Page 71 of Trick or Tease

“You won’t get an argument from me.”

We stayed wrapped up in each other for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. I traced lazy patterns on his chest while he played with strands of my hair, both of us still catching our breath. The dusty old house suddenly felt like the most romantic place on earth. There was nothing spooky about it.

“We should probably get back,” I murmured against his shoulder, even though I had no desire to move. “Billy and Lucy will wonder what happened to us.”

“Let them wonder,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m not ready to share you with the world yet.”

My heart did a little flip at his words. This was the Garrett I remembered from before he’d become all buttoned-up and corporate. The one who used to make me feel like I was the only girl in the world when he looked at me.

“So what happens now?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.

“Now we figure it out as we go,” he said simply.

I was about to respond when his phone started ringing from somewhere in the pile of clothes beneath us. The sound was jarring in the peaceful quiet we’d created.

“Ignore it,” I said, tightening my arms around him.

He kissed my forehead. “I will.”

But the phone kept ringing, stopping only to start up again a few seconds later. Whoever was calling was persistent.

“Just check who it is,” I sighed. “Then turn it off.”

Garrett reached over and grabbed his phone from his jeans pocket. I watched his expression change as he looked at the screen, his jaw tightening.

“It’s the firm,” he said, already sitting up. “I have to take this.”

My stomach dropped. Just like that, the real world came crashing back into our perfect little bubble. “Can’t it wait?”

“Not really.” He was already standing, completely unself-conscious about his nakedness as he swiped to answer the call. “This is Garrett.”

I watched him walk toward the doorway, his voice shifting into that professional tone I’d heard him use during the news interview. Even naked in an abandoned house, he could slip back into lawyer mode like flipping a switch.

The magic was broken. Whatever spell this old house had cast over us was shattered by the reality of his other life. The life that was waiting for him back in Manhattan, full of important calls and high-stakes deals and everything that mattered more than small-town festivals and corn mazes.

And me.

I started gathering my clothes, suddenly feeling exposed and foolish lying there on the dusty floor. What had I been thinking?

26

GARRETT

“Garrett Hogan,” I said into the phone, trying to sound professional despite being stark naked in a dusty old farmhouse, dick swaying with every movement.

“Hey, I saw you on the news.” Ron Geiss’s familiar voice came through my phone. And I felt even more naked with my boss on the other end of the line.

“The news?” I asked.

“Your farm is a hit. Have you been leading a double life on me?”

I blinked, still lust drunk from what had just happened with Sabrina. My brain felt foggy, slow to process. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw a clip going around about this super popular haunted farm attraction. It’s going viral, Garrett. Looks like an untapped gold mine.”

I turned back toward Sabrina, who was pulling on her clothes with remarkable speed. I could practically feel the walls going up between us again. The magic of the last hour was evaporating with each word from Ron’s mouth.

“Viral?” I repeated, struggling to switch gears. “I don’t understand.”