“When do you close up?”
“Oh, in just a half hour. And then I usually go back to the bed-and-breakfast to make sure that no one needs anything.”
“Anyone checking in today?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Could you spare a few minutes to show me around town?”
“Oh,” she said. “Isn’t that... Weren’t you just with...?” Then she started blushing; she could feel it, because she was admitting that she had seen him outside the window, which made her feel just a little bit flustered and uncomfortable.
“He was showing me his office. Gave me a little bit of a brief overview. But I’d like to see some of the things you like.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well... I don’t have any customers.” Guilt rolled over her. But she didn’t have any customers. And if she closed a half hour early today it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. And it would let her get back to the bed-and-breakfast in plenty of time.
“If you’re sure it’s not a problem.”
“Not at all,” she said. “But you have to help me get the cookies out to the car.”
She indicated the stack of freshly baked cookies that she had earmarked for the bed-and-breakfast.
“Of course.”
He grabbed all the trays and grinned. “Point me in the right direction.”
And with butterflies in her stomach, she did. She locked the door to the bakery behind them and walked down the covered sidewalk toward where she parked. She unlocked the car, and he put the cookies in the back seat. Then she straightened, standing and facing him, her stomach turning flips. She was ridiculous. But honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time she had talked to a man she was attracted to.
Sure, she’d had crushes in school. And yes, Asher was interested in her. If she wanted to get flirted with, she could pop into Stim—the coffeehouse Asher worked at—anytime. But it wasn’t the same. It could never be like this.
And with Clara’s words still echoing in her head, it all felt... It all felt something. She didn’t really have the words for it.
Maybe it was to do with the bed-and-breakfast. Maybe it was to do with the fact that he didn’t live here. But there was a dangerous sort of edgy freedom that seemed to be firing along her nerve endings. She didn’t often feel hemmed in. But the reality was... She was. It was a small town, and everyone knew Cain and Alison Donnelly. By extension, everyone knew her. Anything she did was going to make it back to her family. There were too many Donnellys.
Copper Ridge was lousy with them. There were connections all over Logan County, and it was completely inescapable. And it wasn’t that anyone would care; it wasn’t that. It was just that she was very aware that whatever she did was going to have an audience. But tucked away at the bed-and-breakfast...
Of course, you’re about to walk down the street with him.
It was true. But when people asked around, the answer would obviously be that he was from out of town. That he was a Garrett. All of those things would lend validity to the fact that she was playing tour guide. And give it undertones that were not actually nefarious in any way.
Not that anything she felt around Wolf seemed like it was nefarious.
“Well, I assume that cutesy kitchen stores, seasonal decor stores and the like are not up your alley,” she said.
“I told you. I just want to have a look around.”
“Have you had lunch?”
“No,” he said.
“Well, you don’t live near the ocean, do you?”
“No.”
“Come on, then.”
They walked down Main, and she took a right, headed toward the ocean, and toward the fish shack that was right there on the wharf. “Fish,” she said. “And the sea.” She gestured toward the ocean.
“So it is.” He walked over and looked at the menu. “What do you want?”