“Yeah.” I take a bite of my now cool alfredo. “That’s kind of what happens when you’re born and raised in asmall town, and you don’t get caught streaking by someone’s Nan.”
“Does that mean you’ve gone streaking?” I swear, ice-green eyes twinkle.
“And skinny-dipping.” I lick my lips under the heat of his gaze to catch a dribble of sauce. “If you ever manage to loosen up a bit, I highly recommend it. It’s incredibly freeing. Probably one of the most freeing things I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing. Aside from jumping off the cliff, that is.”
“Mmm.”
I fight my grin. “Not exactly the wifey material you’re looking for, eh?”
My grin falters under the shock of his smirk. I want to squirm. My ovaries feel tickled pink under the sex appeal that positively radiates from the man. Then he cuts a strip from his steak and slides the whole piece into his mouth.
He chews, swallows, says, “You’re exactly what I’m looking for, Lilah.”
He cuts another strip. For all his cool composure and by-the-book ways, the man eats like a caveman. I kind of love it. And I don’t love that I do.
His next words snag my attention from the somewhat brutish and yet alarmingly attractive way he eats. “It’s the way this town loves you. The way they talk about you, that makes me want you.”
I bristle, but just slightly. “You’re going to have to explain that.”
“Consider the petition to get me out of Sunset Falls?—”
“I’ve already told you that means nothing,” I cut him off.
“It means quite a lot, actually. It means that what I’m doing here will continuously be met with resistance. Legal and illegal resistance. People will undoubtedly vandalize, and I will respond as is due with legal repercussions I would much prefer to avoid.”
His eyes drill into my own, imploring me to understand in that cold way he has. The way that feels iced over with a layer of protection I’m beginning to think has nothing to do with who he is, but rather the protection he feels he needs. The man is a curiosity I have to admit I want to study. To unravel. To explore…
I drop my elbow to the table, chin in my hand. “You’re saying you want me to be a buffer between your business and the town.”
“Essentially, yes.”
I chuff a laugh. His eyes fall to my lips.
I ignore the buttery slip and slide that is the quickening of my heart and mutter, “I’m not sure your little plan will be as successful as you think.”
“I don’t make decisions based on a hunch, Lilah. I don’t do business based on maybes. I analyze the data, take every projection and failure into account, and weigh the gains versus the risk. As I’ve weighed the risk and reward of Fire Falls Ranch and Resort, and Fire Falls Estates, I have weighed the risk andreward of naming you, Sunset Falls’ favorite, as my wife.”
I squint at him, looking for cracks in his perfect composure. No surprise, I don’t find any. “You’re serious. You’re actually serious.”
“I very rarely joke.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” I mutter. I shake my head, blow out a breath, and suck back on my wine. “In your analysis of risk and reward in marrying me, tell me why the pros outweigh the cons, because I know there are cons.”
“There are most assuredly cons.”
I roll my eyes at his quip and the teasing lip-twitch that follows. The man is an enigma I’m not sure my tenacious self is equipped to decode. Still, as I mentioned I am quite tenacious, so I’ll undoubtedly try.
“Briggs,” I warn.
He laughs, smooth and rich and a little disconnected. A little cool. Like him. “The pros: you’re beautiful, easy to look at, nice tits.”
My jaw pops open.I can’t believe he said that.
My face heats with outrage or something far, far worse. I realizeI wantthe man to be attracted to me. I just don’t know why I’d want a crazy thing like that.
Briggs laughs, far warmer and more real this time. It’s utterly captivating.
He leans into the table as though he’s going to share a big secret with me. “That, little lunatic,” hepoints a finger at the blush that scalds my face, “is my version of payback for the jump.”
