Page 81 of Rowdy Hearts

But we only had another few hundred feet before we reached our destination. I could behave myself until then. After that, all bets were off.

“Nah,” Tressy said, “I call it the Curse of the Oldest. It’s programmed into our DNA to think we’re the center of the universe, and that nothing and no one could function without us around.”

My turn to laugh, which made her smile up at me with that grin I couldn’t get enough of. I reached for her hand to tug her against me, but I heard her quiet intake of breath as we reached our destination.

“Oh, wow. This was definitely worth the walk.”

I followed her gaze through the trees to the waterfall that spilled out of the hillside and into the little pond, which flowedinto the stream. That stream wound down through the hills and into town. It was so damn pretty, it should be on a postcard. But people around here didn’t like to advertise their secret spaces to outsiders. Of course we welcomed visitors when they happened to pass through town or showed up for a hockey game. Otherwise, we liked our town just the way it was. Ours.

“Rowdy, this is beautiful.”

Yeah, she was. So damn beautiful, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The waterfall was nice, too, but I’d seen it a million times.

“Come on.” I nodded my head toward the trail. “We can access the pond down here.”

She didn’t move, glancing up at me. “Are you sure you have time for this?”

“I have more than enough time for you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Rowdy

We were cuttingit close by the time we got back to my place, but I hadn’t wanted to rush her. I wanted her to fall in love with St. David. I wanted her to stay and fall in love with me.

“You hungry?” I asked as we walked in the door. “I’ve got meatballs and sauce on the stove. “I just need to start the water for pasta.”

She bit her lip. “I really should pick up Krista. I don’t want her to overstay her welcome.”

I put my hands on the back of the couch and leaned forward, watching her glance at my arms for a second before reconnecting with my gaze. I’d taken off my sweatshirt and pushed up the sleeves of my t-shirt.

“Daisy already has plans to feed the kids and bring them to the game.”

“I stillhave to check in.”

“Of course. No problem.” I nodded over my shoulder. “I’ll be in the kitchen. Come find me when you’re done.”

She hesitated for a second, before returning my nod and pulling out her phone. I had the water boiling by the time she walked back into the kitchen.

“You get hold of Daisy?”

I opened the package of fresh, but store-bought, pasta – hey, I wasn’t that amazing in the kitchen that I could make my own pasta – and dumped it in the water.

“What’s this town’s dark secret?”

I turned to look over my shoulder and gave her a confused smile. “Huh?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a look that was definitely suspicious. “I mean, are you all serial killers by night? Is the water polluted? Are you witches and you curse everyone who stops here to forget this place as soon as they leave? There has to be a reason everyone’s so nice. And don’t give me some song and dance about how small towns are this magical fairyland where everyone’s amazing. No place is this perfect.”

My smile kept growing with every word. Her almost comical confusion made my blood sizzle for some reason. She just looked so damn sexy.

“You think I’m perfect, huh?”

I wanted to get a smile out of her, and I did, but I could see she was still stewing about something. And I wasn’t exactly sure what.

Her exaggerated sigh and rolled eyes made my dick harder, if that was even possible. Good thing she wasn’t looking below my belt.

“No, I donotthink you’re perfect. No one’s perfect.” She paused. “Except maybe Jon Bon Jovi, and that’s not open for discussion. Right now, we’re talking about you.”

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