“We’ll be caught. You know this town. Everyone’s out and about, gossiping about this or that.”
“But me coming over to your office and staying for less than an hour will look totally natural. I’m the mayor and you’re my legal eagle. Hell, if we hadn’t been avoiding each other like the plague these past weeks, I would’ve been stopping by your office all the time. We weren’t speaking so I chose to text and email.”
She steepled her hands again. “I still say we’ll get tripped up.”
“I’ll bring props with me. I’ll carry that briefcase I never use. If I meet anyone coming or going, I’ll reference some legal issue.”
“Like what?”
“The road project. Environmental concerns if they need to do any blasting.”
She focused on a point over his left shoulder for a few seconds. Then she met his gaze. “Look, I’m not saying yes to this outlandish idea, but if I temporarily lose my mind and agree to it, how many days are we talking about?”
His breath caught. She was considering it. “This week and next. Weekdays only.”
“That’s too long.”
Should he push? No. “A week, then. Not even a whole week. Five days, through this Friday.”
“Valentine’s Day.”
“I know. Not the ideal day to call a halt. That’s another reason to go for two weeks.”
“I can ignore Valentine’s Day.”
“Me, too.” He could ignore a herd of elk stampeding through town if she’d agree to this new plan.
“What do you hope to accomplish?”
“It’ll give us time for the novelty to wear off. You know that old expressionthe honeymoon’s over?Most honeymoons don’t last beyond two weeks, which is why I suggested?—”
“Not happening.”
“Then I hope five days will do the trick.”
“Six counting tonight.”
“Six. I guarantee we’ll need them all. We’re looking for humdrum, which we might achieve doing it every day for five days, but ten would be a lot better.”
“Forget that. I will not have you popping in and out of my office two weeks in a row.”
“But you’d go for one week?” He held his breath.
“I need to think about it.”
“That’s better than a no.” He started eating again. ‘Thanks for bringing the stew. It’s good.”
“My dad’s recipe.” She tucked into hers. “I figured you’d like it.”
“It’s great.” But he didn’t want to linger. The bed by the fire was calling to him. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could return to it.
“What if six days isn’t enough? What if we still want to?—”
“By then you’ll see how well it works and I’ll try to talk you into five more days.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re determined to get that second week.”
He smiled. “Persistence is my superpower.”
