He hums to himself and glances my way. Our eyes meet, and I try not to squirm under his sharp gaze. I’ve never really been into beards before, but seeing the little strands of grey mixed into his brown is kind of sexy. My eyes travel to his mouth as his tongue swipes across his bottom lip, and my cheeks heat.
“I’m off shift. You want to maybe grab a bite to eat first? We can head over to Cedar and Sage, or if you want something else we can go back to the Brewery or even Misty’s?” He starts the car and waits for an answer before putting it into gear.
My heart flutters at the prospect of more time with him. But I’m exhausted and feel sticky from the day’s sweat.
“That sounds lovely. But I‘d love nothing more than a nice shower and to change into some sweats. Would you maybe want to join me instead?”
“Join you?” West asks with his brows raised.
My cheeks flame at what he thinks I just implied and how that sounded.
“Oh gosh, I didn’t mean join me, join me. I meant to just, you know, come over. Unless you need a shower? Then you can have one too?” I ramble on, making more of a mess.
My skin is on fire, and I feel all flustered. Blowing out a breath, I try again.
“Sorry, I’m making a mess out of this. Can we restart? Sheriff, would you like to come over for a pizza and a beer on my patio?”
West folds in his lips, trying not to laugh, and his face splits into a giant grin that has two dimples on each side of his cheeks popping out. “Sure. I’d love to come over for some pizza and beer.”
I let out a sigh of relief that I didn’t scare him off and send him a grateful smile. “Sorry about that. I don’t really do this often.”
“Invite people over?” he asks with amusement.
“That. But I meant more like never inviting men over.”
He watches me for a beat and then nods. “No worries.”
A few minutes after pulling away from town, West glances back my way. “It’s West, by the way,” he says. “You called me Sheriff again,” he adds with a hint of a smile before training his eyes back on the road.
“Sorry, habit,” I tell him, making him chuckle.
As we make our way through town, I try to calm my racing heart and nerves about having West inside my house.
Before I know it, we’re pulling into my yard and West is coming around to help me out. Standing on solid ground, I take a deep breath for encouragement and lead him to my door.
Stepping inside, I flick on the entry light and the soft pitter-patter of Pumpkin’s feet comes running down the hall.
“Ahh!” West screams, moving behind me.
I look from Pumpkin then to West, and the sheer amount of fear on his handsome face has me letting out a full-belly laugh.
I bend down to pick up my kitten and turn to face West, who jumps back. “This is my kitten, Pumpkin,” I tell him, rolling back my lips.
“You have a cat,” He says on a swallow.
“I do,” I say, trying not to laugh. I kiss Pumpkin’s soft head and hold her out to West.
“Gah!” he shouts, and I can no longer hold it.
“Sheriff, are you afraid of a little kitten?” I ask teasingly.
West puffs out his chest and runs his hands down his uniform, letting out a scoff. “Pfft. Scared of a little kitten. No. Not me.”
Rolling my lips between my teeth, I nod. “Perfect. So would you mind playing with her while I go take a quick shower?”
“Uh.” He looks at the purring cat, and as amusing as this is, I can’t be this mean.
I let out a little giggle and snuggle Pumpkin closer. “I’m just bugging you. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable? I’ll only be a few minutes, and I promise to bring Pumpkin with me.” I smile over my shoulder as I begin to make my way down the hall.
