He smiled. It was obvious she was trying to make him feel better by distracting him from his pain by making him talk about the joy his parents brought him instead.
“The Korean language and my sense of duty.” He watched for her reaction. Would she mock him, or worse, suspect him of lying to her? He needn’t have braced for the worst. Her soft smile warmed him from the inside out.
“My parents didn’t demand strict adherence to Korean customs in our house. It’s been nearly a century since my great-grandparents migrated to the United States just before the passing of the Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924. By the time we came along, the Parks had been very Americanized save for two things: the Korean language, and the hierarchal nature of Korean culture.”
His parents had insisted he and Cindy be both fluent and literate in Korean, a fact he was grateful for now that they were gone. Back then, it was just the norm, the language he spoke at home or when visiting extended family and his parents’ Korean friends, or when he spoke to Korean vendors in town. But now that they were gone, whenever he spoke the language, it was almost like receiving a hug from them, reminding him he was loved. “Although I don’t get to speak our language as often since they’ve passed, it’s still very important to me. Korean, their belief that duty came before everything else, and this store are all a big part of my life.”
The soft smile on her lips called to him, pulling at something he wasn’t quite ready to relinquish yet.
“In lieu of selling it, I hired two employees to handle the business during the week and Cindy and I worked here on the weekends. When she graduated college, she took it over.”
She walked over to the case full of white roses, her fingers touching the glass as she gazed at them.
“I understand the need to hold on to things from our loved ones. That engagement ring was the thing my grandmother was most proud of. My grandad’s family were jewelers. Even though he preferred numbers to carats, when he was ready to propose, he put down his accounting ledger for a bit and had his father help him make a ring he thought was a perfect representation of her. She absolutely loved it, and her love for him shone in her eyes every time she looked at it.”
She turned around to face him with a sad smile tilting her lips. “You did a good thing by keeping this place running, keeping your parents’ legacy alive.”
Silence passed between them for a long pause. He watched her fidget from one foot to the other, as if the quiet was too much for her to handle. She cleared her throat and spoke. “So, what are we doing here today?”
“The shop is integral in the festival. We sell specialty arrangements. And with each purchase, customers earn a chance to bidat our civil service singles auction. It’s a big-deal gala we hold every year.”
Her eyes widened, and he could see a spark of amusement fill them. “A singles auction? That sounds fun.”
He groaned. “Trust me, it’s not. Well, not for those of us forced to participate.”
She furrowed her brows and narrowed her gaze. “Forced? By whom?”
“The mayor,” he huffed. “Every single civil service worker is encouraged to take part. It’s a community fundraising effort for the town’s college fund. With it, we’re able to send a handful of local kids to Monroe Hills University on full scholarships.”
The amusement left her and a softness he couldn’t explain caressed her features. Still learning her, he could tell something he’d said intrigued her enough to make her move closer to him as they continued their conversation.
“That’s admirable,” she replied, and stepped farther into his personal space. Her nearness was doing strange things to him. His heart rate ticked up a beat, his skin prickled, and his fingers rubbed together on their own as he fought to keep from running them through her sleek bob.
“How does the mayor entice his workers to participate?”
Her voice was playful and sultry, and it made him wonder how much richer it would be in the throes of passion. Since he wasn’t a total idiot, he swallowed down the impulse to find out instead.
“He offers comp time, which usually gets folks to volunteer. For those of us who report directly to the mayor, though, there’s really no choice. We represent his office, so we have to show up.”
“In other words, you absolutely hate it, but you have no choice because of your job?”
Her keen wit made him chuckle. Her assumption wasn’t wrong. He’d much rather donate directly to the college fund, which he did in addition to participating in the auction. Standing on that stageevery year parading around in a tux made him feel ridiculous. Fortunately, he loved his town and the kids in it. So he sucked it up and did what he needed to do for a good cause. No need to bitch and moan too badly about it.
“I’m really intrigued by this. How’s it all work out?”
“The winners get a date with the single person they bid on,” he answered.
A broad smile curved her lips, revealing mischief with a tad of wickedness mixed in.
“And let me guess, the town’s favorite sheriff usually brings in the highest bids every year? I bet all the single folks in this town jump at a chance to spend a little time in your company.”
She was laughing at him now, and he couldn’t quite decide if he was offended or amused at this point. To give himself time to consider which, he moved away from her and stepped behind the counter to set up for the day.
“I do, all right. And the dates are pretty harmless except for when they’re not.”
She followed him, standing on the customer side of the counter as she leaned on it, placing her elbows on top of it and her chin in the palm of her hands.
“Oh, do tell, Sheriff.”
