Page 57 of Seducing the Sheriff
And right at the checkout, in the middle of my freak-out, I had a revelation. I didn’t care. They didn’t care and nor did I. I was going to apologize to my man for ignoring him, and if he liked the wine, even better.
I beamed at Mary-Beth. “Good to know.”
Lights twinkled from the old ranch house as I turned from the road, a welcoming sight. What was even better was seeing Greg waiting for me as he sat on the stoop, dressed in the almost identical plaid shirt that he wore on our first date and I swear, the same jeans. His lazy smile as I parked up made my heart flutter like it always did. He put the book he’d been reading by the door, loped down the stoop and stopped in front of me as I got out of the truck. But he didn’t haul me into his arms as I expected.
“You look so tired, sweetheart,” he murmured as he cupped my jaw, his touch gentle.
I leaned into his palm. “I am.”
“You’re gonna have a beard like Santa Claus soon.”
“I can’t remember the last time I shaved,” I admitted. I didn’t admit that some days I didn’t get home to clean up. It had to have been a while since I shaved, because it wasn’t itchy now.
He frowned and I guessed that was the wrong answer. “You’re doing too much, Cash. You need to delegate.”
I slumped against him. “Rosie did that lecture already. You don’t need to join in.”
“Suck it up, sheriff. You get one from your boyfriend. I’m allowed.”
“I guess you are,” I agreed. My boyfriend could be the first in line to scold me.
Greg slid his hands down my sides. “But not tonight. Ready for a hot meal and time out on the porch?”
“I’ve thought of nothing else,” I confessed and loved his bright smile.
I ducked into the truck and pulled out the bottle. “We could drink this with dinner.”
His look of delight as he took the wine made my embarrassment at the store worthwhile.
“You remembered.”
“I did. And if I hadn’t, Mary-Beth would have told me,” I assured him.
Greg chuckled as he slung an arm over my shoulders and guided me around the ranch to the porch. “Steak with all the trimmings. I just need to cook the steaks.”
I moaned in appreciation. “Sounds perfect.”
I couldn’t think of anything better, except maybe twelve hours sleep.
“Rosie says you’ve got tomorrow off and if you even think about coming into work, I’m to tie you to the bed.”
My cheeks flamed. “She didn’t.”
“She did. She was most insistent that you didn’t go anywhere near work tomorrow and she would hunt me down and use my skin for a rug, if I failed in my task.”
“She did not say that.”
“I’m paraphrasing,” Greg said, with a smirk. “But that was the gist.”
“I’m never going to live this down.”
“You’re lucky to have an assistant who cares about you.”
“I am,” I agreed. “Although I’m not sure how I feel about her being in cahoots with my boyfriend.”
“Small-town life, sweetheart. It’ll never change.”
Greg pushed me down onto a seat, handed me two wineglasses, and turned to the grill.
