“I wasn’t expecting you to apologize. In fact,” she said, closing the distance between them, “I won’t be all that upset if you make tomorrow’s run even more difficult.”
Matt waited for the shiver to rush through him before he attempted to speak again. “You’re trying to get me to embarrass myself in front of all these people, aren’t you?”
“And just how would I do that?”
“Wait a minute and look south. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Her eyes darted to the front of his rayon basketball shorts, which were loose but not nearly baggy enough to hide the hard-on that was minutes from making its presence known if he didn’t get a handle on his overcharged libido.
Being in such close proximity to Tamryn wasn’t helping, but walking away from her was beyond his current capabilities. He wanted to grab her and kiss the smile right off her face. Dropping her off at Belle Maison this morning had been harder than he could have ever imagined.
Matt had spent the majority of the ensuing hours unable to think about anything but her lips, and hips, and those delectable thighs. He could feel them wrapping around his waist. If he closed his eyes, he could see the tiny ankh symbol that had surprised the hell out of him when he discovered it high on her hip. The professor was full of little surprises, and he was having more fun than he ever thought possible uncovering them.
Only one thought dampened his mood—knowing that he had the diary she was still desperately searching for. For the briefest moment last night he’d considered taking it out of the safe in his family library, but quickly disregarded the idea. He had too much to lose if the secrets within those pages ever came to light.
Instead, he’d remained in bed snuggled against Tamryn’s soft warmth. He knew he was being selfish, but he wanted to put all of the lies of omission out of his mind and just enjoy his time with her.
After dropping her off at Belle Maison this morning, he’d come straight here to help Carmen and the volunteers she’d secured get ready for the race. They’d set up several water stations along the 3.1-mile course that wound through downtown Gauthier and several of the residential streets before ending at the waterwheel in Heritage Park.
He and Tamryn headed for the base of Main Street, where volunteers were instructing participants on how to line up for the 5K.
“Remember, runners in the front, walkers in the back,” Isaiah Ryder, the track coach at Gauthier High School, called to the crowd.
“Are you running or walking?” Tamryn asked, widening her stance and stretching her arm over to one side.
“I usually run it, but after last night, I don’t know,” Matt said. “I think my body needs a little recuperation time.”
“Shh,” she hissed, her eyes darting from side to side. “You’re too loud.”
“Do you realize how cute you are when you’re blushing?” he said, swooping in for a kiss.
Tamryn swatted him away before his lips could make contact, and pointed just over his shoulder. Matt twisted around and discovered that they were the main event. About a dozen pairs of eyes were watching unabashedly. Several of the ladies, most of them members of the Gauthier Civic Association, gave them the thumbs-up sign, and they all had broad smiles on their faces.
“Oh, great.” Matt snorted. “By the afternoon we’ll be engaged and you’ll be picking out wedding china.”
Tamryn’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “I just love this small town.”
He snorted again.
Several minutes later, the group of nearly two hundred runners, which was mostly made up of kids from the middle and high schools, were lined up and ready to go. Coach Ryder shot blanks into the air, signaling the start of the race.
Matt set out on an easy jog in the center of the pack. After the first mile, he told Tamryn that he wanted to go to the back to see how the older residents who were walking the route were doing. She jogged alongside him, keeping pace. A sexy sheen coated her body, making him itch with the need to run his hands all over her.
Matt sucked in a deep breath, willing his body to calm down. If he had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting through today without showing all of Gauthier just what was on his mind right now, he would have to pull himself together.
Tamryn joined him in manning the race, jogging back and forth several times, until Eloise Dubois—accompanied by her daughter Maureen, granddaughter Mya, and great-granddaughter Kamri—made it to the waterwheel in Heritage Park, an hour and a half after the start of the run.
Over the years, the celebration after the 5K had grown into an event in its own right. There were games for the kids, along with myriad snacks for runners and spectators.
Matt was handing out bottles of Gatorade donated by Cannon’s Dry Cleaners when Corey Anderson, the pride of the Gauthier Fighting Lions baseball team, who’d had a short career in the Major Leagues before returning to coach at the high school, walked up to him. His baby girl was fast asleep in his arms.
“How’s it going, Matt?” Corey asked.
“Pretty good, don’t you think?” Matt answered. “The turnout was even better than I anticipated.”
“If there’s one thing you can count on from the people of Gauthier, it’s supporting the cause,” Corey said. “It’s what makes living here so special.”
“I hear you. Thanks for getting your baseball players involved.”
