What The Heart Knows (5 page)

“So
what does this have to do with the acquisition of the inn?” she
asked as he started the car and they drove out of the town and toward
the farms.

“Not
everything is about work, you know,” he said, shrugging.
“Besides... tomorrow is Halloween. You gotta have a pumpkin.”

Miller
Farm was the place for pumpkin picking. And apple, peach, blueberry,
blackberry... pretty much all the berry picking. Where some of the
other farms were hosting haunted houses and haunted hayrides and
mazes, Miller was strictly a pick-your-own kind of place. There were
only a few cars parked out front when they pulled up.

“Alright,”
James said, rubbing his hands together. “show me to the
pumpkins.”

Emily
grabbed a wheelbarrow and pushed it toward the field, covered in hay
just to look festive. “It's late. All the really good ones are
gone,” Emily said, putting the wheelbarrow down and walking up
and down the field trying to find a big, undamaged one, completely at
a loss for why she was even bothering. A few rows away, James was
leaning over trying to push a massive pumpkin onto its side, checking
for damage. “I found mine,” he declared, squatting and
trying to pick it up and falling none too ceremoniously onto his ass.
“Get over here and help me, woman,” he laughed.

Emily
dropped her more manageable pumpkin into the wheelbarrow and went to
help him lift the huge orange ball that probably weighed as much as
she did. They finally got it into the cart and James looked up at
her, a huge boyish smile on his face. It was right in that moment
that she knew she was in trouble. Because she found herself smiling
back, happy, light. Like children.

“Alright,
now it's time to pick apples,” James declared, grabbing the
handles for the wheelbarrow and taking off toward the lines of trees.

“It's
a little late for apples,” she called, following behind him.

“Oh,
we'll find some,” he said, looking over his shoulder at her.
She was still being distant. He thought that if he got her out of the
inn and doing something silly and distracting that she would warm up
to him a little more. He might enjoy a little head butting and wit
trading with her, but he didn't want her to be completely surly
toward him all the time.

It
was a first for him. He never really needed to work to make a woman
like him. Even without all the compliments and charm, he was warm and
funny. Women just naturally responded to it.

James
dropped the wheelbarrow at the end of a long row of squat apple
trees, walking down and looking for some leftovers or late bloomers.

“I
told you,” Emily said, feeling almost a little disappointed for
him. “it's late. September is usually best for apple picking.”

“Nah,
you just need to know where to look,” he said, pointing toward
the top of the tree.

Emily
walked up next to him, looking up. And sure enough, there were four
bright red apples sitting way above reach. “You know how to
climb a tree, Mr. Fancypants?” she asked, looking over at him.
When had he gotten so close?

“No,”
he said shaking his head, smiling. “but I bet you do.”

Of
course she did. Any self-respecting childhood involved climbing, and
falling out of, a tree or two. But she wasn't eight years old
anymore. And the limbs on the apple trees didn't look very sturdy. “I
don't think so,” she said, shaking her head.

“What's
the matter?” he said right next to her ear, his warm breath
making her shiver slightly. “Are you scared?”

Was
she scared of falling out of a tree and breaking an arm in a town
that really didn't have a doctor anymore? Was she worried about the
possibility of having a cast put on by the local vet? Yeah. Pretty
much. But she damn sure wasn't going to let him know that. “Nope,”
she said reaching for the lowest branch. “not at all.”

She
cursed herself as she climbed, staying close to the trunk of the tree
and trying to ignore James' leering eyes as she ascended. What did it
matter if he thought she was worried about climbing some flimsy
little tree? She was being stupid for the sake of her pride. If it
had been any other guy she would have told him to fuck off... that
they could climb up and she could watch their ass as they climbed.

“They're
right above your head,” James called out, wincing when he saw
her feet teeter slightly on the branch as she reached.

“No?
Really?” she said, her tone dry as she hauled one of the
perfect apples down at him, rolling her eyes when he managed to catch
it before it whacked him in the head.

She
threw three more down at him before she started her descent. Which
was far more nerve-wracking than the climb up. James was standing
there, looking up at her, one bright red apple in the hand at his
side. He needed to stop looking at her. She was having enough trouble
getting down and his staring was making it hard to concentrate.

Emily
was on the second to last branch, stretching her legs downward toward
the lowest hanging limb. She sat down on it for a second, taking a
breath, swinging her feet like a kid. She had to admit, it had been a
really long time since she let herself do something so unplanned.
Even when she let herself have a day off, she usually spent it
mulling around the inn, catching up on paperwork in the office or
helping Alec brush the horses. It was nice to go out and just...
get
out.

And
she was both thankful and annoyed with James for that. He wasn't
supposed to show her a good time, damn him.

One
of James' arms reached up behind her hips, pulling her slightly
forward, coaxing her toward the ground. God, how long had she been
looking at him? She had the stomach-turning feeling it was longer
than just a few seconds.

He
took a step forward, her legs brushing against his chest as she
started to slip downward. The arm across her lower back pulled her
forward and her body was pressed against his. His face was a breath
away from her stomach. Emily felt her heartbeat start to pound
painfully in her chest. What was he doing? She was only a few feet
from the ground. She could easily just jump down. Was she supposed to
put her arms around his neck? Was that his plan? Because if it was,
he would be sorely disappointed. One of her hands reached for the
limb behind her, the other fell limply to her side.

