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Sylvie and Neesa laughed at Phae’s disgruntled expression.
“He’ll be here,” Neesa said, shooing Phae back into the crowd. “Go on now. Put a little spirit into your pitch. Sylvie will do her sexy pout she’s always practicing in her selfies.”
“I don’t have a sexy pout,” Sylvie said.
This time Neesa and Phae laughed.
Phae stepped in front of the gaudy, pink-streamer-covered booth and scanned the crowd. Still no Kent. Where was he?
“Hear ye, hear ye,” she began with no more spirit than before. “Buy a kiss from the pretty lady. Chapped lips? No problem. Step right up. Fever blisters? Yeah, you’d better move it along. This so isn’t right. But buy a kiss anyway. Only a dollar. I mean, what’s a dollar these days? Come on—”
Phae stopped short as a pair of strong hands grasped her shoulders and spun her around. Her startled gaze locked onto Kent’s clear, blue eyes.
“I never can resist a good sales pitch,” he said, his rumbly bass voice making Phae shiver.
Kent lowered his head slowly and gently touched his lips to hers. She closed her eyes at the feel of his warm breath.
One of his hands glided to the back of her neck while the other lowered to her waist, pulling her securely against the length of his hard body. His heart pounded as rapidly as her own.
The sensations were overpowering and she opened her eyes.
“We’d better make this quick,” Kent whispered huskily against her lips. “Or I’m going to embarrass us both.”
Unthinking, Phae brought her arms up around his neck as he deepened the kiss. His lips slid with silken softness against her own. So this is heaven, she thought hazily. His tongue lightly touched her upper lip.
“Okay you two, that’s enough,” said a brusque male voice, unmistakably belonging to her cousin, James.
Phae and Kent broke apart.
“I didn’t see you there,” Phae said stiffly to her uniformed cousin.
She relaxed when Kent smiled and took her hand into his own.
“You’re kissing the wrong person,” Sylvie called to them. “She’s the barker. I’m the kisser.”
“Sorry. Honest mistake,” Kent said. “I got swept up in her rousing marketing.”
Sylvie snorted. “It’s still gonna cost you a dollar.”
Kent released Phae’s hand and lazily removed his wallet from his back pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it onto the booth’s counter.
Neesa snatched it up and shook her head. “I can’t make change for a hundred.”
Kent grabbed up Phae’s hand again. “Keep it. That was no one dollar kiss.”
Phae found herself inexplicably tongue-tied. Sylvie and Neesa had no such problems.
“Oh, that’s sooo romantic,” Sylvie gushed.
“Yeah, that’s pretty good. I’m Neesa, by the way, Phae’s cousin. Are you a billionaire?”
Phae came crashing back down to earth. “Neesa! For God’s sake.”
James gave Kent a wary look. “You can’t buy my cousin, you know.”
“I’d think she’d want more than a hundred bucks,” Kent said, laughing.
James harrumphed. “Regardless, no more of these public displays. I’ve got order to maintain. I’m closing down your booth, you three. It’s a health nuisance.”
“What?” came the outraged responses from the three women.
Hands on hips, Phae, Neesa and Sylvie advanced on the blustering sheriff.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but—”
“Listen up, buddy, you can’t order us—”
“Why are you being such a dick—”
Kent stood back, amusement lifting one side of his mouth, while James tried to hold off his outraged relatives.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “It’s not because of health issues. Here’s the thing. I need you two, Neesa and Sylvie, to follow these other two around and keep an eye on them. Make sure they don’t get into any trouble.”
“Since when are you my keeper, James? Ignore him. He’s being obnoxious,” Phae said.
“Kent may be my friend, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give him free rein with you,” James said.
Phae turned to Kent. “You’re friends with James?”
“I didn’t get the chance to tell you the other day. I met him—”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘free rein?’” Neesa broke in. “Phae isn’t a horse, James, you jackass.”
“Hold up there,” James said. “Watch what you call me. I’m the sheriff, after all. Respect the position. And I don’t see why you have a problem protecting your cousin, Neesa.”
Kent turned his attention to James. “What do you think I’m going to do to her, exactly? Kidnap her?”
“I’ve known you too long, my friend, and heard too many stories about your conquests. This is your first date and I want to make sure it’s done properly.”
Phae glowered at James. “Kent and I aren’t on a date. And what’s gotten into you? I’m a full-grown, twenty-eight-year-old woman. If you think for one minute I’ll let you tell me how to run my life, then you’re in for a big surprise. The more I think about it the madder I get. Men! I ought to—”
“Simmer down, Phae,” James interrupted. “Don’t get worked up. I know I can trust you. It’s the company you’re keeping that I’m not so sure about.”
“Look what you’ve done,” Kent said with a sigh. “She’s ready to explode. I had her all softened up with that kiss and now you’ve blown it and made her mad.”
He pulled out his wallet and tossed another bill onto the counter. “You’re costing me a fortune, woman,” Kent said, tugging Phae into his arms.
She pushed against his chest. “Have I fallen into a time warp where you’ve all turned into cave men?”
“You tell him, Phae,” J
ames said.
“Don’t listen to him, Phae,” Sylvie said. “Kiss Kent. I don’t want to have to give back all this money. Think about the poor shelter animals.”
Neesa snorted. “Right. The animals. The hell with that. These two big animals are acting like Phae’s a piece of meat to fight over. Tell ‘em where to get off, cuz.”
“Hit him with a karate chop,” James said.
Phae briefly considered the suggestion, then made the mistake of getting caught in Kent’s smoldering gaze. Before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her.
Their lips crushed together in a searing kiss. She soared when his arms tightened around her.
She vaguely heard James and Neesa arguing in the background, but she couldn’t be bothered to make out the words.
To her disappointment, Kent released his hold and gently drew back.
His hot breath sent shivers through her as he whispered, “I don’t want to let you go, but James is starting to attract a crowd with his cursing.”
Phae gathered her wits. She was stunned she’d given into his manhandling. Forcefully, she shoved him away.
An elderly man tottered up beside her, holding out a dollar bill. “I’ll have one of those, please,” he said with a happy, toothless smile.
“Oh, that’s just great. I’m not the kisser,” Phae snapped, gesturing to Sylvie with her thumb. “See what she’ll do for you.”
The man shrugged and headed to the booth.
“Let that be a lesson to you, Mr. Tyrannosaurus Rex.” Phae wagged her finger in Kent’s surprised face. “I hope you’ll remember this the next time you try to force yourself on some unsuspecting woman.”
“Are you implying you weren’t affected by our kiss?”
“I think that’s what she’s telling you, friend,” James said with a satisfied smile.
“Hey! All I get is a kiss on the cheek?” the elderly man cried behind them. “That’s false advertising!”
Kent studied Phae closely. A slow grin crossed his face. She squinted, wondering what he’d seen. Probably that she was full of it.
