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“Something’s going on between your cousin and the sheriff?”
“I think so.”
“Tag’s a nice guy. And a patient one, which is good, since I suspect your cousin could try the patience of a saint.”
“Good thing that doesn’t run in the family,” she said, giving him a deceptively innocent look. When he raised one skeptical brow, she rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I guess I can be a pain in the butt, too.”
“Nah,” he said with a deliberate shrug. “In spite of a deplorable lack of sweetness, you’re not so bad.”
Her grin widened. “Do you know how nice it is to be with someone who doesn’t expect me to be sweet?” She straightened, stepped away from the SUV, and put her arms out to her sides. Spinning around, she almost yelled, “God, tonight was fun. Outrageous and naughty, and definitely not sweet!”
“Yeah, it was,” he admitted, remembering how aroused he’d been by her at the party. He loved watching her again now as she almost danced in the moonlight, her hair swinging wildly around her face. “But I hate to break it to you, babe. I suspect you really are kinda sweet, deep down.”
She stopped. “Keep that up and you’ll be walking home.”
He jiggled his pants’ pocket. “I’ve got your keys.”
She stepped closer, laying her hand flat on his bare chest and giving him a limpid look. “Wanna place a bet on how fast I can get into your pants and get them back?”
He shook his head. “I think we’ve already proved you hold the world’s record on getting into my pants, Kate.”
“Ditto,” she admitted, trailing her hand across his bare chest to his stomach. “So does that make us both cheap and easy?”
“Only with each other.” He swallowed a groan as her hand moved lower, brushing across the front of his pants.
“Fair enough.”
Jack liked the humor on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. He liked seeing Kate happy. He’d seen her that way much more often lately. The angry, mistrustful woman who’d come back to Pleasantville for revenge had been erased.
He hoped he’d had something to do with that. Because there was no question in his mind Kate had changed him. For the better. He doubted she’d believe it, he had trouble believing it himself, but he was falling in love with her. Falling hard and fast.
He’d started the slide the first time he’d laid eyes on her across Magnolia Avenue. Making love to her that same day had strengthened the feeling. Every day they’d spent together since then had been better than the one before.
“Come on,” he said, tugging her by the hand. “Let’s go down to the lake.”
Though she wore an obviously expensive dress, Kate didn’t hesitate. They walked hand in hand down to the edge of the lake, moving across the cool sand until they reached the shore. The warm water, lit by the bright, star-filled sky, lapped at their bare feet in a gentle rhythm. Not caring about his pants, he pulled her in deeper, until they stood almost knee deep. He tugged her close, sliding his arms around her waist. She came into them easily, curling against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin.
“I used to come up here to swim late at night,” he said as he gently slid his fingers into her hair.
“It’s warm enough,” she replied. “But I don’t really want to swim.”
“Me neither. I’d rather stay just like this.”
With Kate wrapped securely in his arms.
That seemed to be exactly what she wanted, too.
THE NEXT DAY, before Armand left to go back to Chicago, Kate asked him if he’d had a good time at the party after they’d left. He’d simply smiled and said, “It was a night that won’t be forgotten for a long time.”
Thanking him for the panties, she’d admitted she felt the same way.
The night before had been magic. Not only the party, not just the frantic sex in the back of her car. But standing there, wrapped in Jack’s arms as they stood in the moonlight, simply enjoying each other’s closeness. They’d exchanged long, languorous kisses, sweet, delicate touches. They hadn’t talked much, nor had they made love again. Somehow, though, the night felt like the most intimate one they’d shared.
