Page 27 of Catch and Release Groom

“Says the woman who literally begged me to climb into her boat and drop anchor.”

“Dude.”Imogen placed her hands over both of Gator’s ears and whispered, “I’m this close to shoving you overboard and using you as an anchor.”

Easton’s arms and grin spread equally wide, cockiness in the curve of his lips as he basically dared her to try.

Great, first gasping, and now she found herself harumphing. “You’re slacking at your portion of the pedaling.”

“Sure.I’mthe one who’s been slacking.” His legs went to pumping again, reminding her of a few of the reasons she put up with his antics. “So, do you want to hear my conditions? Or should I just drop you at the shore and call it a day?”

Chapter Eleven

Easton would swear up and down that Imogen’s answer didn’t much matter to him either way.

It’d just be a stronger argument if he hadn’t snatched that carrot she’d dangled with enough force he’d nearly plunged them both into the murky depths of the lake. She’d threatened to shove him overboard, too, as if she could budge him from his spot, although he’d enjoy it far too much if she tried.

“Tick-tock, sweetheart. This is a limited-time-only type deal.” One he shouldn’t consider making, and perhaps that was why he’d decided to be an asshole about it. In some ways, it’d be best if she rejected his offer.

In a lot of other ways… Maribelle, who wo-manned the phones down at the station in Uncertainty, had already fielded over a dozen calls today. Not because Faye and Nellie Mae were having one of their usual spats about pigs, gardens, and property lines; there’d been no reports of loose possums, raccoons, or other vermin running wild in the hallways of the school. Even the senior citizens had taken a break from reporting whatever the town’s youth were doing that they didn’t think they ought to.

Rather, Maribelle thought he should know that several members of their community had rung the station to inquire after Deputy Reeves, and how he was handling the wedding now being less than a week away.

Did Maribelle think there’d be a brawl? Was the department going to request backup from another town’s police force? Who else “round these parts” even had a police force?

It was almostas ifhe’d taken off the week for this very reason—to prevent his personal life from becoming fodder. He did his best to ignore the gossip, similar to the way he’d ignored his friends’ misgivings and Grace’s mixed signals during that final year of their relationship.

“Are you seriously going to make me ask?” Out popped Imogen’s lower lip. “Don’t you think my pride’s taken enough hits since we met?”

Naturally, his concern had been on behalf of his own ego, and when had he gotten like that?

Around the time Grace played me for a fool.

“Fair enough.” While he was firmly against people whipping out their phones to record each and every moment, he wished he’d captured the shock on her face. “Don’t look so surprised. I can be reasonable.”

“Since when?”

“About two minutes before you showed up in my life,” he said, the statement a little too accurate.

She made an offendedah!noise. “You were the one who knocked on my door.”

“Oh, I remember,” Easton said, exhaling so he wouldn’t accidently suck in a whiff of her delicious, disorienting perfume. “Yesterday morning and during our kiss on the dock, and both times it took every ounce of restraint to keep from charging on through.”

A heated breath spilled from her parted lips, blazing a trail to the base of his balls.

He gritted his teeth, determined not to lose his train of thought. “There’s a wedding taking place in my hometown this Saturday, and I need a date.”

The tilt of her head emphasized the befuddlement in her features. “You? Need a date?”

“Needis a stretch,” Easton said, recognizing it as a lie only after he’d embellished. “Then again, getting the entire population of Uncertainty, Alabama to stop sticking their noses in my business is bordering on need.”

Curiosity replaced her confusion. “What? Why?”

“Did you miss the nosy part, and how I’m not a fan?”

As if the answer weren’t clear-cut enough, she wobbled her head and wrinkled her nose, and he wished it wasn’t so damn cute while also being glad he got to witness it. “I guess I don’t see why they get to be, and I don’t.”

His laugh pierced the air, catching him as off guard as her comment. “I’ll give you the bare-bones recap, and then we’ll never speak of it again. Deal?”

Imogen mimicked zipping her lips and nodded so enthusiastically he barely withheld his urge to praise her, as that was a kink for a different time.

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