Page 18 of His Curvy Distraction

When I made it outside, I drew a full breath of cold air, letting it sink in and fill me up. It wasn’t a cold shower, but it would have to do until I finished my day and could go for a drive and put all thoughts of Natalie Edwards far behind me.

Where they needed to stay.

5

Natalie

I listened as the door closed behind the mayor and nearly fell over. I could finally breathe with him gone.

I could not be attracted to the mayor. I couldn’t. It was a bad idea. It was the worst idea. He was not in my league. Not even close. Those looks he gave me…

I misread those. He wasn’t attracted to me either. It was just an emotional time and…

Crap, I didn’t know. But there was no way Mayor Omar Knight actually wanted me. No matter what the look in his eyes made me think. I had misread far too many looks from men in my life and knew trying to guess what he was thinking was an even bigger disaster than the last time I thought a man was looking at me with desire.

Oh, no. That time was embarrassing. After a few weeks talking to a guy on Book Boyfriends Wanted, we met in person. We danced and kissed, only to find out he was using me to make his ex jealous. It worked, and she stole him right out from under me. Not that it was really stealing when he wanted it to happen.

I wasn’t attached, so it wasn’t a big deal, but this time? No. Mayor Knight was someone I had to work with. I could not get sucked into a fantasy of my own making. I had to be real.

“Did I see Omar leaving?” Amelia asked, startling me out of my daydream about the man in question.

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, gathering the papers all over the table. “He came by for that meeting.”

“I thought you were going to his office.” Amelia gave me her stern mom look, with one raised eyebrow, a hand on her hip, and her lips pursed disapprovingly. “Did you make him come here?”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t.”

“Then why was he here?”

“Because I canceled the meeting,” I confessed softly.

“Natalie. I thought you were fine with it.”

“I thought so, too! Then I came in this morning and knew I couldn’t do it.”

“Yes, you can. I know you can. You are so passionate about the summer camp, and when you show that, it’s infectious. But you have to be willing to show it.”

“I did. I think. He said he agreed with what I said about getting things done before camp opens.”

Amelia grinned. “That’s great news! Did you talk about the phases?”

I nodded. He prompted me, giving me a chance to formulate my thoughts without feeling like I was rushing through things. “We did. I think he agreed with everything, but I’m not entirely sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“He wants to meet again next week. With both of us.”

“That’s not bad. It means he’s on board with everything. He’s not giving up.”

“He ended our meeting kind of abruptly,” I said, biting my lip to keep in the way his looks made me feel before Mayor Knight got the hell out of there.

Maybe he saw how I felt on my face, and it scared him off. Crap. I was trying not to let him know I was drawn to him. I hadn’t meant to lean in when we were talking, but it must have bothered him.

“He probably had other meetings. He’s busy, especially with Christmas in ten days and people taking time off for the holiday. Jane said today was the only day he had available to meet, so he probably had somewhere else to be.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

Amelia nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll meet with him next week and go from there. Speaking of the holiday, we have a full group for the break. What are you thinking for activities?”

---