Page 57 of Shortcake
He matched my laugh and tapped my elbow with his. “You always had a business brain on you.” Elijah’s smile faded as his eyes fell to the bruise on my jaw.
Dammit.
I’d mostly covered it with makeup, but MAC cosmetics could only do so much in the summer heat and humidity of the lakes region.
He cleared his throat and cautiously lifted his hand to my jaw, brushing the bruise gently with the backs of his fingers. “Where’d you get the shiner, Addy?”
Damn… blunt. But I could respect that. Most people in town would ignore it, then ask around the gossip mill until they got some sensationalized version of the story.
I gave a tired laugh and shook my head. “One of the hazards of working in a bar. I tried to break up a fight last night.” I conveniently left out the fact that it was a brawl involving the new sheriff himself.
His eyes widened. “Jesus.”
I shrugged it off, desperately searching for a way to change the subject. “Adam seems like a really good kid,” I said.
That did the trick. Elijah beamed. “He is. He plans on applying to Brown in a couple years.”
I hissed. “Ouch. That’ll put a dent in the ol’ wallet.”
Elijah shrugged, but if I wasn’t mistaken, worry lines creased his forehead. “Emily’s new husband is quite rich and is actively trying to do the whole stepdad bonding thing by buying Adam's affection.”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah. Besides, he’ll get scholarships. As long as he’s not distracted by this new girl. He’s a sucker for smart girls with dimples.” Elijah paused, then added as he leaned in just the slightest bit, “Just like his old man.”
The world slowed down like I was underwater, my pulse seeming to hit at half-speed. I turned to look at Elijah, whose eyes were fixed onto my lips.
Uh-oh. Oh shit.Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Had I unknowingly been putting out flirty vibes? I hadn’t meant to.
I opened my mouth, unsure of how to respond.
Then, as if it couldn’t get any worse, the front door to the store swung open and Conrad walked in.
For the briefest moment, his normally stern mouth tipped into a small smile as soon as he saw me. He lifted a hand to wave, and I ignored the explosion of butterflies taking off in my stomach at the sight of him.
His eyes flicked to Elijah and what was beginning as a smile formed instead into a stoic, thoughtful line. The shift in his expression was neither angry nor happy as far as I could tell; simply a firm aloofness with a hint of curiosity etched into the brackets around his mouth.
But the shift was alarming, all the same. Then, almost as though just realizing that Harper wasn’t there beside me, his gaze swept the bookstore, landing on the table in the coffee shop where she was sitting with a group of friends.
No. Oh, God, no.
His eyes cut back to me, flashing with fury and disappointment.
I was pretty sure it was an expression meant to intimidate. Or at the very least, one he couldn’t control in his anger. But something in that impassioned, furious, sexy glare of his made my skin prickle and heat. A tight coil constricted low in my belly and my thighs clenched in a movement so involuntary, I had no control over it.
The adrenaline rush of fear. The excitement of getting caught.
In quick, exacting strides, he took off storming over to where she was sitting with her back to him.
“No,” I whispered to myself as I watched him stalk toward his daughter, ready to completely humiliate her in front of her new friends.
And she had no clue. She’d never see him coming.
“Addy?” Elijah said my name, but I didn't have time to explain to him that I was fine. Actually, I wasn’t sure I was fine. Conrad looked pissed and I wasn’t sure his relationship with his daughter could be repaired if he tore her away in an angry huff from her new peers.
So instead, I ignored Elijah and took off at a full-on sprint toward Conrad. I had no plan for when I reached him, other than to minimize damage.
Unfortunately, for as strong of a badass as I was, coordination and sports werenotmy forte. While I was fast enough to intercept him long before he reached the coffee shop section of the store, I was not balanced enough to stop myself from literally crashing into the wall of muscle that was Conrad Mayer.
