Page 7 of Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts

I stifle a groan. I wasn’t supposed to have to see him until our noon meeting with the council. But here he is, standing in the way of the only exit, taking off his leather gloves finger by finger, as if he has all the time in the world.

“Cora Bennet. Just the woman I was hoping to see,” he drawls. His gray eyes light up as they land on me. Finally, one of his gloves comes free of his hand.

I arch an eyebrow, irritated that this man is standing in the way of me and my hot date with a cinnamon roll. “Really?” I ask skeptically.

He takes a few steps into the bakery, and I can smell his spiced cologne. He must have just applied it before he left the house. I’m woman enough to admit that it smells nice, but it overpowers the sweet smells of the bakery even at this distance, so I think it’s pretty clear he overdid it.

“Really.” He removes his other glove and shoves both in his coat pockets. “I wanted to congratulate you.”

I expect him to continue, but he doesn’t. My arched eyebrow climbs higher up my forehead. “On…?”

He smirks as if he was hoping for this reaction. “Oh, I’m surprised you haven’t heard.” He sounds as if this is not at all surprising. “Though I guess it makes sense I’d find out before you. I am the mayor, after all.”

“Part-time mayor,” Lauren grumbles.

He spares a glance for Lauren. “Good morning, Miss Alcott.”

She gives him a little curtsey. “Morning, Adam.”

I sigh in exasperation. “Listen, I have a lot to do today. Did you just want to gloat about knowing something I don’t or…?”

His gray eyes land on me again, appraising. It’s suddenly too warm in here, and my skin feels too tight. Stupid hormones reacting without good sense. My poor libido doesn’t realize this man is a buffoon. “Councilman Dickert and I had coffee this morning, and it seems the council is going to side with you.”

I purse my lips against a victorious smile. He’s the gloater, not me. “Well, that is good news. I’m excited to revitalize the downtown area, and this has the added bonus of teaching you some humility. Now if you’ll excuse me.” I successfully sidestep him as Lauren adjusts her hat, using her hand to hide her smile.

Adam whips around and reaches out to grab my wrist. The heat of his palm seeps through the cuff of my jacket, licking at my skin. He stares at me for a beat too long before he drops my wrist like it burned him.

“Did you need something else?” I ask primly, hoping the forced coolness of my tone covers up the fact that my stomach has suddenly leapt into my throat.

His voice is softer, more sincere as he says, “I wanted to give you a heads up that the council is going to ask you to attend a conference with me next weekend.”

I pinch my eyebrows together. “What conference?”

“It’s being hosted by the Association for Small and Rural Towns at a hotel in Reno. I go every year, but the council wants you to go, too, since they have a workshop for beautification on this year’s roster,” he explains. His features are pinched as if he can think of a million things he’d rather do than spend a few days at a conference with me.

I chuckle and wave him off. “Well, you’ve been saved, I guess, because I can’t possibly leave town next weekend.”

His sharp features fall, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think he looked a little disappointed. Probably because he had planned on torturing me with boring stats and town ledgers. “Why?” he asks.

“The fundraiser is the following weekend,” I remind him. “It’s shaping up to be huge this year. I can’t just leave in the middle of the finishing touches.”

“Yes you can,” Lauren blurts out. I glare at her, but she presses on. “I mean, why not? You’ve pretty much solidified everything, and anything that needs doing can be done by me.”

“Or me!” Dorothy pipes up from behind the counter. I shoot her a glare over Adam’s shoulder.

Lauren’s blue eyes bounce back and forth between Adam and me a few times before she settles on him. “This would be good for her career, wouldn’t it?” she asks him.

He nods. “There are a lot of people there who would love to connect and talk about tourism in the area.”

“Then you should do it,” Lauren urges me.

Now it’s my turn to pinch my expression. If there are a million things Adam Sullivan would rather do than spend a few days with me at a conference, then there are a bajillion things I would rather do than spend that time with him.

“They’re forecasting near-blizzard conditions next week,” I protest again.

Adam flashes a pearly smile, and I wonder for a moment if his teeth are capped. They’re just so white.

“It should all be cleared before the conference is underway. Plus, my car has all-wheel drive.” He leans forward on his toes, puffing himself up as if this is something that is supposed to impress me.

“What are you, a pigeon?” I murmur. Lauren chokes on a laugh and turns her back to us to recover.

“What?” Adam frowns.

“Never mind.” I sigh, resigned. “I’ll think about it. But now I do really need to go. You’ve made me late for work.”

“I’ll put in a word with your boss,” Adam says, adding that signature wink that boils my blood. It’s his favorite joke to make, though we both know he has no more pull than I do.

“Good luck with that,” I say flatly.

Adam waves this off, then bows with a flourish. “Have a good day, ladies,” he says. “Cora, I’ll see you at noon.”

As soon as the bakery door closes behind us, I groan. I do not need another thing on my plate, and I certainly do not need that thing to be a weekend at a conference with Mayor Adam Sullivan.