“It’s baffling that you still have school with six inches of snow on the ground,” Gia says as she brings me her coffee cup.
“If school was canceled every time it snowed, they’d never go in the wintertime,” I tease her.
“Fair. Thank you for the coffee.” She’s standing next to me at the sink, her hip leaning against the counter. Memories of her mouth against mine flash through my head at a rapidrate. Her plush lips look just as kissable now as they did that night.
Why the hell does she have this effect on me?
What is it about her that makes my heart race and my blood pump thick through my body?
The barstools scraping across the floor make me jump. I turn away from Gia as if I got caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.
The girls stomp upstairs, giggling with each other the whole way up.
“You do not have to take me to lunch today. I’d also say I don’t have to go to the book fair either, but I don’t want to disappoint the girls.”
“And they would be disappointed for sure. I don’t mind. I didn’t have anything on my calendar until after lunch anyway.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer. I handle mostly business stuff, but I do a little bit of everything since I’m one of the few in the area.”
Gia’s face shows her surprise. “I’d never have guessed that. The cowboy hat and jeans don’t jive with a lawyer, but that’s what I get for stereotyping.”
“What would you have guessed?”
“Something with cows. Or horses. Or a rope of some kind.”
Her teasing grin has a smirk quirking up the side of my mouth. “Who says I don’t know my way around a rope?”
With a wink, I leave Gia in the kitchen with her mouth hanging open.
“Will you drop me off at the Daily Grind? I figure I can work there until we have to go to the book fair.” Gia has been quietsince we loaded up the girls and took them to school. At first, I thought it was because she couldn’t get a word in edgewise with the chatterboxes in the backseat, but the girls went into the building, and she hadn’t said a word until now.
I’ve been kicking myself for that rope comment. I probably made her super uncomfortable, and now she’s stuck spending the majority of her day with me.
“Sure. I can do that.”
We lapse into tense silence again, and I rack my brain to think of some way to ease this tension. Nothing that comes to mind will make this any less uncomfortable. And then it hits me that I won’t be dropping her off anywhere downtown.
There are swarms of people walking down the sidewalks, reminding me that the Ice Festival is still going strong, even at eight in the morning. Every day of the festival has a different main event. Yesterday was ice sculptures. Today’s event is a snowflake-making competition. It keeps people interested in sticking around for the full week.
The town council has debated shortening it to a long weekend, but the crowds continue to grow every year. It’s a huge revenue source for us.
“Looks like we’ll have to head to the Grind on foot. I can park at my office though. It’s right over there.” I point out the windshield toward the two-story red brick building. There’s a small parking lot on the side with a bunch of bright red signs that say “Basil Law parking only, violators will be towed.”Without them, there would never be a spot available, especially during a festival week.
I pull in next to my brother Gage’s car. He lives in the apartment above my office, but I have no doubt he’s already at his bakery. This week is a huge boost for him. He usually sells out before eleven despite making twice his normal inventory.
“Do you mind if we stop in to let my secretary know I’m around this morning?” I ask Gia after we get out of my truck.
“You don’t have to escort me to the coffee shop. I remember how to get there, and I should get caught up on the stuff I missed yesterday before we need to get back to school.”
Taking her hint for the brush-off it is, I nod. “Sure. Want to meet back at the truck at ten?”
“Works for me. See you later.” Gia takes off walking down the sidewalk without looking back. I really messed up this morning, but maybe it’s for the best anyway. She was only supposed to be a one-night stand, despite our accidental run-in.
I need to get it through my thick skull that it can’t be anything more.
She’s not even from here, so the only thing it could be is a fling while she’s in town. I’m not even sure I can have a fling with a woman. I’ve never been the type to have no-strings-attached sex. If we tried a friends-with-benefits situation, I doubt I could do it without catching feelings.
