“I thought you rolled out at four,” he called as I passed my parents’ house then turned down the path. His cheeks were bright red from the cold air whipping through the state. Winter was giving fall a not so gentle nudge out of the way. His breath and mine swirled around us, tiny clouds of mist that blew away like the dead leaves at my feet.
“Today was a long one. Contrary to your beliefs I do actually work.” I stomped up my two short stairs to stare into his eyes. “Perhaps today isn’t the best day to do this. I’m tired, hungry, crabby, and not in any state to deal with your divisiveness.”
“Mayor Griffiths, I’m wounded. I’m the least divisive person you’ll ever meet.” I snorted in derision. “Besides, I’m already here. I’ve been here for an hour freezing my balls off. The least you can do as my duly elected public servant is—”
“You didn’t elect me, or even vote.”
“I mailed in my ballot.”
“Oh. Well, good on you. Fine, you can come in and ogle the windows but not one damn word about anything political.” I dared him to give me a flip reply. He nodded once, his lips twitching with barely suppressed mirth. Such an asshole. Turning my back to him, I unlocked the front door and entered. Gideon dashed inside and hurried to close the door.
“Ah heat.” He sighed, rubbing his big hands together while his eyes skipped over my living room. “Nice color scheme. I like monochromatic colors.”
“Thank you.” I tossed my satchel to the leather recliner then hung up my coat. He slipped out of his thick woolen duster, draping it over his left arm. “The windows are in the walls in case you couldn’t find them.”
He sniggered softly before stepping to the window nearest him. “Oh, look, it has glass in it. Fascinating. And I bet it opens in the summer to allow a sweetly scented breeze in.”
“Unless the wind shifts and blows from the pig farm in the south.”
That got a chuckle out of him. “I recall that smell well. I’d have thought that would have gone out of business years ago.”
“Farming is still a large part of our economic base. We’re proud to claim to have the largest number of dairy cows per square acre of any of our southern tier neighbors.”
He ran his fingers over the window casing as if it were a lover. My gaze lingered on his hand, the length of his fingers, and the sensual way he was caressing my double-hung. Having him here in my home was confusing, outlandish to the extreme. I hated this man. Had hated this man. The boy. I had hated the boy he used to be. No, no hating. Mom had always been adamant about that word. I’d strongly disliked the boy he used to be. To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the man he’d grown into. Although I did like the way his mouth was formed as well as the shape of his ass. His eyes were mesmerizing as well.
“…well hung.”
My eyes flared. “I uhm…thank you.”
His lips curled delightfully. What?! No, not delightfully. Evilly. Yes, evil. Pure evil. Tightfisted fiscal pundits were evil. Satan spoke through them. Ask the good pastor.
“The windows, not you. Although I’m sure you’re no slouch,” he said, his voice sneaking into the flurry inside my head to scramble my thoughts even more. Was that a flirt? It sounded like a flirt. A window flirt. What the ever-loving hell was going on here? “So, while I have you here, I thought I’d ask you a question. Actually two questions. One is how far did you get in my book?”
He moved from one window to another, touching each as if he was about to lean down and kiss it. His lips pressed to the glass would chill them. What a shame it would be to see such sinful lips cold. Mine would be warm though…
“I…not far. It’s been kind of hectic.”
“Ah, well when you get to chapter four let me know, and we’ll talk about what’s in it.” He glanced my way, green eyes simmering. Was that a flirt? Yes. It was a flirt. Wasn’t it? Did enemies flirt? Should enemies flirt? “When you’re done with the first one I have copies of my second that I could loan you.”
My throat felt dry and tight as if my tie were too tight. “Thanks that would be nice.” His smile was timid, which made me feel