Page 5 of Faking I Do
“You’re just going to stay out here all night, then?” I asked.
Jonah nodded. “If that’s what it takes.”
“And I suppose you’ve got a permit for that?” I took a step toward Lacey, sensing her focus shift from Jonah to me.
Jonah glanced at one of his buddies. “I don’t need a permit to stay out here.”
“This land is private property. If you want to hold a demonstration or a public gathering, based on city code, you need to ask for permission from the owners first.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Unless you’d rather I arrest you and take you in.”
“What are you doing?” Lacey whispered. “I’m handling this.”
I put a hand out, gesturing for her to be quiet. “Your call, Jonah, but I bet your wife will be real pissed if you end up with another offense.”
Jonah gritted his teeth, then muttered something under his breath.
Lacey glared at me. “I said I’ve got this.”
“Fine.” Jonah shook his head, the fight draining from him. “Boys, get me out of here. We’ll have to find another way to settle our differences.”
One of Jonah’s friends fumbled with a set of keys. While we waited for the men to disperse, I turned to Lacey, pretty damn pleased at the way I’d managed to break things up. No one got hurt, Lacey saved face, and it was a win-win all around.
But the look she gave me wasn’t full of the thanks I expected—the thanks I deserved.
“What?” I held my hands out, wondering what I’d done to incite such an angry response. “You’re welcome. Aren’t you going to say something?”
Fire blazed in those bright baby blues, burning hot and icy cold at the same time. “Oh, I’m going to say something, all right.”
CHAPTER 3
LACEY
“You’re welcome?You expect me to thank you for that stunt?” I bit my tongue to keep from yelling a string of obscenities at the dense deputy. How could he possibly think he’d been helping?
“I got Jonah to leave, didn’t I?” Bodie gave me one of his most patronizing looks, the one that drove me absolutely bonkers, like I was too stupid to even realize what a savior move he’d pulled.
“We resolved nothing. I had a chance to make some headway with those men, and you blew it for me.” I glanced skyward, trying to shake off the urge to throttle the man. As I looked up, the damn eyelash fluttered into my eye. “Oh hell.”
“What’s wrong?” Bodie put his hand on my back as I doubled over, trying to get my fingers on the fuzzy black strip.
“These stupid eyelashes. I don’t know why I let Chelsea talk me into them. She said I needed to glam it up for my first time on camera.” I rubbed at my eyelid, not caring anymore if I ended up with mascara and eyeliner all over my cheek. I needed to get the damn fuzzy caterpillars off my face.
“Let me see.” Bodie batted my hands away. “Close your eyes and hold still.”
I did. His fingers gently fluttered across my cheek.
“Be careful.”
He stepped close, close enough that an intoxicating scent of woodsy, earthy male washed over me. I breathed him in, hyperaware of his proximity. He had to be close, almost touching. The thought almost sent me into a full-blown panic attack. But then his fingers brushed back my hair.
“Got it.” His words came out on a warm breath.
I opened my eyes and stared directly into his. A crackle of awareness zipped through me. Unable to move, I waited, all sense of time and space suspended. Bodie’s mouth couldn’t have been more than a few inches from mine. Did he feel something too?
Click. Click.The unmistakable sound of a camera shutter snapped me out of my trance.
Bodie startled, stepping back, taking his warmth with him. I ran a hand over my face to make sure my extended lashes weren’t stuck to my forehead, then took in my surroundings. Jonah and his band of misfits had loaded up and were leaving. But Cyrus Beasely, the photographer from the local paper, stood about fifty yards away, snapping pictures of the warehouse, the hand-printed CLOSED sign stuck to the front door, and us.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I sprang into offense mode.