Then
his face was a mere whisper from the skin between her breasts. She
felt her legs straighten as the ground got closer, her thighs
pressing up against his hips, then legs. Her stomach slid down his
chest, her breasts against his shoulder.

She
felt what little breath she had whoosh away, replaced by a strangling
tightness in her lungs. His hand moved up her back as her toes
finally touched solid ground, sliding up between her shoulder blades,
then settling right behind the base of her neck, pressing.

Emily
looked into his eyes, finding them lacking their usual light, looking
heavy and deeper than she had seen them. And then his hand was
pushing her closer to him, she felt his breath whisper over her cheek
as his eyes dipped lower. Her stomach twisted then turned upside
down, feeling fluid and swirling.

Before
she could even register what was going on, his face dipped and his
lips landed on hers. It was a soft kiss at first, teasing. Full of
promises of something deeper, but refusing to deliver. His teeth
grazed her bottom lip, biting softly and pulling, before his lips
pushed against hers harder, sucking on her lip and dipping the tip of
his tongue inside her mouth to play with hers, just a quick toying
with the tip of hers for a quick second before retreating.

She
felt the sensations, first, in her spine. Right at the root, a
tingling, followed by a shooting upward, bursting apart where there
lips met. Making her press herself up harder against his chest.
Making her want to ask for more. Beg for more than the infuriatingly
perfect gentle exploration. Her body wanted the fire, not just the
slow burn. But he stayed stubbornly explorative until her legs
started to feel wobbly, until her head felt suddenly fuzzy.

His
tongue slipped between her lips then and she thrust hers forward with
all her desire, rolling it around his before she felt a slow rumbling
against her chest, a chuckle, and his tongue pulled quickly away. His
teeth grazed her lower lip again and she heard herself shamelessly
sigh into it, her hand grabbing his hip.

She
felt his desire pressing hard against her, insistent and exciting.
She felt her own desire building, reaching a point where it felt less
like want and more like need. Like her lungs needed breath. Like her
stomach needed food. She needed him.

Every
ounce of her wanted him to push her rough against the tree and take
her right then and there. In broad daylight. Where anyone could
happen upon the scene. All she knew was her body felt taut as a bow,
so tense that the only thing she could think about was ripping off
his clothes and getting what she needed.

It
no longer mattered that she swore she wasn't attracted to him, that
he was trying to take her business from her, that she swore to put
him in his place.

All
that mattered was the aching desire between her thighs.

Then,
he pulled away.

She
had a horrifying second of feeling unsteady on her feet as she slowly
started to open her eyes. James was looking down at her, his dark
blue eyes deep an unfathomable. Her heart was beating frantically in
her chest and she took a small amount of satisfaction in the fact
that his heartbeat matched hers. But she only felt it for a moment
before he leaned slightly backward.

His
arm moved upward, pulling the shiny red apple to his lips. His eyes
stayed on hers as he slowly bit into the ripe flesh. His hand pulled
away, his lips wet with the fresh juice. He chewed for a second
before smiling, stepping back, and walking away.

A
part of her wanted to be offended. She was the one who should walk
away. But in all honesty, she needed the space to breathe and she
wasn't positive her legs would carry her. She leaned back against the
tree, taking a deep breath, wiping a hand over her kiss swollen lips.

Yeah,
he could be the one to walk away. Just this one time.

She
pushed off the tree and turned to find him standing a few yards away,
facing her. She could see even though the distance, a huge, obnoxious
grin on his face.

“I'd
say that's point one for me, wouldn't you?” he said, turning
and walking away.

Emily
stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Too angry to move. Her hands
opened and closed in fists over and over.

Oh,
it was on.

Five

She
was regretting agreeing to go to the Halloween festivities. After the
kiss and the silent drive home: James in smug quiet, Emily in angry
muteness, she felt worn out and frazzled. She had done everything in
her power to stay out of his way the rest of the night. She did
paperwork in the office, conning Devon to pull a double shift, and
making Meggie bring her dinner to the staff quarters. Not that they
were exactly off limits to him anyway. But at least it lessened the
chances of running into him. Until she sorted everything out anyway.

But
after a night of restless sleep, she was feeling even less sure of
herself than she had been when she went to bed. How was she supposed
to recover from that epic screw up? What kind of idiot made out with
someone who was, at least for the time being, her sworn enemy? The
guy was taking over her life's work. He was taking all her power
away. And she had just gone and... melted into him when he kissed
her. She should have pushed him away, slapped him, said something
snarky afterward.

No,
she had to go full-on middle school first kiss on him. Shaky legs and
dreamy eyes. Jesus Christ. She was a grown woman. Who had kissed more
than her fair share of men. Hers was not an appropriate response to a
stupid kiss in a stupid apple orchard.

Emily
buried her face in her hands for a long moment, sitting on the foot
of her bed, hours before she even needed to be awake.

How
was she supposed to recover from such an epic fuck up?

And
on top of that, how was she going to get herself into the kind of
mood she would need to take a haunted maze and then attend the annual
Halloween dance?

Emily
got up off the bed, going into the bathroom and turning the shower
water on cold. Maybe the shock would help her scattered brain.
Usually, Halloween was her favorite day of the year. All the dressed
up kids at the inn door begging for candy. The heart stopping image
of someone tearing out of the woods with a chainsaw, chasing you
until you got out of their designated range. The Halloween dance
which was really just an excuse for her to wear a skimpy costume and
flirt with whatever single men were around.