All's Fair in Love and Chocolate (Marietta Chocolate Wars #1) - Amy Andrews Page 0,9

the lights then pushed the door open, stepping out onto the pavement that bordered Main Street. The air was brisk at four in the afternoon on this first day of November and she made a mental note to bring a coat with her tomorrow. To her left the skyline was dominated by the towering peak of Copper Mountain, a fine dusting of snow on the summit glistening in the rays of the setting sun.

From her research on the town, Viv knew that soon Miracle Lake would freeze over and the pumpkins that abounded on everyone’s porches would gradually be swapped out for Christmas decorations. Thanksgiving would come and go followed by the famous Marietta Stroll. Cashed-up tourists who’d come for the nearby skiing at Bridger Bowl would have plenty of places to sink their money and Delish was well positioned to take advantage.

Viv turned toward the mountain and the long way back to her rented cottage on Bramble Lane. She could have cut through one of the cross streets but Main Street had a real frontier feel to it, which was so very different to all the cities she’d lived in the past decade, and she found it utterly fascinating. And, after unpacking boxes and packing shelves all day, her legs could do with a bit of a stretch.

Several cars drove by, some nosing into parks, others slowly traversing the main drag as if in no particular hurry. People came in and out of shops as she passed; the odd group of people laughed and chatted barely noticing her at all. Of those who did, some bade her good afternoon, others smiled and nodded while yet others glanced at her with a slight frown as if trying to place her. A couple of older women eyed her without frank suspicion. She supposed the Delish logo on her blouse didn’t help.

Viv smiled to herself. Just as well she wasn’t here to make friends!

A sheriff’s vehicle pulled into a parking space about a hundred feet ahead in front of the diner. The car door opened and the very last person she expected to see in Marietta climbed out of the vehicle.

Reuben. The man who had proven to her that guys could multitask.

He was a…cop?

The fit-him-like-a-glove uniform he wore seemed to indicate that he was indeed a law enforcement officer as he stepped up onto the pavement, cramming his Stetson on his head and pulling it low. As did his loaded utility belt complete with firearm on his hip. Not that she really registered the gun when the snug fit of his shirt just north of the belt showcased what she knew were very impressive abs.

In a Bozeman bar in faded blue jeans and a button-down shirt, Reuben had looked casually virile. Lying stark naked on her hotel sheets after he’d made her come four times, he’d looked sexily rumpled. Striding toward her in his sheriff uniform, he was something else altogether.

Potently masculine. Like Thor, Captain America and John freaking Wayne all rolled into one.

If climaxing was possible from just watching a guy walk, Viv was almost there. The man really should come with some kind of warning label.

Beware—spontaneous orgasm hazard ahead.

Her feet slowed and she stopped and stared at him. Good Lord, even with six weeks and six feet—and closing—between them, he made the earth tilt beneath her shiny black Louboutins.

They were three feet apart when his gaze, which had been scanning the street opposite, came to rest on her. He too, came to a halt.

“Vivian?”

He shoved his hands on his hips for a moment like he couldn’t actually believe what he was seeing before dropping them again and taking two steps in her direction. There was a respectable space between them still but none of Viv’s thoughts were respectable.

“Well, well.” He grinned as his gaze roved over her face, lingering on her mouth. “My day just got a helluva lot better.”

There was no awkward moment as there had been the two other times Viv had come face-to-face with a one-night stand from her past. Just that easy kind of vibe they’d slipped into in Bozeman.

She smiled, his expression of pleasure causing a mad skip in her pulse. “Hey.”

“What are you doing in Marietta?”

“I’ve moved here. Temporarily,” she hastened to add because that was important when looking at a man who tempted her to ditch everything she’d just been thinking concerning one-night stands. “For six months.”

“Really?” Those greeny-gray eyes that had appeared in her dreams a little too often lit with keen