She considered not eating it, but when he opened the carton of his own food, she knew that she needed to. She started munching on fries, not really sure what to say next.
“What are you thinking about?”
She nearly choked. “Hmm. Well. I was actually wondering if we were flirting.”
“Oh, we’re flirting,” he said, smiling.
“Oh. Well, that’s good to know. I just... I wanted to be sure.”
“If you’re not sure, I think I’m slipping.”
She laughed. “No, I think I’m just very bad at it.”
“You’re not bad at it. It’s certainly working on me.”
All her breath left her body in a gust. “Well,” she said.
Silence lapsed around them for a moment, and the only sound was the ocean. And then she suddenly realized that she had lost track of time. She took her phone out of her pocket and checked it.
“Oh, shoot,” she said. “I forgot that I have to go. I have to get back.”
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No. It’s fine. I’ll... I’ll see you back at the bed-and-breakfast.”
“Yeah,” he said. “See you there.” And then he started cleaning everything up at the table. And he walked her back to her car. She felt a little glow spark and expand inside her chest. He was flirting with her. And she had a crush on him. And maybe Clara was right. Maybe this was what she needed. Just a little harmless something. A little something that felt this indulgent and wonderful and a tiny bit selfish. Because what was wrong with that?
What was wrong with enjoying a little bit of male attention?
He wouldn’t be here that long. And whatever happened... Once he was gone, it would all go back to normal. And she tried very hard not to think about how her normal was starting to look a lot like monotony that stretched out in front of her with infinite sameness. Because she had chosen the sameness. And she was not going to listen to Clara. She was not going to internalize Clara’s nonsense.
She had chosen to be here. She was happy with her life.
And yes, Wolf was a slight diversion from the usual. And that was a good thing. Proof, maybe, that she could have her cake and eat it, too. That she could flirt—so to speak—with adventure—and then get back to her everyday life.
It was harmless. Just a little harmless flirtation.
He might be trouble, but he might be exactly the right kind of trouble.
CHAPTER FOUR
HEENDEDUPgoing back to his cousin’s place before returning to the B and B, which meant that he didn’t actually see Violet again as quickly as he thought he would. He didn’t quite know what game he was playing, and while it was normally women who asked him that question, he asked himself that a few times. Because there was only one game that Wolf Garrett even played with women. And that was of the one-night stand variety. Violet was... She was a nice woman.
Not only that, she was linked to his cousins in a really specific way, so it was entirely possible that getting involved with her—his manner of getting involved—was a very bad idea. Still, he had not resisted when the temptation had arisen to go into the bakery. He had not resisted when he’d gotten the idea to try to get her to knock off work early. He had not resisted the urge to buy her lunch, or touch her, or any of the other extremely bad behaviors that he had engaged in this afternoon. And, dammit all, he wasn’t even sorry.
Dinner had been another excellent affair, this time at Connor’s place. Jack and Eli were running the kids around in the house, and the ruckus that was coming from inside the house suggested they might actually be learning to ride bulls in there.
Connor was kicked back on the chair next to him, drinking a beer.
“Relaxing,” Wolf said.
Connor smiled. “Yeah. Very. Honestly, I don’t mind.”
Silence settled between them, the knowledge of everything that Connor had lost. Wolf had noticed that one of his daughters was named Jessie.
Jessie Lynn.
And he knew exactly who she was named for. It struck him as a little bit odd considering that Connor had gone and gotten remarried. But he knew that Liss had actually been a friend of theirs. Connor and his wife’s.