But she had gone right into Danielle’s territory, so of course the other woman was going to be fixing her with the evil eye.
“I think you’re trying to cause a ruckus about town, to get some eyes on her campaign. Because God knows nobody would take her seriously otherwise.”
Flynn laughed. Smooth and effortless. “And you think I am going to lend anybody credibility? We both know that isn’t true. Also, this isn’t a Hallmark movie. This is the real world.”
“But you are you,” Danielle said.
And just then, Flynn wrapped his arm around her waist, as if he owned her. As if he had done it a hundred times and had the right to do it a hundred more. “Listen, you can call me any number of things, but call me a liar and we are going to have a problem. Especially when you start insulting my girl.”
Jessie felt dizzy.
“Not all of us use relationships as guerrilla warfare,” Flynn continued.
Danielle looked toward the library, and then back to him. “You honestly think my long-term relationship was some sort of … plot to hurt the librarian because I had funding disagreements with her?”
“Stranger things have happened. But I’m just saying, you’re suspicious because you were doing someone dirty the last time you got into a relationship. But that doesn’t make us all like you.”
“I’m the mayor of this town. I’m going to continue to be the mayor of this town. Whether she runs or not.”
“You have nothing to worry about if you’re so confident of winning,” said Jessie.
“I do think people would find it interesting to know that you’re faking a relationship for attention.”
“Sticking with that? I mean, go ahead and spread it around,” Flynn said. “It sounds paranoid.”
He wasn’t wrong. It did, in spite of the fact that it was also correct.
Danielle huffed, then turned around and walked back toward her booth.
And that was when a new wave of cars began to pull into the parking lot. “I’m about to kiss you,” he said.
“What?”
“Just a fair warning.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist again, but this time, he turned toward her and closed the distance between them. His mouth was shocking. Hard and hot and everything she had ever imagined it might be. Everything she had ever tried not to imagine it might be. As she lay in bed at night and thought about Flynn, only Flynn, because he was the only man ever to get under her skin that way.
Her whole body was lit up like a Christmas tree. At every point where he was touching her. His hands on her hips, his hard chest crushed up against her. His mouth … Oh, his mouth. She was dizzy. His tongue touched hers, and she whimpered. Her knees went weak, and an insistent pounding made itself known between her legs.
It was over in about fifteen seconds. It hadn’t been a meaningful space of time, and yet it had been a moment in which everything had changed.
Because before, she hadn’t kissed Flynn Wilder. And now she had.
She could never go back to pretending that maybe, just maybe, all the sparks between them were just in her head.
More to the point, she had gone from not being kissed to being kissed, but she had a very stark and terrible feeling that it really only mattered that it was him. And any other time, any other way, it simply wouldn’t have been the same.
It was a pretty tame kiss, as kisses went. She had to try not to look shocked, but she didn’t think she was managing it.
“Okay, now you got your next wave of people.”
But her knees felt like jelly. How was she supposed to go on? He seemed unaffected. And suddenly, she had an inkling of why last night had frustrated him.
Except … Did he really feel much of anything for her if he could kiss her like that and then go back to whatever he was doing? He must not.
And oh, it was galling.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Jessie Jane Hancock.”
