“We weren’t?”
She shook her head. “I want to know about your move to politics. Was that ordained, too?”
“Nah.” Matt shook his head. “Not every Gauthier man has gone into politics.” He gestured to his law office. “My grandfather worked in that building over there until his cardiologist forced him to retire. And my uncle Cleveland, he was never bitten by the politics bug. Although he died of cancer in his early fifties, so he might have run for office if he’d been here long enough.”
“What made you decide to run?”
“Hey, I thought the purpose of this tour was for you to learn more about Gauthier, the town?”
“It is, but I’m finding talk of this Gauthier man equally as fascinating.”
“Well, that’s encouraging,” Matt said with a sly grin. “You know, if we went on adatedate, you’ll learn even more.”
Tamryn rolled her eyes.
They entered Heritage Park through the front entrance, walking under the vine-covered arch that curved across the brick-laid walkway. Tamryn headed for the activity on the right side of the park, where the tents and stage were being set up, but Matt caught her arm.
“Not that way,” he said. “That’s in Carmen’s Do Not Enter territory. I was threatened bodily harm if I’m caught pestering the workers.”
Tamryn’s head flew back with a laugh. “I’m starting to suspect that you’re a bit intimidated by your office manager.”
“I’m terrified of my office manager,” he said. “Terrified that I’ll lose her, that is. I do whatever it takes to make her happy.” He tugged her wrist. “Why don’t we go this way? The flowers along the arbor are in bloom. This is probably the best time of the year to visit Heritage Park.”
They traveled in the opposite direction. The noise from the rally setup steadily decreased as they ventured to the other side of the park.
Matt watched Tamryn as she walked along the path of towering oak trees, their arching branches bending to the will of the breeze. She trailed her fingers along the petals of the bright pink azaleas. When she turned and looked at him over her shoulder—a slight, sexy smile tilting her lips—Matt’s breath stuttered out of his lungs.
Lord, she was beautiful. Her thick black hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, which were left bare due to the lightweight halter-style dress she wore. The colorful material flowed all the way down to her ankles, but despite the fact that so much skin was covered up, it was still one of the sexiest looks he’d ever seen on a woman. Matt walked toward her, staying a few steps behind so that he could study the way her hips swayed as she walked.
“This is beautiful,” she said, cupping a camellia in her fingers.
“I agree,” he said, his eyes trained on her. “Beautiful.”
Her soft brown cheeks reddened. “You really do have that charming Southern gentleman thing down to a science, you know that?”
“Some people make it very easy,” he said. “But I already told you that being a Southern gentleman is far from my mind when I’m around you.”
She stepped up to him, stopping about a foot in front of him. Her eyes locked with his, amusement gleaming within their warm brown depths. “Do I really inspire ungentlemanly thoughts in you?”
“You have no idea,” Matt pushed out with an uneasy breath.
“I have a hard time believing this charming guy is the same person who spent so much of the past six months dodging me.”
“I’m starting to regret that,” he said.
“You are, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.” Matt nodded. “It puts me at a disadvantage. I fear I’m having to work a lot harder than I would have if only I had been more…accommodating.”
“And what is it exactly that you’re working toward again?”
He stepped up to her, so close he could smell her soft lavender scent. “I doubt it’s hard for that brilliant mind of yours to figure out what it is I want.”
As he’d anticipated, those cheeks became even redder. God, she was gorgeous.
“Now I see how you’ve been driving the single women of Gauthier crazy,” Tamryn said.
“Not true,” he returned. “But now I’m curious. What is it about me that you think would be so appealing to the single women of Gauthier?”
