Maggie couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She had never imagined that riding on the back of a Harley could be so exciting. The vibration of the bike and having her arms wrapped around Zane’s lean, muscular torso all morning had her completely worked up. She had to fight to keep from letting her hands explore his chest under the leather jacket he wore. The scent of him in her nose while she was pressed tight to his back made her half crazed by the time they stopped for lunch. Zane pulled off into an area in the country that looked somewhat familiar, but she wasn’t sure as they had been riding for so long around highways and backroads alike. Reluctantly, she let go of him and let him help her off the bike. While she was removing her helmet, she saw him pulling a small cooler out of one of the saddlebags.“Were you a boy scout?” she joked. Normally she was the one who always came prepared for anything. She felt rather discombobulated just standing there with nothing to do.Zane’s mout
Zane’s sorrow started to melt away at Maggie’s touch. Just like it had when he had come to her after his difficult meeting yesterday. Her touch, her scent, her simple presence made the tension leak from his muscles and calmness overtake his brain. He didn’t understand how she did it, but he knew he was quickly becoming addicted to it. Maggie sighed and laid her head on Zane’s warm chest. He wrapped his arms around her and between the wine and their mingling heartbeats, they soon dozed. The sun moved causing shadows to lengthen. Zane slowly awoke with a cool breeze blowing a strand of Maggie’s hair across his face. After a few precious seconds of just enjoying her warm weight on his chest and running his fingers through her silky, chestnut strands, her eyes fluttered open and he met her slow smile with one of his own.“I could get used to waking up to that smile,” Zane said, his voice low and raspy from sleep. “I wonder how long we were out?”“I’m not sure but I don’t think it was too
“Maggie...” he growled at her in warning again, rubbing his hard length against her. Even though they were separated by two layers of denim, she shuddered a little but then she simply nipped his lip and pulled back slightly to give him a wild but amused expression.“Yes?” she purred at him.She fucking purred at me. This woman! Zane pushed up on his hands and looked down at her. She played with the button to his Levi’s as he took a deep breath and tried to regain a modicum of composure. “As much as it pains me to say it, and heaven help me it does,” Zane gritted out. “We’re going to need to stop soon or I’m not going to be able to.”“Who asked you to?” Maggie replied cheekily, running her fingers under the waistband of his jeans.My Southern belle looks so prim and proper on the outside but...Zane was about to put any thoughts of being a good man out of his mind when he suddenly heard a motor coming closer. He scrambled up to his knees pulling Maggie with him. She had just gotten the
Zane rocked in his office chair staring out the window. He was supposed to be holed up working on his speech for the gala, but his thoughts wouldn’t deviate from Maggie. He thought back to their picnic last weekend, the way her lips felt on his, the way her body fit into his so perfectly. He couldn’t wait to see her all dressed up for the gala. She was so spectacular in just jeans, he couldn’t even wrap his head around how her curves were going to look in a ball gown, or out of one. A soft knock on the doorframe dragged his attention back to the present. “How’s it coming?” Carol asked, raising one eyebrow. He was abashed to be caught not working on his speech, yet again, by his eagle-eyed office manager.“Slow but steady,” Zane assured her.“Uh, huh,” Carol said, obviously unconvinced. “Anyway, I forgot to tell you. A woman came in asking after you yesterday afternoon. I told her you didn’t have office hours until Thursday but she didn’t want to make an appointment. It was weird. She
Zane rocked in his office chair staring out the window. He was supposed to be holed up working on his speech for the gala, but his thoughts wouldn’t deviate from Maggie. He thought back to their picnic last weekend, the way her lips felt on his, the way her body fit into his so perfectly. He couldn’t wait to see her all dressed up for the gala. She was so spectacular in just jeans, he couldn’t even wrap his head around how her curves were going to look in a ball gown, or out of one. A soft knock on the doorframe dragged his attention back to the present. “How’s it coming?” Carol asked, raising one eyebrow. He was abashed to be caught not working on his speech, yet again, by his eagle-eyed office manager.“Slow but steady,” Zane assured her.“Uh, huh,” Carol said, obviously unconvinced. “Anyway, I forgot to tell you. A woman came in asking after you yesterday afternoon. I told her you didn’t have office hours until Thursday but she didn’t want to make an appointment. It was weird. She
“Hello there, handsome.” Zane’s head jerked up at the familiar voice from his office doorway. Shawna. It had been over a year since he’d had the misfortune to bump into Shawna again. He was afraid that his friends were right and he’d had a type, and Shawna had been it. She still had the big Dallas blonde hair and was showing off her long, tanned legs in a skirt that barely covered her ass, as usual. He had enjoyed that at one time, but now that he had Maggie’s effortless beauty to compare her to, he couldn’t understand what had attracted him to her. He noticed her dark roots starting to show at her crown and a hint of orange on her skin with the over-the-top spray tan.As he took her in, he couldn’t believe he’d ever found her attractive or worth his time. They’d only gone out a few times, but he had thought he was never going to get rid of her. She kept popping up in the most unlikely places and trying to hang all over him for months after he had told her they needed to go their sep
Maggie paced next to Pearl, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest trying to hold herself together. All her longstanding doubts and fears swirled throughout her head. She knew he’d been too good to be true. She shouldn’t have let herself even hope that Zane could have been different; that he actually thought she was something special. She should have known when Dani told her about the type of women he dated that she could never measure up to that. She was so stupid to let herself believe that this attractive, accomplished man could be seriously interested in her. It was really her fault for letting herself hope. What red-blooded man could pass up a stunning blonde like that; especially when offered right up in front of him? She was just a little, brown bird from a tiny town. Nothing special. So stupid!She was torn from her self-castigation by two strong hands gripping her shoulders and a pair of intense green eyes staring at her. “Maggie! Listen to me.”Maggie drug her focus to Da
The next week was a blur of activity. Thanks to Maggie and Sofia’s work on advertising to local businesses, they had several business breakfasts and lunches held at Common Grounds that week. She and JT also put in long evening hours planning out a couple of event catering projects they had taken on as they were wanting to expand their catering work. Farm to table wedding rehearsal dinners and engagement parties were getting more and more popular and Maggie had seized on the events, on and off site, as a way to grow their little cafe. With her mother in semi-retirement, she didn’t need her catering and equipment and tableware very often so Maggie and JT could save a lot of money by using them. Tricia Wade believed in her children being self-sufficient so there was a small rental fee involved but, even with the fees, Maggie knew they’d never have been able to afford to buy all the equipment outright by themselves and was grateful, though somewhat grudgingly, for the help. Before she kn