Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

Hands in his pockets, Jamie grimaced. “Oh, nothing.” One hand rose to touch a scratch on his cheek. “Just banged into something when I was tapping a keg.”

“No, I meant, where were you today?”

“Sorry. I got called in to the brewery.”

Though she’d been rushing around for days now, time slowed for a moment. Jamie filled her doorway, his shoulders wide, even when they curved down in weariness. His forearms were sculpted muscle. His mouth a wry quirk as he waited for her to say more.

God, she’d missed him, but she’d been too busy to realize it until this moment.

His gaze fell to his feet just as a breeze shook the night behind him. As his wild hair ruffled in the wind, he looked up, past his dark lashes, and the ligh

t from the entry caught the green beauty of his eyes.

“Come in,” she urged, but before he could get past the threshold, she put her arms around him. “It feels like it’s been weeks.”

“You were too busy for me.”

His arms came around her and she tried not to recognize how good it felt, even as she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. “I’m sorry,” she said. Had he missed her? She flinched away from the foolish thought and let him go.

“But,” she said, “all my time was spent on you.”

“Odd. I didn’t even notice you around.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek just to have another chance to touch him. “Your plans for the brewery, silly. I’ve been working on them day and night, and I wanted to show them to you right after class. Oh, I’ve been so excited, Jamie. I didn’t realize until I started just how much work you’d already done. All those napkins add up.”

He offered a brief smile at her joke, but nothing more.

“You’re not honestly angry, are you?”

Jamie sighed. “No, of course not. I’m just tired.”

“You’re too tired to look, then?” She tried not to sound crushingly disappointed.

“Tonight?” He cringed a little, so she kept her expression neutral as she nodded. “Sure,” he finally said. “But is there something I can steal from your fridge for dinner first?”

“Of course.” She started to turn away, but changed her mind. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing. Just another argument with my brother.”

“I’m sorry.”

He managed a more sincere smile this time. “I’m fine. Just hungry and tired.”

“I can make you a salad and a chicken sandwich.”

“How about if you just put the lettuce on the sandwich and we call it good?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “You’re such a boy.”

“I’m glad you noticed.”

He seemed easier then. Lighter. Olivia found herself smiling as she made him a sandwich with extra lettuce and sat down at her small table to watch him eat.

“You don’t have to look at the plans tonight. Let’s just go to bed. I mean…if you were planning on staying.”

“No,” he said and her heart shook. “I mean, yes, I was hoping to stay. But no, I’m not so tired that you need to tuck me in. Not right away.”

Thank God. Now that she’d finally come up for air, she wanted him close. Wanted his hands on her. If he was too tired, she didn’t know how she’d survive it.