“You’re from Half Moon Key. You know the town takes care of its own, and it’s high time that it started taking care of you, Nora. You deserve to be happy too.”
Nora watched as Jack made his way back to her. His handsome face was made even more lovely by his warm and genuine smile. His blue eyes crinkled with mischief, and seeing him cutting the crowd to get to her, Nora’s knees buckled. He was looking at her like she was the only woman on the beach, and she never wanted it to end.
SIX
JACK
Jack grabbed the envelope from Parker, and his friend chuckled. “You ready for this?”
“If I say no, will you let me walk away?”
Jade shook her head. “Not a chance. If you wanna kiss our girl again, you gotta be dating her. And since she can’t ask you out because her brain gets all screwy when you’re around, doing it this way reduces the pressure she puts on herself.”
“Hmm. I could just ask her out, you know?” Jack mentioned. “I want to. She’s great.”
Jade shook her head. “If you ask her out only a day after kissing her senseless, she will always wonder if you asked her out only to get into her pants.”
“I think that’s whatyou’reafraid of,” Parker corrected.
“Well, maybe,” Jade admitted. “But Nora is my friend. She’s a special person, and she deserves to be treated a certain way. She’s my little doe-eyed buddy, and I will always look out for her and have her best interest at heart.”
Jack couldn’t deny that he loved that Nora had friends as loyal as Jade. It made his slow realization that she was incredible, a little less painful.
“This is going to be good,” Jade promised. “She’ll slowly thaw to you. Just keep that mouth to yourself, okay? Unless you want to kiss her forever.”
Jack lifted the white envelope to the couple in a silent vow to keep a good watch over Nora, but he couldn’t tell them that hedidwant to kiss Nora forever.
That would have brought up all kinds of questions from the pair, who were already mated. As a panther shifter, Parker had actually met and mated his one true mate: Jade.
As wonderful as Nora was, she wasn’t Jack’s mate. His lion hadn’t given him any hint that she was the one for them. Beyond the lion’s purring whenever she was near, the beast didn’t say much when she was around.
So Nora wasn’t his mate, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t fall in love with her.
Love?
The word surprised the hell out of him, but as he cut through the crowd on his way back to Nora, he wasn’t entirely sure he didn’t already have very profound feelings for the ice cream seller.
And to think it had all happened because of an impromptu kiss.
“Here’s our first clue,” he said, handing Nora the envelope.
Their fingers brushed together, and Jack was immediately taken by the electric current that surged between them. He didn’t want to take his hand away. In fact, he wanted to take her hand in his and never let go.
Nora took the envelope, but Jack noticed she wasn’t breathing. Her face was redder by the second as she tore through the paper to produce a single sheet of cardstock on which the very first clue was written.
“Nora,” he said softly, placing his hand on her lower back. “You might be able to read it out loud for the both of us if you take a deep breath.”
She looked up into his eyes, and she immediately filled her lungs. The color drained from her face, leaving her features their usual pink hue. She really was stunning. How had he not lost his mind over her before?
Oh. Right.
Because Nora was shy, and whenever he was around, she always turned into a very quiet and painfully timid woman. He always thought his size and voice made her uncomfortable, but now he felt foolish for letting that get in the way.
“Thanks,” her voice was soft and low. “I guess I’m nervous.”
“Nervous about a scavenger hunt? Nah. Don’t be. We’ll make a great team.”
She nodded but didn’t say another word as her eyes scanned the paper. Jack took a step closer to her and read it too but from over her shoulder.