Page 59 of A Spot of Trouble
“Yes.” Violet gave a firm nod. “Absolutely.”
“That’s what I thought.” Griff reached for a cupcake.
Sam had the almost irresistible urge to snatch it out of his hand. He crossed his arms instead and nodded.
“Still enemies,” he said flatly.
“Totally,” Violet said. “Arch-enemies, even.”
Okay, then. Maybe they weren’t past the asinine feud after all.
Sam’s body went leaden. The thought of eating an Earl Grey cupcake suddenly made him sick to his stomach.
“Right. It was nice to see you,nemesis.” Violet lifted her chin. “But I should really be going. I’ll see you two on Saturday at the softball diamond. Prepare to be crushed.”
She spun on her kitten heels and marched out of the office, but Sprinkles stubbornly stayed put, because of course she did. Cinder looked as if she might follow after Violet until Sam pointed at her.
Don’t you dare.
Griff smirked and motioned toward Sprinkles with his half-eaten cupcake. “I told you someone has a crush on you.”
Sam had no clue if he was still talking about the Dalmatian or Violet herself—not even when she returned and had to physically drag Sprinkles away.
As wrong as it might be, he wished it were the latter.
***
Violet would have sprinted out of the firehouse if she hadn’t been forced to haul Sprinkles away from Sam’s office in a heap of spots and indignation. Honestly, was just an ounce of devotion too much to ask?
“It’s okay, Sprinkles.” Violet forced a smile as she huffed to a stop on Seashell Drive. “Everyone loves you, so of course you love everyone back. I forgive you.”
Did her dog have to like Sam quite so much, though? Griff was right. It was a full-blown case of Dalmatian fascination.
Violet understood. She wasn’t exactly immune to Sam’s charms herself, and now, to her utter mortification, Griff had noticed. The last thing Violet needed was for the entire TBFD softball team to think she was swooning over Sam Nash every time he got up to bat…
Even though she sort of was.
“Vi?” a pair of familiar twin voices said in unison.
Oh, great. Just who I need to bump into on the sidewalk outside the firehouse.Violet closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face her brothers. “Hi, Joe. Josh. What are you two doing out here? Shouldn’t you be out protecting and serving and all that?”
Josh hitched a thumb in the direction of a police cruiser parked by the curb. “We’re about to go park by the bridge with the radar gun. The Fourth of July crowds are already descending, and you know how they get.”
Violet nodded. The Fourth was always the busiest time of year on the island. Beach house rentals filled up months in advance, the town put on a big fireworks show over the water near the boardwalk, and the Guns and Hoses championship game always took place earlier in the day—unless the tournament was a blowout and a championship game wasn’t necessary. But that hadn’t happened in years.
And it wouldn’t happen this summer, either. Not if Violet could help it.
“More important,” Joe said, casting a purposeful glare at the fire station, “what are you doing here, Vi?”
Violet shrugged, doing her best to feign nonchalance. “Sprinkles and I are on our way to the senior center to see the Charlie’s Angels.”
Joe’s eyes narrowed. “By way of Sam Nash’s place of employment?”
“We heard you carried cupcakes inside the firehouse a little bit ago,” Josh said. “Everyone did. This is a small island, remember?”
Too small, obviously.
“We also heard that youtook a showerwith Sam yesterday?” Joe jammed his hands on his hips.
