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“Thank you for dinner,” she said.
“My pleasure.”
Reed was doing that entrancing thing with his eyes again, and she really needed some distance. Had his department paid for dinner and flowers or had he? What did it matter? He was on a job here, and he was impressively and smoothly executing it. She wouldn’t be surprised if Papa Delta tried to pay for it all.
Her face burned, and she stowed her credit card back in her bra and stood quickly, shoving her chair back. Reed’s face registered surprise, but he was out of his chair and escorting her to the truck without missing a beat. Abigail had to chase them out to the truck to get Reed to sign the receipt and give his credit card back.
The young hostess walked away and muttered far too loudly, “The sheriff smells and looks like hot man on a stick.”
Reed was opening Esther’s door as the girl said it. He arched an eyebrow at Esther, his gaze smoldering on her. Did he expect her to back up Abigail’s words? She wasn’t a flirtatious young girl. She was a successful lawyer, a captain in the Air Force JAG, and a Delta trained fighter. If Sheriff Reed Peterson wanted her to goo all over him like a teenage girl, he had another thing coming. She needed to act the part of fake dating like he was so exceptional at, but Garret had already driven off, so what did it matter?
She raised her own eyebrows at him, gave him what she hoped was a Maddie-level sassy look, and climbed into the truck. His hands around her waist easily lifted her in and made her wish she was still a teenager who could flirt and swoon over the hot sheriff.
They made it to Thor’s house without her revealing how much she wished they could be dating for real and that she could break her three date rule for him. He helped her out and walked her up to the porch. He eased in far too close for her sense of comfort. Esther’s back was against the wood and glass front door, and she had nowhere to go. Not that being pinned in by Reed was any hardship. He smelled delicious, like citrus and the ocean. Abigail was right. Hot man on a stick. Esther wanted to roll her eyes, but she was too caught up in this man.
He leaned closer and her breath lodged in her throat. He glanced through the glass sidelight and then let out a breath. “Oh, good. Your protective little brother isn’t watching, so I can kiss you as long as I want.”
He eased even closer as if to prove his words.
Esther could not catch a full breath. She put her hands on his chest to stop his progress, but that only made her more fully appreciate how well-defined his chest was. Her hand placement also made his breathing shorten just like hers.
“You said Garret had taken off,” she reminded him. “You don’t need to kiss me for our fake dating gig.”
Reed studied her, and the entire world seemed to disappear. He leaned so close his warm breath brushed her lips. “What if I want to kiss you and it has nothing to do with anything fake?”
Esther blinked, but the vision of Reed’s deep-brown gaze focused on her face and those words ringing through her head didn’t disappear. He wanted to kiss her, and it wasn’t fake? How would she keep her head around him if he kept talking like that, giving her significant looks, smelling and feeling so good, and being all-around irresistible? What was real right now and what was for his job and his protection of her and the secret?
Footsteps crunched toward them from the gravel road. Reed instinctively spun and stepped in front of her, drawing a small pistol from inside his suit coat. Esther reached for the door handle. She didn’t have a weapon, but she could fight by his side. Yet it was always smarter to be in a defensive position. If it was Garret or someone else coming to hurt them, they’d be safer inside. Though she felt plenty safe with Reed’s strong frame blocking her and knowing how well trained they both were.
“Reed.” Her dad appeared around the line of trees.
Esther’s neck heated up. Oh, great. Her dad was going to tease her about this one. She peered around Reed’s shoulder. “Hi, Dad.”
“Esther.” His full grin appeared. “You look gorgeous, sweetheart.”
She smiled and eased to Reed’s side as he slid the gun out of sight. He glanced down at her as if he wanted to reach out to her, but he appeared to think better of it with her father walking toward them.
“Thank you, Dad,” she said.
“How was the fake date?”
Reed looked quickly down at her, as if daring her to say it wasn’t fake. What was he doing to her?
“Dinner was delicious,” Esther said brightly. “And I determined that Reed could’ve smoked most of my class at law school. He’s very smart.”
“Well, we all know how smart and impressive our sheriff is.” He reached them and shook Reed’s hand, then kissed Esther’s cheek. “Sorry I interrupted your moment.” He winked and Esther gave him a threatening look. He laughed. “I’ll leave you two alone. Let you get back to it.”
Esther could not believe her father. He usually took overprotective to a level above her brothers but he, like everyone, loved Reed.
“Thor needed my help programming some automatic vacuum Shelly’s rodeo friends sent as a wedding present.”
Esther and Reed both nodded and eased away from the door. Her dad opened it and walked through, shutting it softly behind him. Esther grabbed the handle and pushed it down, opening it enough that Reed shouldn’t try to kiss her again. Dang her self-control for being intact, but she had to rely on control or she’d get herself in a mess again. Especially if Reed was only playing a part like she feared.
“Thank you again for dinner and for helping me with the Garret situation,” she said.
Reed nodded. “I’ve got some work in the morning, but I’ll pick you up at noon for date number two. Wear casual clothes and shoes you can hike in.”
Esther stared up at him. She knew she intimidated some men, even some of the tough Air Force officers and lawyers she knew well, but Reed wasn’t intimidated by her. He was confident and comfortable in his own skin. She loved how decisive he was. Did he have any clue their time together was ticking away? Maybe he should stop reminding her what number of dates they were on. If he knew, maybe he’d say they were going on a casual hike that didn’t count as a date. Did it matter to him, though? This wasn’t real.
