The Love Lottery. Shirley Jump

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СКАЧАТЬ she said.

      He pretended to think that over, when in fact, he’d had a plan in mind before he even showed up. Sophie Watson had been driving him crazy for weeks. It was time for a little turnaround. Maybe then she’d get off his back and let him have a little peace. He had a radio station to run, a brother to worry about. He didn’t need the distraction of a sassy barista with a thorn in her thumb she’d named Harlan. “I’ve rethought your offer of rent.”

      “You have?”

      “I’d be mighty pleased to rent these chairs to you. I’m sure we can work out an equitable deal.”

      “If it’s money you want—”

      “Nope. Just a drink and the pleasure of your company.” He tossed her a grin, to show her he wasn’t all bad. And just because he could see in her face how much it drove her crazy when he teased her. Oh, this was going to be fun. By the time he was done, she’d be marching those chairs back to his front porch and staying out of his way for good.

      And in the meantime, he’d have a hell of a story to tell his radio listeners. A win-win all around.

      She considered his words for a moment, a parade of emotions dancing across her delicate features. “I’d say that’s a fair offer, Mr. Jones.” She turned toward the shop. “I’ll go get you a cup of coffee.”

      He popped forward, the hat slipping back on his head and exposing his eyes. “I’d say it is, except I don’t drink coffee.”

      “Everyone drinks coffee,” Sophie said.

      “Apparently not, Miss Meyers.”

      She let out a long breath. “What do you drink?”

      He grinned. “I’m a tea man. Get me a good cup of Earl Grey and I’m all yours.”

      Her gaze filled with skepticism. “You don’t look like a tea man.”

      “Appearances can be deceiving, Miss Watson. I might even be a nice guy and here you’re thinking I’m the devil in cowboy boots.” He tipped back in the chair, crossed his feet at the ankles—exposing said boots— and crossed his arms over his chest. Tenon let out a sigh and sprawled at his feet.

      “Oh, I don’t think it, Mr. Jones,” Sophie said as she turned toward the door of the shop. “I know you are.”

      “That man is the most annoying human being on this planet,” Sophie fumed as she readied the hot water and tea bag for Harlan Jones. This was the last thing she needed. She already had a business to run, a fundraiser to head and a grandmother to worry about. She didn’t need to add Harlan Jones to the mix.

      “I think he’s pretty cute for being so annoying,” Lulu said. “He’s got that cowboy butt and those big brown eyes and—”

      “I’ve seen his butt and his eyes and I am unimpressed.”

      “You are full of beans, Sophie.”

      “No, I’m not.” The hot water spigot hissed steam as she turned the knob. She dropped a tea bag into the mug, placed it on a saucer, and then loaded that on a tray, along with a tiny pitcher of milk, and some sugar. She debated adding honey, then decided a man like Harlan Jones probably didn’t like something that sweet.

      Lulu raised a brow at her. “You’ve been over to that man’s house seven times in the past month.”

      “I have had my issues with him as a neighbor and dog owner, that’s why. And because I like his chairs.”

      “You like what he puts in his chairs.”

      “I’m not attracted to him.”

      “Uh-huh.”

      “He drives me crazy. Him and his damned dogs. Don’t you remember what those terrors did to the steaks I had on the grill last weekend?”

      Lulu laughed. “I never seen a dog run so fast.”

      “They were like a band of thieves. One starts digging up my lilacs—serving as the distraction, I’m sure—while the other jumps on the grill, yanks those steaks right off the barbecue. They were gone before I could do a thing. I had to serve everyone grilled cheese.” She shook her head. “I bet he trains them to be bad.”

      Lulu laughed. “They’re dogs who spied an opportunity and took it.”

      “That opportunity happened to be dinner. Yours and mine and everyone else’s.”

      Lulu shrugged. “So give them a biscuit the next time you see them and maybe then they’ll leave your lilacs alone.”

      Sophie snorted. “Those dogs would probably bite off my hand. I like dogs, but Harlan Jones’s dogs aren’t ordinary dogs. They’re … golden-coated monsters.” Not to mention, they were huge. The only dogs Sophie had ever spent a lot of time around had been her mother’s dachshunds. Energetic, but small, and eager to please. The two Goldens were big and looked ready to topple her at any moment. She’d heard that breed was supposed to be friendly and smart, but Harlan’s dogs were rambunctious giants who never listened to her.

      “Okay, so you don’t like the man’s dogs,” Lulu said. “What about his voice? You can’t tell me you don’t like that sexy drawl lighting up your mornings.”

      “I don’t listen to him anymore. You know that.”

      “I thought he was pretty funny.”

      Sophie shot Lulu a glare. “He was making fun of me.”

      Thank God he hadn’t heard the story of her breakup. It was bad enough that he recounted their every neighborhood argument on his radio show. If he got wind of the public demise of her relationship last year, Sophie could just imagine how long he’d milk that particular joke. She had no desire to be back under the media spotlight again. She’d be perfectly happy doing her job every day and not worrying about nosy reporters. “Harlan Jones doesn’t care about anything but his ratings.”

      “Oh, lighten up, Sophie. That man could make fun of me anytime, long as he used that drawl when he did it. He’s like a piece of candy in your ear.”

      “Which only makes you deaf. Honest, I don’t see his appeal.” In the weeks he had been in Edgerton Shores, Harlan Jones had seemed to convert every local resident into a WFFM fan. Women stopped him on the street just to hear him speak and men dropped by his yard to ask him what he thought of the Marlins or the Dolphins that season.

      Every resident but Sophie.

      She’d come inside to escape him, but it seemed it was impossible to do that. When Harlan wasn’t on the radio, he was on the tip of people’s tongues, or worse, he was here. And thus a topic of conversation.

      Okay, so he had a nice smile. And a sexy drawl. Didn’t mean he was the kind of guy she wanted, or needed, in her life. He was the antithesis of what she was looking for.

      “Women on the moon could see that cowboy’s appeal,” Lulu said, clearly not convinced.

      “I can’t see why. I mean, I don’t even call him СКАЧАТЬ