He sighed deeply, wondering why he’d even brought any of this up. She chose that moment to smile at him again, batting those lush, dark lashes of hers, and Michael was lost. At that moment, he’d pretty much offer himself up on a silver platter if she’d wanted.
God, I’m so fucked.
“There’s a resident who has a personal interest in me she hasn’t been the least bit shy about voicing. She’s won for the last couple of years. Every time, she uses the dates as an opportunity to make our association more than platonic.”
She nodded. “So, she’s pushing up and you’re not interested. Why? She not your type?”
He searched his head for the right words. There wasn’t anything wrong with Amanda Sayers. She was the epitome of the white American standard of beauty with a slim frame, long blond curls, and blue eyes. That standard often excluded anyone who didn’t possess those features. That wasn’t Amanda’s fault per se. He didn’t hold that against her. However, the fact that she’d proven over and over again that she thought those looks made her special, superior, that was all on her. Her being a social climber didn’t help endear her to him either. Everyone who knew her understood her only goal was hooking up with one of the top officials in the town. With the mayor and fire chief married, that meant she firmly placed her target on Michael’s back.
“Amanda’s fine,” he responded. “I don’t make it a habit of dating locals. I’m the sheriff. Much of my life is very public in this town. I just feel whom I choose to keep time with shouldn’t be up for public consumption.”
“And yet you let your best friend believe I was your date last night. That doesn’t seem like you cared all that much about folks knowing your business.”
She had him there. But he wouldn’t give in that easily. “Are you upset that I led him to believe we were dating?”
She lifted a brow, adding that cocky grin of hers that was fast becoming an addiction for him.
“Great job at deflection, but no.” She pointed a finger at him. “I wasn’t upset. Not after hearing about your Amanda troubles, anyway. I’m just wondering now if you didn’t let that slip intentionally to allow you to use me as your beard to keep her off your back.”
He cocked his head to the side as he thought about her assumption. “Actually, I hadn’t thought about the possibility. If you’re up for it, though, I wouldn’t turn the offer down.”
“How’s that gonna work out?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be working during the festival?”
“Not technically,” he replied. “As the sheriff, I can’t leave thetown with such a huge event going on. Anything could happen. Yet since I’m actually participating by helping my sister out with her booth, I’m there to keep watch, anyway.”
“I thought you told your sister you couldn’t watch the shop while she’s away.”
“I can’t,” he responded. “I’d already arranged my schedule so I’d be free to help her during the festival. I’m due back to work the day after the festival ends, though. I can’t just disappear without notice. I won’t do that to my chief deputies.”
An appreciative smile graced her lips before she stood up from her perch on the counter. “You’re really as good of a guy as Janae made you out to be, huh?”
“Don’t know,” he groaned, letting a slight bit of annoyed tension slip into the air. “I have no idea what Janae told you. Knowing her, I’m not sure I want to know either.”
She laughed and her entire face lit up, making her almost too beautiful to look at. When he realized he was staring well past the time that was appropriate, he pulled his eyes away and focused on an invisible speck of dust on the counter.
“She sang your praises,” she answered. “Gave me the impression you took your job seriously and were a decent guy.”
He lifted his gaze to find her sliding an appreciate look down his torso. And more than ever, he wanted to puff his chest out and preen.
“I don’t know, though.” She stuck her tongue in her jaw as her appraisal continued. “I’m kinda wondering why such a good guy would try to sidestep the advances of a woman he admits is beautiful.”
He didn’t know what came over him, except the fact that his common sense exited and his ego stepped up front and center. He came from around the counter, meeting her on the other side, standing as close to her as he could.
To her credit, she wasn’t the least bit put off by his proximity as she leaned into him.
“The thing that makes me good at my job is that I love putting puzzle pieces together to figure out what makes people tick. Once I put all the parts together, I can figure out what motivates folks to do some of the drastic things they do.”
He lifted his hand, slowly pushing the sleek strands of her hair behind her ear, letting his thumb settle at the edge of her jaw.
“Call me old-fashioned.” His voice was a low rumble he almost didn’t recognize. “But I like to do the chasing when I’m interested in a woman.”
She lifted a skeptical brow as they continued their stare-off. “So, you’re not into strong, independent women who know their own minds? You need a docile woman to make yourself feel like a big man?”
“I want nothing less than a strong, independent woman who knows her own mind.” He paused a moment to let his words settle in. “Only I want to put all the pieces together and figure out what she wants before I make a move. I want her to know her worth and make me chase her like the queen she knows she is. I want her to make me work for it. Where’s the fun in having you if I didn’t have to actually put in any work to get you?”
It didn’t escape him that his pronouns for this imaginary woman had switched from third person to second in the span of a few words. He wasn’t even sorry enough to explain he was speaking in generalities to try to cover it up. They both knew he wasn’t, so what was the point? Fire flashed in her eyes, and as sure as he knew his own name, he recognized it for what it was: desire.
He leaned in, noting how bad an idea this was as he did. Then again, watching her lean in as well, he didn’t give a good goddamn. Her plush mouth was slightly parted and he could feel the drum of her pulse beat faster and harder at her neck. Bad idea or not, there was no way in hell he was giving up the chance to know how that mouth would feel against his.
