Page 30 of No Bed Of Roses

“I can’t imagine it being my father, but I could see Ed Pringle getting his kicks out of scaring me.”

And coworker Ed had just wormed himself to the top of the list. “After we’re done here, why don’t we see what the prick’s been up to? See what the internet can tell us.”

Having a target was a very good thing.

Isla smiled as she helped the team finish up the work of demolishing the buildings. Levi hadn’t doubted her feelings for even a second. He believed her. Believed in her.

It was a heady feeling.

As the sun started setting, Sean let out a loud whistle that had everyone turning to see him. “Thanks for your help, everyone. We’ve got some food set up in the Saloon. We’ve got a couple of teens to play with the dogs. Come on in.”

There was a large cheer, and everyone finished what they were doing with a smile. A youth who was probably in high school came over and introduced himself as Hudson. He asked if he could take Hopper to the group where several older teens played with the dogs.

Levi joined her and took her hand. When they were walking up the steps, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “This is dinner. Must count as the second date.”

She laughed and squeezed his hand, liking the direction of his thinking. “You’re right. Dinner was the proposed second date, so this must be it.”

Inside, Nina called their names and waved them over to where a few tables had been pulled together. “We’ve got seats saved for you here.”

Her mother, Addison, smiled. “If you don’t have other plans, we’d love for you to join us. A few others are helping dish out the food, but they asked us to save seats for them as well.”

It wasn’t long before everyone had food and was sitting. Troy, Piper, Sean, Branna, and Marcus joined their group.

Isla asked Piper about her vision for the town.

“I want to keep the character of the town intact. It’s a quirky place, which matches the weird name of the town.”

“Hey.” Troy protested, and his fiancée grinned at him.

She kissed him on the cheek and then turned back to Isla. “Phail Way Park is going to be the town center, where people can gather throughout the day, and a place that will appeal to tourists. Most of our businesses are on the streets around the block, although I’m hoping we can attract more.”

She gestured at the Saloon. “This is a great addition. Now we have the diner, the B&B, and this place for food and gathering. No tourists show up at a place with nowhere to eat, so this is going to help.”

As the group chatted about the town, and Piper told Isla about the website they were building to showcase it, Isla struggled to focus because she was completely distracted by Levi. Their arms and legs brushed as they talked and ate. He rested his hand on the back of her chair and played with her hair, and ran his thumb over her shoulder.

Her mind was on the fact that they were calling this a date. Their second date. And she wanted this date to finish on a high note.

They helped clean up, and met more of the townspeople, but they never missed an opportunity to touch. Passing dishes to put away, cleaning off tables, pushing in chairs.

When the place was clean, Levi took her hand, and she nearly jumped out of her skin with anticipation. His grin was sexy as hell as he rubbed his hand over her skin, lighting fires everywhere.

They managed to say goodbye, pick up Hopper, and make their way to Levi’s truck without igniting anything. Although she was close to going up in flames, and he’d only touched her hand.

Neither said a word as Levi zipped out of town, up and down the hills, and back to her cottage. When he parked, Levi put his hand on the key but didn’t turn off the truck. Instead, he looked at her with desire blazing.

Isla didn’t hesitate. She wanted this man too badly to play games. “Please come in. Stay the night.”

Her soft words had him grinning. He turned off the truck and hopped out. He’d opened her door before she’d even got her seatbelt off.

Hopper jumped from the truck, peed on the tire, and led the way up the stairs. With trembling hands, Isla unlocked the door and set the security code while Levi closed and locked the door. “Does Hopper need anything?”

She shook her head. “No. He’s got a water bowl in the kitchen.”

“Good.”

Then her back was against the door, and her lips were tangled with Levi’s. Just that touch nearly had her exploding. She threw her arms around his neck and raised as high as she could go on her toes. Being short had never bothered her, but now she needed to be closer. She wanted their bodies flush.

As if reading her mind, Levi put his hands under her butt and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around him, and finally, they touched in all the very best places. The man had some excellent very best places.

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