The chief held out his arm, and she stared at it before she tentatively placed her cool hand in the crook, and then he was leading her to where she had parked her car. She felt rather than saw the frowning Ronnie, left behind, confusion and surprise following her for the first few steps until it dissipated.
Once her car was in sight, she pulled her arm from the chief's and opened the door.
"You don't lock your car." It was said low, an observation and not a question.
"It's a safe town," she argued.
"Nowhere is safe, Tilly."
"Okay. Thank you for that and your concern. May I have my cake now?" She held out her hands, her eyes not looking up at him, afraid that if she did, her insides would wobble.
But instead of handing her the tray, he set it on top of her car gently and then, to her shock and inner dismay, stepped closer to her.
"Tilly."
"Mhmm?" she asked, biting her lips and pretending to dig through her purse. Her keys were in the small inner pocketwhere she always put them, but her nerves were bumping around inside of her.
"Look at me."
The command, rumbly and deep, pulled her head up, and her lips parted when she saw just how close he was, and just how intentionally he was looking at her.
It was a moment planned, communication she hadn't been taught much of, an art. She could feel him, the beat of him, the thrum of whatever lay inside his chest.
He truly was handsome. She'd never had a particular attraction to mustaches, but his was trimmed and fit his Texan roughness well. His dark eyes were framed with black eyelashes that almost looked feminine but instead lent a roguish glint to his eyes. Thick slashes of eyebrows could have been expressive if he made many expressions.
He looked intense, stone, solid.
He looked like a killer.
"Are you frightened by me?"
"Yes!" She bit her lips again, surprised at her answer. The honesty of it. She could taste the wax of her red lipstick. She looked around nervously, but they were the only ones under the antique street lamps.
"I won't harm you."
She looked up at him again. The way he watched her...
"Then what do you want?"The question made him tilt his head, but he didn't answer.
"With me," she clarified, gesturing to herself. "I've seen you avoid most people unless it's part of your job, and with me, you," she shook her head, trying to find the words.
"I'm intrigued by you. You're interestin'. Sweet. A little crazy. Brave. And you're not an idiot, but you leave your car unlocked and aren't aware of your surroundings." He said it all easily, like he had told her all of this before. He was the kind of man whohad few words, yes, but when he had them, they were ready and honest. "I like your eyes," he added softly.
She laughed. "I feel like most of that was a compliment."
He nodded.
"And you don't...frighten me in the way you may be thinking.""No?"
"I just, you're an enigma, and frankly? I have made poor choices in the past," she dramatically pointed over his shoulder. "You just met one. And those were just regular guys hiding their true colors and inner damage. Usually, father wounds," she said, her words scrambling as her thoughts were tumbling.
"Tilly," he interrupted her rambling. "Look at me."
Once again, the command made something buzz inside of her, and she couldn't help but comply. And when she did connect her eyes to his, her stomach dipped low.
"I won't harm you." He opened her back door as she watched him smoothly take the tray of sweets and place them inside the car before he closed the door and stepped back, his eyes on hers. "Go take your bubble bath. Relax. And lock the door."
She stood there silently watching him.
