Page 17 of Loving My Enemy

First one eye opened and then the other, surprised to see not one ounce of pity. Only sympathy, kindness, and outrage.

“They wanted to save Austin and I didn’t mind helping him. I loved him. It just would have been nice if they loved me just a little too.”

Penny and Max both reached for me as I reached for the bottle of tequila, finally understanding the anesthetic effect of alcohol on emotions.

“They shouldn’t have done that.” Penny’s words were firm and filled with emotion.

“No, they shouldn’t have. But they did and that’s my story. Now, though, I think I need more tacos and less talking.”

“I never say no to more tacos,” Max said, taking two from the platter and moving them in front of me. “Let’s eat while Penny and Nina make us jealous by talking about all the hot sex they’re getting.”

My face flamed again and this time I didn’t hide it. I just laughed along with my new friends and listened as they shared the highs and lows of their lives without holding back.

It was nice, and for the first time since I got here, Tulip felt like home.

Chapter 9

Antonio

Afull day had passed and I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.That. Kiss.It was a momentary lapse in sanity. That was the only explanation. But there was no damn explanation for the way Elka responded to it. The way she pressed those sweet little curves up against me and clung to me, like she couldn’t get enough of my touch or taste, burned me until it felt like my whole body was on fire.

And to top it all off, it wasn’t just your average kiss—not in any fucking way. She wasn’t the seductress she seemed, or that I had pegged her to be based on the fight in the Black Thumb. Her kiss was unskilled, unsophisticated, almost clumsy. It had to be an act. There was no way I would let myself be fooled by a pretty face and a hot body. Not again. I’d been down that road once before and had no interest in going back.

Not again. No way. No fucking thanks.

There was no way a woman as vibrant and passionate as Elka could truly be that unskilled. It was a damn kiss. Every girl in Tulip had known exactly how to kiss from the age of fifteen, younger for a few of the faster girls. “Doesn’t matter,” I told myself and shook all thoughts of the tiny blond from my mind.

“What doesn’t matter?” Tyson stood in the door to my office wearing a shit-eating grin.

“Nothing,” I growled in response, unwilling to talk about what, or ratherwho, was plaguing my mind. “You need something?”

He nodded, but his expression was unreadable. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

Tyson cast me a look with laughter burning in his eyes. “Have I ever led you astray?”

“You mean other than the time you convinced me to go with you into the mountains and we were lost for two days? Or when we jumped off that cliff into ice-cold water only to find there was no safe way out? Other than that …” I stroked my chin thoughtfully. “Nope.”

His outburst of laughter surprised me as it echoed around the room. “Exactly. So follow me.”

What the hell else was I gonna do when the guy was my best friend and my boss? I followed him out of the station and into his SUV cruiser that sat in the spot closest to the door. “Now that we’re going, care to tell me where?”

“Nope. I’d rather it be a surprise.” He flashed the smile that had won him the job of sheriff just eighteen months ago.

“Sometimes I wonder why I keep you around.”

“Because I’m the only one who’ll put up with your grumpy ass.” He laughed but we both knew it was true. Tulip was a small town and I didn’t have enemies, but people didn’t knock down my door to hang out anymore. They also didn’t ignore me when I managed to show up, which I considered a win. Mostly. “We’re answering a call.”

Those words allowed my shoulders to relax a little, for about a minute, and then we turned onto a very familiar block. My block. “What in the hell, Tyson?”

He grinned again. “That’s sheriff to you, deputy.”

I rolled my eyes at his joking words but I couldn’t ignore the way my heart raced so hard it was difficult to breathe, wondering which of my neighbors was hurt or injured. Maybe worse. “Okay,sheriff, what’s going on?”

Because friends were put on this earth to test your patience, Tyson took a long breath as he maneuvered the car to the curb and pushed the gear shift into park. “Paul Brinkley called and said he was worried the new hippie chick on the block might hurt herself trying to move a piece of furniture on her own.”

It was Elka.Of courseit was Elka. Who else would be conspiring with the universe to screw up my day? “You needed my big strong muscles to fill in where yours fail, old man?”

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