Page 75 of All I Want For Christmas

She didn’t even know if the agents of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries department were called “officer”. She thought she’d heard someone call him Lieutenant once, actually. But she hadn’t asked anyone about it. Because she shouldn’t be that interested in Theo Taggart.

She had, however, Googled the department later that night, and they did have Lieutenants.

“Well, everyone I know knows what I’m doing today, that my last known location was right here, andyouwere the last one to see me alive, so good luck to you,” she said.

“Circumstantial,” he replied with a lift of one big shoulder. “Not to mention that pretty much every single law enforcement official for about eighty miles owes me a favor of some kind.”

She plopped her sunglasses back down over her eyes so he wouldn’t be able to read any amusement in them. “Are you admitting that you would bribe or blackmail your way out of a conviction?”

He straightened away from his truck. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses either, but she knew he was looking directly at her. “Any recording device you’ve got on you—though I have no idea where you’d be hiding it?—”

Savannah couldfeelhis gaze traveling over her body even without being able to see his eyes. She fought the urge to wiggle.

“—will be getting just as wet as the rest of you, so I’m not too worried,” he finished.

Well, she didn’t know about herentirebody getting wet, but there was one part of her that definitely was.

Was it exceptionally hot out here?

See, wearing these shorts was a really good idea.

She took a breath. “Well, let’s go, already. My bags are in the backseat of my car.”

Now Theo tipped his sunglasses up. “Yourbags? Plural?”

It was getting harder and harder to keep from grinning. She definitely did not need more than one bag. She could have easily used her one shoulder bag. But she wanted his guard down, thinking he knew exactly how this was going to go, thinking he knewher. So she’d brought two suitcases and the matching square hard-sided cosmetic case.

“Yes, bags.” She stuck her hip out and crossed her arms. “I suppose you just put your clothes in a garbage bag and toss it in the bed of your truck?”

He didn’t address how he packed his clothes for out-of-town trips. “Well, New York, I’m not the bellboy at the Hilton. Ifyou’ve got baggage, you’re dealing with it yourself,” Theo told her.

She’d expected that response. Though she found his wording interesting. He was talking aboutluggage, right? Because no, Theo didn’t seem like the type of guy to want to deal with any kind of baggage, honestly.

If they were talking about metaphorical baggage, emotional or family or whatever, she didn’t have a lot. She was pretty straight-forward about what she wanted and why.

She studied Theo. Who was studying her right back.

Theo would probably really like that her big life goal was to live in several different places before she settled down, and even then, to travel often, and that she’d already checkeda southern hotter-than-hades-holy-crap-why-does-anyone-live-here stateoff her list. He didn’t have to worry about her sticking around here.

She’d grown up in New York, so she’d come to Louisiana for college. Louisiana was one of the most opposite places she could think of during her senior year in high school when she was applying to college.

She was in Louisiana for a little longer because of work, but she’d really love to live in the mountains next. Or the desert. Or a west coast city. Or a wide-open rugged rural place like Wyoming or Montana. There were so many options.

“I thought this whole experiment was to show me what staying in my proposed cabins would be like. We will definitely have concierge services that will include handling luggage,” she said.

“This is a taste of what a night on the bayou is like, so you actually know what you’re talking about when you want to bring heavy construction equipment and boatloads—literally—of employees, and spoiled, rich city folk out here,” Theo told her.

“So I shouldn’t expect massage services or a facial tonight?” she asked, her gaze never wavering from his.

Oh, she knewexactlyhow that sounded.

She also knew that he took it exactly that way. His nostrils flared slightly, and his jaw tightened.

And heat arrowed through her stomach to between her legs at both of those things.

Judging by his cough, Zander also took it that way.

“I don’t think thoseserviceswhere you’re spending tonight are what you’re used to, City Girl,” Theo told her.

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