On the Shore Excerpt

“You ready to drop the no-dating-professional-athlete’s rule?” I said, nipping at her lips.
Her eyes widened. “You don’t even date often; why are you asking that?”
“Because I want to date you.”
Her eyebrows narrowed, and she shook her head. “Don’t say that, Lincoln. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
She pushed me back and hopped off the counter, moving to her plate of pie and taking a bite as if this were all a big joke.
“Hey.” I locked my gaze with hers. “I don’t say things that I don’t mean. I’d think you’d know that by now.”
“Let’s see, you haven’t dated in quite a while. You can’t stand me most of the time, and we work together. Oh… and you’re moving across the country. To you, I’m just some small-town smoke show.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
I barked out a laugh. “Well, you are hot, and you did grow up in a small town, so if that makes you a small-town smoke show, so fucking be it. But that’s not the reason that I want to date you.”
“You just want to date me because you’re probably horny and you’re stuck here in Cottonwood Cove.”
The fucking nerve of this woman.
She took another bite of pie and raised her brow at me like I was the crazy one.
I forked some pie, tipped the utensil back, and flung it at her. A chunk of apple and some sort of crumbly shit landed on her cheek, and she gasped.
Now it was my turn to laugh. I hadn’t expected to aim so well, but damn, it served her fucking right.
I was as offended for her as I was for myself. First, her accusing me of not knowing what I want and then her saying that I’m only interested in her because she’s the only thing here in Cottonwood Cove.
What the fuck was her deal?