Her hooded eyes widened as he pushed up onto his forearms and brought his torso over hers. “Why did you run when I kissed you?”
Her soft lips parted and her tongue flicked out to wet them. “I didn’t run.”
“I disagree.”
She rolled her eyes. “I needed to use the facilities, and—”
“Immediatelyafter I kissed you?”
Her lips pressed together as she averted her gaze. Garrett sighed and rolled next to her, tucking her back against his front, and wrapped his arms around her middle. She seemed to communicate better this way, as though having to look directly at him made it harder for her to share what was going on in her mind. “Do you not want to kiss me?” He lowered his voice and prepared for humiliation. “Is my breath terrible?”
“No,” she said with a short laugh, then groaned. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll laugh at me.”
She might as well have punched him in the gut. “Why do you think I’d laugh at you?”
Her chuckle lacked humor. “Because that’s what you do. You laugh at everything and everyone. Nothing is taken seriously.”
“I take plenty of things seriously.”
She turned in his arms, and he nearly wept at the sensation of her breasts pressed against his chest. “Name one thing.”
Taking care of you. “I wrote that article for the newsletter last month.”
“I had to edit half of it out because you compared the mayor to a can of green beans.”
He huffed. “I stand by that comparison. And I have never missed a rally.”
“Yes, because you love to flirt with all the women who attend.” She dragged the wordloveinto several syllables.
“It’s not flirting, it’s conversation.”
“It’s conversation with the plain girls, but flirting with the pretty ones.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you haveneverflirted with me.“ Her eyes widened infinitesimally before she slammed them shut.
His heart stuttered. “Sadie, what do you mean I’ve never flirted with you?” Christ, he practicallysalivatedover her, to where Ben had to grumble at him and send him out for errands whenever Sadie bent over in her trousers.
Her eyes opened but fixed on his chin. “You are so…properwith me.”
“I tease you constantly.”
“Exactly.”
Good grief. “That’sflirting, sweetness.”
She rolled away from him and snorted. “No, it isn’t.”
“Yes.” He pushed her shoulder back and climbed over her, balancing his weight on his elbows to avoid crushing her. “Teasing is how I flirt.”
“I’ve seen you flirt, and there was no teasing involved.”
“When have you seen me flirt?”
