“Why the town is satisfied with such a lazy, incompetent, patronizing jackass, I’ll never understand.”
“Maybe they’re not satisfied with him. Maybe they’re just stuck with him.”
“If they didn’t want him, they could vote for someone else. It’s just the good ol’ boy network. There’s no escaping it in a town like this.”
“Hey! Some good ole boys aren’t bad. I’m one, aren’t I?”
She laughed and let him draw her closer to him when he reached out to tug on the tie of her bathrobe. “You aren’t anything close to a good ol’ boy. Bob is a good ol’ boy. The worst kind. And Ken is a good ol’ boy. The best kind. But you... you’re something else.” She rubbed her hands up and down his face, his beard, enjoying the texture of it against her palms.
“What am I?” His voice was getting a little thick. He was gazing up at her in a way that made her heart race.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But something else.”
“Okay.” His smile was warm. Tender. Breathtaking. “So now I’m wondering why, if you don’t think Bob should be the mayor, you don’t give the town a better option.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” She frowned, not following the shift in conversation.
“I mean why don’t you run for mayor next year?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“I can’t run for mayor!”
“Why not?” He’d pulled her to stand between his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed. His hands lightly cupping her hips.
“Because... because...” She’d never for a moment thought of such a thing, so she didn’t have a ready answer for him. “I don’t know.”
“Well, maybe you should think about it.”
“But I’m just... me.”
Soft laughter shook his shoulders. His blue eyes were full of something that looked like adoration. “Yes. You’re you. Smart. Competent. Organized. Trusted. Fantastic with money. And with planning. You’re a great leader, and you know it. And just think of how much you’d love to be in charge of everything and everyone.”
She gave him a little swat at the teasing note in the last sentence. “Just because I’m bossy doesn’t mean everyone would vote for me for mayor.”
“I know that. They’d vote for you because you’d be so good at it. Seriously, Belinda. Everyone can see how good you are at everything you do. How you can always make things happen. People naturally turn to you when they need leadership. Plus people in town love you. You’d be a great mayor. You know you would.”
Something new and exciting was shuddering inside her, running up her spine and down her arms and legs. “I’ve never even thought about it,” she whispered.
“Well, think about it. If you don’t want to try it next year, you can do it later on. You’d be great at that job. You’d be good for the town. And just think about it. If you were mayor, you could even boss me around. You know you’ve always wanted to do that.”
She laughed, still playing lightly with his beard. “There’s no way you’d let me boss you around, even if I was mayor. You’re the only person who never let me. You wouldn’t even disagree with me. You’d just laugh and do exactly what you wanted. You have no idea how much it drove me crazy.”
“Yes, I do.” He gave the ties on her bathrobe a little pull, causing her robe to fall open. “Why do you think I did it?”
“You were trying to drive me crazy?”
“It was the only way I could get your attention. Anyway, it was good for you to get a little resistance from someone. But if you really want to boss me around, I’ll let you do it.” His eyes ran up and down her body, which was bared from his opening her robe.
She could see the heat smoldering in his expression now, the way his body tightened. Despite the ample proof she’d had over the past six weeks, she still couldn’t believe she could provoke that particular reaction in him. “You couldn’t do it. After about five minutes of my bossing you around, you’d break and start rebelling.”
“Never. I can be good. Start bossing me around right now, and you’ll see.”
She gently pushed him back onto the bed. He went, but he pulled her with him so she was straddling his hips. “Okay. Then first thing is you need to trim your hair and beard again. They’re getting kind of messy.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled up at her, stroking her thighs. “See how good I am?”
She rolled