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“Go, go, go,” Emily said. “Go find your sexy man.”
Allie’s jaw dropped.
The curly-haired woman, whose round face exuded warmth, chuckled. “Oh, everyone knows. You haven’t figured out that you were dragged here on a matchmaking mission by your employer?”
“I knew it!” she snapped, not knowing whether to laugh or groan. “I’m going to have a talk with that old man.”
But not now. Now she was heading over to the fairgrounds to enjoy whatever time she had with Damon Cole.
She found him easily, showing up just as his first show was starting. Obviously, he’d left word because the carny at the entrance winked, not asking for a ticket when she arrived. Seeing the pleasure on Damon’s face when he spotted her would have made paying for one worthwhile, though.
Allie remained in the back, standing behind the audience. She’d seen Damon do this show several times now, but his natural abilities as a performer continued to impress her. He wasn’t a showman—there was no grandstanding, no overacting. He simply exuded a quiet confidence, a sense of calm, that made everyone in the room trust him. It was an interesting talent for someone who traveled the road, and she wondered where he’d gotten it.
After the show, when they were alone, she asked him.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said. “We should probably talk about that.”
Allie wondered if there was a lot he didn’t know about her, too. But she still hadn’t figured out a way to find out if he had actually read her note, short of asking him straight out. If he hadn’t, it would be a good opening to the whole I-have-a-baby conversation. If he had, it might force them into a conversation he wasn’t ready for yet, since he hadn’t brought it up. So she kept her mouth shut.
After he’d changed out of his pirate’ish shirt, looking just as delicious as he had when doing it the previous night, he hopped off the stage. “What do you want to do?”
“Hmm.” Allie’s mouth curved up in a Cheshire cat grin.
“I have another show in an hour.”
“I think the second time took less than an hour last night.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Maybe your town was right, and you are a sex fiend.”
“You started it.”
“And I finished it.”
“So finish it again.”
He tugged her into his arms, dropping a quick kiss on her mouth. “Eleven o’clock. My camper. I’ll finish it so many times you won’t even be able to walk back to the hotel tonight.”
Allie stumbled a little at the very thought. He kept his arm around her, leading her out into the fair. “You know,” she said, “I haven’t ridden a single ride. Not here, and not in Trouble.”
He tugged her toward the Ferris wheel. “Well, let’s go.”
“Not that one. I don’t do heights.”
“Oh, come on, I won’t let you fall.”
She knew that already. “Huh uh. Nope.”
“I’ll buy you some cotton candy…”
“I told you the last time I ate cotton candy, I got sick.”
“It’s not for you to eat,” he murmured. In a growly whisper, he added, “It’s for you to wear…and me to eat.”
Her legs wobbled again. “You’re so bad.” And irresistible.
Following him onto the Ferris wheel, she tried to remain focused only on the warmth of him sitting beside her in the bucket seat. Not on the sky into which they were climbing—or the ground where she would get smashed like a bug if they fell.
He obviously sensed her nervousness. “Okay. What should we do while we’re going around?”
