Page 8 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
Her gaze narrowed as she crossed her arms. “What are you planning to do? Have my car towed?”
A lopsided smile eased the lines on his face. In that moment, she was reminded of how cute he was. All of the Bishop brothers were good-looking, but Parker was by far the handsomest. Too bad he was so annoying.
This wasn’t going like he’d imagined.
Parker had thought she would be relieved to have the light fixed. Instead, she was eyeing him with suspicion. Maybe he had been a little hard on her lately. Maybe it was because she drew his attention every time she was out and about.
They’d been doing this hostile thing for so many years they didn’t know how to act any different around each other. Perhaps it was time to change that. But was it too late?
“Relax.” His voice was soft. “I just came to do you a favor.”
She looked at him with suspicion. “I don’t need you to do me a favor.”
He sighed. Maybe his brother had a point. “Listen, I’m sorry if it seems like I’m pulling you over a lot.” When her eyes widened in surprise, he said, “Just slow down.”
She leveled her shoulders and stared directly at him. “I did slow down, and you still pulled me over for a light being out. For your information, I didn’t even realize it was out.”
“And did you look at your ticket?”
She was quiet for a moment. “No.”
He nodded. That was what he figured. “If you would let me have your keys, I can go fix your tail light.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Why do you want to help me?”
He shrugged as he tried to find an answer. “Let’s just say that I’m in the holiday mood. Besides, Merry Mufflers and More is closed now. You’d have to drive home with your light out.”
“And you’d have to ticket me again.” She rolled her eyes.
“Belle,” her boss called out to her. “Your customer needs your assistance.”
With a sigh, Belle rushed back to the checkout counter. She reached beneath the counter and then returned to hold out a set of keys to him. “How much is this going to cost me?”
“Nothing.”
She dropped the keys into his hand and rushed to the back of the boutique. So much for a thank you. Then again, that wasn’t the point of this exercise. It was to get his brother off his back.
This was the longest twenty-four minutes ever.
At last, the work day was over. After Belle’s two customers left, the boutique grew quiet. They were able to get through their closing process and out the door at precisely five o’clock. For Mavis that meant going upstairs.
For Belle, it meant heading out in the cold, snowy evening and facing Parker. She couldn’t believe he’d volunteered to change the light in her car. He was up to something, but what?
She grabbed her purse from under the counter. She moved swiftly to the back of the store and slipped on her boots before shrugging on her winter coat. At the back door, she drew in a deep breath and let it out. She opened the back door and headed toward her car.
There were large snowflakes drifting ever so gently to the ground. Her gaze moved to her car, where she found Sheriff Bishop leaning against it while staring at his phone. When he lifted his head and his gaze met hers, her stomach dipped. She refused to decipher her reaction to him staring at her.
And then a slow, lazy smile pulled at his lips. The breath caught in her lungs. She averted her gaze. She didn’t care how handsome he was; she wasn’t going to let her guard down with him. He’d probably find another reason to pull her over tomorrow or the next day.
She came to a stop a respectable distance from him. “You’re still here?”
He nodded. “I thought you’d want these back.” He dangled the keys in front of her. After she took them, he said, “Hop in. I want to make sure the light works.”
Not sure what to say, she quietly did as he asked. She started the engine. The lights automatically turned on. She put down the window.
“Looks good,” he said. “Press the brakes.”
A moment later, he stood next to the window. “It all looks good now. You shouldn’t have any more problems.”
