Page 75 of Hot to Trot

She’d might as well have punched him because that was easier than the pain he glimpsed in her eyes before she shuttered them.

"You men need to stop staring at that girl and get her out of this heat." Kitty Lou's bright blue eyes gave him that snap-to-it-quick look moms had perfected around the dawn of time.

Of course. He needed to get Scarlet out of the heat to await the doctor.

"We're going to take you to Tucker House. It will be cool there. You need to see a doctor."

"No, I-"

"Yeah, you do," John said, struggling to his feet. Adam didn't wait for any further protest or agreement. He scooped Scarlet into his arms and pushed through the gathering crowd, toward the senior center housed in the antebellum mansion across the street.

Scarlet didn't say anything. For once. It was as if all her fire had been extinguished, which bothered the hell out of him. He ignored John, who tagged along, and said to Kitty Lou, "Send the doc over."

The sun was hot and Adam tried to avoid Sophie's eyes. She gave him a halfhearted smile as he strode past. Well, hell, if she wanted to be in the running for his wife, she’d have to learn to step aside when his job called.

Not that she had even indicated she wanted to run for the position of the chief's wife.

He climbed the steps to Tucker House and knocked once before entering the cool parlor. He set Scarlet on the sofa that seemed more decorative than comfortable.

"Okay?" he asked, settling her against the flowered pillow.

"Fine."

John lowered himself onto an armchair. A bright red spot marred his left cheekbone. Scarlet's punch wouldn't leave amark, but Adam turned to the man. “And you? You okay? Do you need medical attention?”

John started. “Of course not.”

“Because I’m the chief of police and technically that was assault.”

John shook his head. “No. I’m not pressing charges or whatever. I deserved that.”

"How could you?" she muttered, staring at the white ceiling above her.

Was she talking to Adam? Or the older guy? Or the ceiling?

"What?" Adam asked.

"How could you look at her that way? Like you could fall in love with her."

He took a step back. "Fall in love?"

Her eyes shimmered, and he saw it within the depths. Something elusive and precious, an emotion that both warmed and terrified him.

For most of the time he'd known Scarlet, he'd assumed she'd been playing with him. The way Angi had. A little fun. No harm. No foul. But this didn't feel that way. Scarlet looked heartbroken. "Scar-"

"No, don't say anything. Don't." She waved her hands frantically before easing back and closing her eyes. Tears leaked from the corners and dripped into her braids. A soft sob heaved in her chest.

Adam felt his stomach sour.

He hadn't known. Or he hadn't wanted to know. Hadn't wanted to know she'd been doing more than biding her time with a small-town police chief. What had grown between them was about more than sex. More than friendship. More than admiration. And Scarlet had embraced it. Felt it.

Just like he had.

But they denied it. Wouldn’t allow it to grow. Still, like the flower growing in the middle of a cracked sidewalk, something had clearly taken root and blossomed.

Adam looked at John. He gave a slight shake of his head, clearly not willing to touch this situation. Adam couldn't blame him. Scarlet had heartbreak written all over her and, this time, it wasn't John's fault. It was Adam's.

And he didn’t know how to fix this. He had a date waiting on him, an ex-boyfriend waiting on God only knows what. And Scarlet, eyes closed, tears leaking from the corners.

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