Win vote.
Defeat Candi.
I tap the tip of my pen against the page, thinking.
Do not climb fox shifter like a sun-bronzed tree.
Maybe that point should be higher…
I nod at Judith standing behind the refreshment table, setting up rows of paper cups.
“Going after Frosting Queen again this year?” She tilts her head, and her silver-streaked braid slides off her shoulder.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Determined, more like.” She hands me a cup and gestures toward the orange sideline cooler set up on the edge of the table. “Candi can’t win ‘em all.”
“Tell her that,” I sigh as I fill my cup with ice cold water.
“If they let members of the historical society vote, you’d win by a landslide.”
I smile at her as a masculine laugh drifts over from the sand court.
My muscles tense, cold water gushing over the lip of the cup. I know that laugh.
Slowly and stealthily, I creep around the side of the hydration tent. On the beach beyond it, a group of men gathers around the volleyball court, stretching and knocking the ball back and forth as they warm up.
And Max is with them. Shirtless. Sweaty. Sun-kissed.
His white-blond hair gleams beneath the sun. Sand clings to his calves, and his loose black shorts ride low on his hips. The lean muscles across his back shift as he lifts his arms, preparing to serve.
“Holy halibut,” I groan.
This is that scene from Top Gun but with a sexy fox shifter instead of pilots.
“What was that, dear?”
I jerk my attention away from the volleyball game and back to Judith.
“Oh, nothing.” I glance at Max again before returning my attention to her. “It’s just a beautiful day.”
Judith follows my gaze to the beach.
“Yes,” she hums. “It certainly is.”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I snap my notebook closed before she can read over my shoulder.
