And when she looked inside of the tent behind the table where anyone could trade a ticket for a small pack of sparklers, her insides dipped when she saw that Jen had filled her partner spot.
And the partner she had chosen was staring at her intently with dark eyes and a stoic face.
Chief Theodore Landry stood there, tall and unbearably handsome in a white shirt and jeans.
She pulled in a breath and held it there, feeling like sparklers were going off inside of her.
Men were not going to change her. They were not going to dictate how she lived or moved about this town. After a night of feeling embarrassed and a little angry with the letdown that was Ronnie, she had awoken the next day light and not bogged downby sadness or disappointment. And she realized that she was okay, and she always would end up being okay.
She also woke up to an apology text from Ronnie with a tale of bumping into old friends and losing track of time. The text went unanswered.
And her heart lifted considerably.
Because she didn't want Ronnie. What she wanted was to not feel taken advantage of. And that was up to her.
"Chief," she said, with chin raised as she entered the back of the tent.
"Miss Nguyen," he replied with a dip of his. "You've been avoiding me. Again. Scared to have a conversation with me?"
Her eyes flashed and she felt a rolling heat hit her. "I most certainly am not. I happen to be very busy."
He tilted his head a notch. "So you're not frightened to be caught with me?"
"No," she replied indignantly. Both hands were on her hips. "You don'tfrightenme and I have no problem being around you."
"Have dinner with me."
Her heart stopped. "What?"
"You're not avoiding me. I don't frighten you. You have no problem being around me."
"That doesn't all translate to mewantingto be around you," she argued.
He almost smiled. She could see it in the way his eyes crinkled the slightest at their edges.
When he stepped behind her she sucked in a breath wondering what he was doing but two teenagers had come to their booth and were exchanging tickets for sparklers. She was far too jumpy and he was going to catch on.
"I can hear your heartbeat speed up," he whispered against her ear. "Either you're lying about me frightening you or about not wanting to be around me."
The warm breath and dark whispers were not helping the speed of her heart, but thankfully he stepped back into place next to her, a respectable distance even.
Another group came for their sparklers. She smiled and watched as he chatted, did his job until they were alone again.
"So, how does this work?" She looked at the neatly organized table and ran a fingertip over the white and blue hydrangeas to give her hands something to do.
"Well," he drew the word slowly, his southern drawl making her stomach dip. "I usually like to start with how you've been, what you've been up to, like how running the Crescent Inn is going." He waved between them. "And then you reciprocate by asking me similar questions."
She rolled her eyes. "I know how to have conversation. I meant how is this booth supposed to work."
He did smile then, enjoying the way he riled her up. She could sense it. It bubbled and made her feet shift. He gave her the exact instructions that Jen gave him, except for one that Tilly's friend had given him personally. He kept that tucked into his jeans pocket for now.
A zipping energy was buzzing through her and she wouldn't stop to analyze where it was coming from but when her shoulder brushed against his chest as a mom and her young boy visited to exchange tickets for sparklers, she felt the same energy from him. It was a matching feeling like something falling into place.
She shot away from him, disconcerted, and when she flicked her eyes up to his face she saw him watching her, looking for something, and she fumbled the box of sparklers, cursing softly under her breath as they fell off of the table. The mom smiledwarmly at her and picked them up, handing them to her son as she thanked them.
More people came by, a steady stream wanting to make sure that they had the different colored sparklers ready for the fireworks show.
"Tilly."
