Page 43 of The Sweetest Thing
“A bit.” Tansy winked at Leif. Leif’s crooked grin was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. “Everyone should be here in about ten minutes.” She slid a muffin and another taco to Leif. “You get first pick.”
“Cool.” Leif stepped forward to take the food, his posture easing somewhat.
“I’ll get started unloading.” Dane glanced back and forth between the two of them, grabbed an orange juice and headed to the rear of the truck.
Tansy followed. “Need help?”
Dane swung himself up into the bed of the truck with ease. He’d always been fit—even back in high school. Tansy hadn’t thought much of it until the hem of his T-shirt started riding up to reveal a bit of Dane’s well-chiseled back. Her eyes were glued to him, watching as he turned and stretched—the glimpse of his sculpted stomach making her mouth dry.
Stop staring. She blinked, dragging her gaze from his torso to his... Don’t look at his butt. Focus on something normal-ish. Like his...arms.
Dammit.There was nothing normal-ish about Dane’s arms. She’d heard people comparing Dane to Thor, rather the Australian actor who played the role of Thor, more than once. With the hair and the eyes and his size, she understood why people might think that way. But, to her, Dane was...well, he was more.Thosearmsare definitely more.
Tansy was peeling her eyes off Dane Knudson’s overtly masculine form when he turned to face her, a paint can in each hand.
“Here.” He paused. “What?” He set the paint cans down. “What did I do now?”
Tansy shook her head, her lungs too empty to breathe.
“You’re glaring at me.” He frowned. “Already. Before eight in the morning. On a Saturday.”
She fought back her smile. “Istenin the morning on a Saturday a more appropriate time to glare at you?”
“No. Saturday is a no-glaring day.” He shrugged, the corner of his mouth cocking up. “Everyone knows that.”
“Oh,everyonedoes?”Stop smiling. “This is an official thing?”
“Yep.” He nodded, reaching across to scratch his shoulder—the muscles in his arms taut and big and unavoidable.
Tansy swallowed hard. “I feel the need to check your sources.”
“You should take my word for it. For today.” He squatted in the truck bed, tucked a loose strand of wheaten hair behind his ear and smiled. “Truce, remember?”
There goes the whole no-eye-contact thing.She looked away, severing the connection before she could get all flustered and warm. There was no guarantee she’d feel that way, of course, but why chance it? Instead, she’d focus on his...hair. Harmless enough. Or not. Why didn’t his man-bun look ridiculous? He has aman-bun. But, on Dane, it worked. More than worked.Dammit, dammit. Apparently, her only option was not to look at him. Period.
“Good.” There was a hint of smugness to his tone.
No. This is so not good. If she was good, she wouldn’t be fixating on every little thing about him. But she was. And if she didn’t come up with a scathing comeback soon, he’d suspect something was up.
Thank goodness. She breathed a sigh of relief as two trucks and a minivan came bouncing across the field. “There they are.” Tansy grabbed the paint cans and carried them to the barn.
The arrival of the Junior Beekeepers Club set things in motion. Kerrielynn had borrowed her mother’s minivan and packed up all the middle school students inside. They erupted from the bottle green vehicle chattering and laughing and full of energy. They circled around the table to grab breakfast while the high school kids were still parking their trucks. Once the kids discovered the food, it disappeared at an alarming rate.Maybe there won’t be any leftovers.
“We are so excited to get started this morning.” Tansy meant it, too. All the enthusiasm was hard to resist. Overall, it was almost as potent as a cup of coffee. “Mr. Knudson and I are here to help, but your officers have worked very hard to come up with a plan of action that should get the mural and the side of the barn painted before the sun goes down.”
“Not a problem.” Dane rubbed his hands together.
There was a ripple of laughter.
“I agree with Mr. Knudson. Let’s get to work.” Kerrielynn scanned her clipboard. “First things first, let’s get everything unloaded and sorted—matching paint colors, three paintbrushes, two rollers and roller pans each.”
Tansy stood back and watched, amazed, as the group did exactly as Kerrielynn said.
“Huh.” Dane, hands on hips, looked perplexed. He leaned over and whispered, “If I start carrying around a clipboard will I get results like this?”
Tansy scratched her temple. “I don’t know, but I’m tempted to stop on the way home and get one myself.” She smiled up at him.
Dane’s face changed then, the muscle in his jaw clenching tight. His blue eyes swept over her face, lingering on her lips until her cheeks warmed. The smile he gave her shook her to her core.
