"Ah, Benjamin, good fellow. Well, good, good. If you're not happy with anything or find out about other pests, I'm happy to come back and sort you out."
"I'm sorry, come back? Did Turner Richard hire you?"
"Oh no. That one is a sly one. The sheriff called me in the middle of the night, told me to get everything out of the house, and gave us a few hours to do it."
"The sheriff? Sheriff Smith?"
"Oh dear. I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to say anything. Anyway, good day."
"Wait, how much do I owe you, Peter, for the pest control?"
"Oh, the sheriff took care of it. Crap. He told me not to spill my mouth, and I kind of did exactly that."
Peter sighs and chews his lip.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's all good. You have a good day, Peter's Pest Control."
I digest this latest information right there in the produce section, and now I really can't stop smiling.
I pay for my groceries, and lo and behold, who do I run into on the sidewalk? My God, the man is so handsome I want to tackle him to the ground and have my way with him. I set my bags down on a bench and close the distance between us, my breath labored and my body going into overdrive as he strips me of my summer dress with his gaze alone.
"Why did you arrest me that night?" I ask immediately, throwing him off because I love doing that.
"You broke the law." His frown deepens, making him even sexier.
"You wouldn't have arrested anyone else in that situation. So why me?"
"I was doing my job. What's this about?"
"Hmm... I had a very interesting conversation with Peter from Peter's Pest Control—"
He grabs me before I can say anything further and crushes his mouth to mine, kissing me senseless right there for everyone to see.
"Oh no, you don't try to distract me like that," I say, pushing him away and meeting a concrete wall that emits intense heat instead.
"You knew there were things living in that house, and you didn't want me to see them because you deduced, I really don't like anything that moves on four legs. So you arrested me."
"I arrested you and put you in a goddamn cell because if I took you home with me, and you gave me the slightest bit of encouragement, Marlowe, I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off you," he says roughly into my ear. Butterflies flutter in my stomach.
"Oh, you like me, Sheriff Smith, you really truly like me," I tease, deliriously happy.
"I more than like you, Marlowe Evans. I fucking love—"
"Woohoo, oh woohoo, Sheriff Smith! We're so glad we caught up with you. You've been avoiding us, you naughty boy."
I barely register Polly Anne and Maggie Jane sliding up to the sheriff, bumping into him bosom first. My gaze is locked with his.
I can't breathe. Heat rises to my skin. My world ignites, and the axis under my feet spins me into another dimension. Zephyr's gaze remains locked with mine, drawing me into the dark forest green of his eyes.
The sisters are telling him something about their cat caught between the bars of the railing in their house, and they were just on their way to the fire station, but since they bumped into him, can he be their hero and rescue them all, including their cat, as they try to drag him away?
"Marlowe, Marlowe, there you are." In a daze, two sets of hands pull me along. It's my book club girls. I vaguely remember we had a tea date to pick our next book to read. I nod distractedly when Hollyn asks if the bags on her bench are mine before she grabs them for me.
In the echoes of my mind, I also hear them greeting the sheriff before we're both pulled away from each other, but we don't lose our visual connection—not until it becomes impossible to maintain.
"Marlowe," Zoe says with concern in her voice. "You okay?"
"Yes," I croak, then try again with a smile on my face. "Yes. Let's do this," I add with more enthusiasm, but my heart won't stop thudding against my chest, and it takes a herculean effort to act normal.
