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I shrugged. “Sheriff Hayes is harmless. If he wanted to fire me, he would have done it years ago. Besides,” I added, feeling like the worst kind of liar, “he can’t afford to lose another one of us right now.”
“That’s true,” she said, nodding her head in agreement, although she didn’t seem any less scared.
“And,” I said with a toothy grin, “everyone loves me. There’d be a riot if I left.”
She laughed.
“I think you overestimate your appeal.” She rolled her eyes.
I felt the tension break between us, but it didn’t stop the fear inside me from building.
Because I didn’t believe a word I’d said.
If Sheriff Hayes had it out for me…
I was fucked.
* * *
Buying the flowers wasn’t necessarily a bad idea.
Buying her flowers on the night her parents were going to be here?
Maybe the worst idea ever.
“Stop staring at them,” she said moments after she came out of the bedroom. She’d changed again, choosing an emerald green dress and black tights. Her hair was in a loose braid, and she’d freshened up her makeup.
“Make me,” I challenged, wagging my eyebrow in the most obnoxious way.
“If my parents knock on that door and I’m naked again?—”
I laughed. “You weren’t naked,” I reminded her. I hopped off the stool next to the island and walked over to her. A stray hair had gotten loose from her braid, and I tucked it behind her ear. “You were just mostly naked. Do I need to show you the difference?”
But before she could answer, the doorbell rang.
“Saved by the bell,” I joked. “But not for long.”
“Are the flowers going to be a distraction?” She motioned to the vase on the island. “Should I put them in my room?”
I wasn’t sure how attached Marin was to her vases, so when I’d bought the flowers on the way over, I got a vase to go with them.
It was clear and made of simple glass, something you definitely wouldn’t miss…
If it were lost.
Or maybe accidentally broken.
“No, I’ll be good.” I answered, deciding it might be fun to keep them around.
“You better be. Otherwise, you’re gonna have to explain to my parents why you have such a fervent infatuation with floral arrangements.”
“Think of it as foreplay,” I said with a wicked grin as she headed toward the door.
She faltered a bit at the mention of foreplay, tripping over the edge of the rug. I chuckled under my breath as she caught herself and gave me a dirty look.
Control yourself, she mouthed before pulling the door open.
It creaked open, and her parents were on the other side. Her dad held a bottle of wine, and her mom carried a bouquet of…flowers.
