“Sure, see you there.”
Vanessa watched Michael as he backed up to the door and walked outside. Through the storefront glass, she could see him walk under the ten-by-ten tent they’d set up earlier.
He’d turned around to look at her, but a patron passing on the street stepped in front of him and pulled his attention away. She shook her head, trying to gather her composure. She might not look a mess on the outside; inside, though, everything was quivering.
Everything.
This man with his wicked smile and do-me body did things to her she couldn’t quite explain. And even though she couldn’t understand how he did them, she knew she liked it. Every single thing.
She. Liked. It.
She laughed quietly, slightly amused and a little bit scared by whatever was happening between them. She hadn’t felt like this in… ever, if she was honest.
She’d been so young when she’d met Karl. Yes, she’d dated other young men. That detail didn’t erase the fact that she was still trying to figure out what being an adult meant when she bound her life to her ex-husband’s. Yet with this, this thing with Michael, there wereno promises. This was just about fun. And since Michael seemed game to play a bit, she reckoned it was only right she did the same.
She found the nearby order pad and scribbled out a very personal order of the festival arrangements. When she finished with it, she put it in the to-be-delivered envelope Michael had shown her earlier, then removed her credit card from her wallet and made the purchase.
Whatever this was, it made her feel giddy and light. And as long as she was stuck in Mayberry, she was determined to enjoy whatever time she had with Michael to the fullest.
“Hold on there, Vanessa.” She smiled at the happy reflection she saw in the glass doors of the refrigerated display case. “If you keep it up, you might just stumble onto a good time.”
And she didn’t feel the least bit bad about that.
“So, how was sleeping with the sheriff?”
Vanessa nearly dropped the strawberry milkshake in her hand. Good reflexes kept her drink upright before she looked up to find both Janae’s and Cree’s eyes locked on her.
“Come again?”
“I believe that’s what we’re trying to find out,” Cree said with a squeal, amused by her own joke.
“I slept in Michael’s guest room.” Janae opened her mouth to say something else, but Vanessa raised a hand to silence her. “And he slept in his bedroom. I just met this man. Why would you think I’d sleep with him?”
“Because he’s fine as hell,” Cree answered, and she and Janae burst into a fit of giggles again.
“I swear I’m the only adult at this table.”
Janae shrugged. “Stop it. Just because you like to pretend like you’re above a little fun doesn’t mean you don’t recognize a good thing when you see it.”
Janae was right. It didn’t matter how much she loved rules andorder, there was no way she could ignore the fact that Michael was definitely tempting.
“The two of you have known him all your lives. Why haven’t either of you jumped on him if he’s so irresistible?”
They both furrowed their brows as if Vanessa had just said something incomprehensible.
“Michael is like a brother to us,” Cree said with just enough “eww” coloring her voice to indicate Vanessa’s suggestion was ludicrous.
“Speak for yourself,” Janae continued. “I don’t see Michael as a brother. But he’s always been a really good friend to me. Trying to hook up with him now would be weird.”
“And you’re suggesting it wouldn’t for me, a total stranger, to sleep with him after meeting him twice?”
Janae shrugged as she dipped a fry in a dollop of ketchup. “Listen, after meeting us once, you bonded with us. And look how great that turned out. Maybe hooking up with Michael might work out even better.”
Before that panty-melting kiss in the flower shop, Vanessa would’ve called bullshit on Janae’s reasoning. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Because if he’d pushed for more than that kiss, she didn’t have a doubt in her head she’d have willingly gone along with it. Fortunately, her girlfriends didn’t need to know that.
“He’s attractive.” She kept her eyes focused on the fries and bacon cheeseburger in the basket in front of her. “It’s not like I’ve never seen attractive men before, though. And let’s not forget why I’m here in the first place. I’m about to blow up his sister’s life. That’s not exactly a great way to flirt.”
They both nodded in sync and relief washed over Vanessa. Whatever this thing was between her and Michael wasn’t anywhere near the stage where she could discuss it openly with anyone yet. No need to let these two in. Not when that kiss might be the only thing that ever came of it.
