Page 68 of Billionaire Protector

Sarah lifted an eyebrow at Cole, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue.Score 1-0 Sarah.

“Of course, you’re going.”

“You see– Wait, what?” Sarah turned to Mrs. Carmichael, but not before she saw Cole stick out his tongue.Score 1,000,000-0 Cole.

“Why in the world wouldn’t you go, girl?” Unlike Sarah and Cole, she spoke loud enough for their audience on the balcony (and block, city and invading aliens) to hear. “He’s the catch of the century. He even offered to build my fence for free since police department rules say he can’t take money for extra jobs.”

“There aren’t any rul–” Sarah stopped at Cole’s swift headshake.Perfect.If she couldn’t resist Cole as an overbearing authoritarian, how would she resist the altruistic hero who built fences for elderly ladies for free?

“Sarah doesn’t actually have a reason, although she’s desperately trying to think of one,” Cole said mildly, both diverting the subject from his altruism and turning the attention on her. He lifted his eyebrows at her.

So did Mrs. Carmichael.

So did the entire hot hunky heroes movie club.

Fantastic. He made it seem like she was purposely avoiding him because she had feelings for him. Which was totally, utterly wrong, of course. “He’s kidding.” She chuckled, giving him a soft punch on the arm. It was like punching steel. “I thought he might want to go with someone else.”

The single lady contingency of the movie club gasped.

“There’s no one else I’d rather go with.” He gave a wolfish smile. “You’re the only one.”

The single lady contingency of the movie club sighed.

And every shrewd gaze turned her way. “He means professionally,” Sarah hastened out.

“No, I don’t.”

“We’ll spend all our time talking about cases.”

“No, we won’t.”

“So I suppose it does make sense to go from a professional point of view.”

“Isn’t she cute when she’s making excuses?”

Cole was going to be cleaning the station bathroom for the rest of his life. “I’m going to go now, before I do something…” She glared at her reaffirmed arch enemy. “Illegal.”

He laughed as their popcorn-munching audience waved good-bye, some cheerfully, some with undisguised jealousy. Well, they needn’t worry. This so-called date was a onetime thing. Cole probably thought she was an arsonist… no way would he truly pursue a relationship.

And she’d keep telling herself that until she believed it.

* * * *

She was as nervous as a teenager waiting for her prom date. Perched on her small front porch under the clear blue afternoon sky, Sarah adjusted and readjusted the itchy outfit for the twelfth time, finger combed her uncooperative tresses. Waited for the man who never left her thoughts.

If only she could drive herself to the festival. She could avoid Cole’s disconcerting presence and be free to leave when she wished, but her grumpy car was acting up again. When Cole offered to take her, she didn’t have an excuse to say no that didn’t involve a mythological creature.

She pulled at her lacy collar, sucking in the usually delightful fragrant air that now turned her throat into a cat scratching post. A low rumbling shook the ground, and she straightened. A sleek convertible Corvette approached, gleaming and ruby red, gliding on the ground with the smoothness of a hovercraft from an 80’s sci-fi flick. Most people in town drove more economical and/or less billionaire-chic vehicles, and it was rare to see something this fancy driving through their small town. Yet now it stopped directly in front of her.

She should’ve known.

Of course, it didn’t stand out half as much as the powerful man who emerged like a warrior from its masculine confines. If Cole had been dashing in uniform, sexy when half naked, he was simply gorgeous in casual clothing. Newly showered, crisply shaven, he smelled clean and fresh with just a hint of musky cologne. A burgundy t-shirt stretched taut against his expansive chest, tucked into midnight black jeans outlining long legs. Like an old-time hero, he wielded just the right combination of sexy and dangerous.

Down girl!She needed to focus on something other than his perfect physique. She inclined her head to the gleaming car. “Impressive.” There, that was a decent start. Calm, professional and casual. Only her mouth didn’t get the message that she was done. “It’s perfect for those who like powerful and muscular… um… things. How many vehicles do you own?”

A raised eyebrow proved he knew she wasn’t just talking about the car. “Five. Not counting the motorcycle, of course.” He grinned.

“Of course.” And then, just because she couldn’t help it. “You do realize you’re one person? You can only drive one car at a time.”

---