Sweet and Salty (Marshall My Heart #1)

11. Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

L aura

That darned pig. I ought to have named him Bacon, the little nuisance. Okay, he weighs about two hundred pounds so there’s no world in which he could be called little. Still. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be covered in mud and have made a fool of myself in front of Hot Salt-and-Pepper Jesse. Of all the days to sleep in and walk downstairs in my pajamas. Why can’t I be one of those heroines who wakes up already in full makeup with her hair curled?

The early morning concussion hasn’t harmed Jesse a single iota. Even with the knob blooming on his forehead, he looks even more handsome than I remember. How on earth did he get that ring light so quickly? The hardware store never gets deliveries overnight. It’s surprisingly sweet.

Jesse and I manage to wrangle Edward back into the pen with a minimum of caterwauling, which is a direct contrast to what I’ve previously experienced when one of the pigs escapes. It’s like Jesse has a special touch with the animals, one that’s even more abundantly clear when Einstein runs directly up to him and doesn’t seem to want to leave his side. Traitor. He only does that for me when I make the homemade peanut butter biscuits he likes.

It’s certainly jealousy that coils in my heart. Nothing else.

I lock the pen and Jesse fills the feed bins.

“You’re a Twilight fan?” he asks, scratching Bella’s ears. She grunts little porcine grunts into his hand.

My ovaries twitch. “I’m not. She will never admit it, but my sister Frannie was a huge Twilight fan. Like posters and fan fic and hearts-on-her-notebook level fandom.”

His mouth curves into a half-smile, which is possibly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen or I’m massively under-caffeinated. Either way, swoon territory. “She won’t admit it now?”

I push past him and clamber the fence. “You’d understand if you knew Frannie.”

“She can’t be more of a badass than you.” He follows me over the fence. “Hey, I’m sorry about the time. I’d better let you get ready for work and everything. Thanks for having me.”

I bark a laugh and hide it by opening the kitchen door. “I banged you in the head, fed you stale muffins, and made you chase a pig, all before seven in the morning. I never even finished making you coffee.”

He pauses, standing outside the door, one hand on the jamb. He’s wearing jeans that cling to his hips in a way that makes me think all sorts of things I shouldn’t in my fuzzy purple bathrobe. “We’ll just have to save that for next time.”

The deep timbre of his voice and that wicked little sparkle in his deep brown eyes does something primal to me. Images of waking up tangled in sheets beside him flash through my brain. He seems like the type of man to lick me into submission before bringing me breakfast in bed.

Then again, I don’t even know his last name. He’s good with my animals, and unexpectedly sweet, but I have a terrible track record. My life is floundering. I can’t throw myself into some sexcapade with my mysterious no-last-named neighbor where I will undoubtedly end up with a broken heart and having to drive an hour south to Target instead of going to Moe’s like a normal person.

I play it cool. “Right. Thanks again, for everything. You have a way with pigs.”

He grins, and it lights his entire scruff-covered face in a way that does nothing to dispel the want curling deep in my stomach. “Technically, I specialize in horses. Have a great day, Laura.”

I step into the kitchen and close the door between us, but the little window gives me ample viewing of Jesse walking away, all casual-sexy, like a lumberjack on his way to work.

His words ring over and over again in my brain. Next time.