Page 36
“Your mom approved this. She sent me the photo.”
“Yes, I know, and I can see why she chose this picture. The photo is great. I mean look at this jaw,” I say, and she looks at it, then looks across to Wyatt. “The thing is the older folks in town are not going to be impressed with Wyatt’s jaw or that he looks like a real-life superhero. They are going to want him to appear professional, and less like he gives lap dances to drunk married women on Friday nights.”
“I would pay for that,” she says under her breath, and I fight back the urge to laugh.
“So how long do you think it would take to reprint the signs? Or at least a few of them so that we have something to put around town.”
“A few days, since my help is on vacation.”
“What if we help?” I look at Wyatt. “I mean, I don’t know what kind of help you need, but he’s pretty strong and I’m a quick learner.”
Looking between Wyatt and me, she lets out a long breath, then drops her head back to her shoulders. “All right, if you help, we can get at least a hundred done today.”
“That’s awesome, thank you.”
“Do you have a picture you’d like to use?”
“Wyatt?” I look back at him.
“There’s one on the department’s website. Can you take it off there?”
“I can do that.” She looks at me. “You’re going to owe me big time for this.”
“I’ll buy you a bottle of your favorite wine.”
“Oh, sweetheart, you’re going to owe me way more than one bottle of wine.” She walks away.
“I hope you didn’t have any plans today.” I turn to face Wyatt.
“I don’t.” He walks toward me, looking at the sign I’m still holding. “Thank you.”
“I’m just paying you back for not arresting me last night.” I grin up at him.
“I was never going to arrest you.”
“Could you have?”
“Technically, yes.”
“See.” I slap his chest with the back of my hand. “Then I’m paying you back.”
“And that would be a bribe,” he mutters, and I start to laugh.
As he stares at me, there is something about the look on his face that causes my laughter to die off. Maybe it’s the way his face has softened, or the way he looks at me like I’m the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen. Whatever it is, it causes my belly to dip and my pulse to speed up.
“Don’t be stupid,” I whisper, leaning into him, not sure if I’m talking to him or myself.
“Too late.” The warmth of his fingers wraps around my lower jaw, and he leans down, pressing his lips to mine. They are warm and soft, while his grip on my jaw is unyielding, like he’s afraid I might pull away.
“All right, let’s get this done,” Shauna calls out, breaking into the moment, and I pull away from him like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
Avoiding looking at him, I back up a couple of steps and turn to Shauna when she walks fully into the room with her eyes on her laptop, having no idea what she just interrupted.
Thank god she didn’t see us. If she did and shared that with my mom, I would never hear the end of it.
“What do you need us to do?” I ask Shauna while trying not to overthink what just happened. I wish I could say that the kiss was insignificant, that I’ll be able to erase it from my memory and write it off as just another kiss, but I swear I can still feel his lips against mine, and his hand holding me steady. And I know I’ll think back on it for years to come, even though it was nothing more than his lips pressing into mine and over before my eyes could even slide closed.
Chapter 13:
