” I mumbled. “About kissing you. I was just frustrated.”
He released me when I gave a little tug, and then laughed. “That’s too bad. You tell people you’re here to help them find love and then no kissing? How am I supposed to gauge my experience here?”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. God, it was tempting. Just a little kiss. One. You know, for the sake of the B&B. But then his eyes crinkled with more laughter, and I groaned.
“That’s what the town is for,” I told him, “not me. But I’d be happy to show you around. Once you’ve been here a while, it’s hard not to believe in happily ever afters and soulmates and all that.”
“Then I guess I’d better experience the town,” he said.
Quite the change from before. But hey—we were starting over, which meant he could forget I’d ever offered to kiss him and I could forget that he didn’t believe in love.
Or I could try.
“I’d love to tour the B&B first,” he said.
I blew out a breath of relief. Good. Business. That’s what he wanted to stick to. I could handle that a lot better than his dark, laughing eyes and the strength in his fingers that almost made me weak in the knees.
Good thing Dallas wasn’t looking for love, otherwise I might have already fallen for him.
“Let’s start with the suite upstairs,” I told him, gesturing for him to follow me.
His voice sounded amused behind me. “That sounds like another proposition.”
“God, no. Please tell me this isn’t going to be a thing the whole time you’re here.”
He touched my back gently as we reached the bottom of the stairs. “I promise I won’t bring it up again.”
I flashed him a smile. “Good. I’ll do anything for the B&B but even I have limitations.”
“Understood.”
But then he grinned again, and that dimple made me want to brush my fingers on his cheek. Nibble on his bottom lip before I pressed myself flush against him…
What was wrong with me? I forced myself to think about Ms. Patterson and her dog to make that quick flash of arousal go away.
I just had to get through the weekend with Dallas, make him fall in love with Cupid and our cute little B&B, and then life could go back to normal.