Annelise plucked at her mom’s shirt. “Mom, can we do the ring toss and then get our faces painted?”
“Sure.” Eden handed over a wad of tickets, and they scampered off again.
“I hate to say it,” Eden said, “but I think Jan Pennington deserves some kind of crown. Maybe even a parade.”
“She’d have to organize her own parade. No one else could pull it off.”
Eden laughed. “I think you need to give yourself some credit, too. Everyone wants to help the school because you’ve made it such a great place.”
He gave an aw-shucks one-shouldered shrug, which made her smile.
“Yeah, so great that I’m staying late tonight doing the accounting so I can report to the board tomorrow.”
She smiled at that, almost sadly.
He took a little step closer. He couldn’t help it. Once he’d touched her, every moment not touching her seemed wasted.
She didn’t back away. She tilted her head up to look into his eyes.
And there were her lips...right there.
Speaking of ring toss, all he had to do was loop an arm around her and tug, and she’d be snug up against his body. Talk about winning the prize.
“Gabe... Okay... I have something to say.”
“Okay,” he said softly. The tone instantly made him a little wary.
“While that...” She lowered her voice, even though the sound around them was akin to gulls dive-bombing carrion at the beach, and yet somehow he heard her clearly. “...kiss was really... very nice...”
“Nice?”
He said that a little too loudly. Heads whipped around. Hands shot up and waved gaily when they heard his voice.
“Okay. While it was... mind-blowing...”
A smile started a slow migration across his lips.
“You’re the principal of my daughter’s school. It just seems too risky to...” She stopped. Flared her fingers.
“Embark on a passionate sexual affair... at the very least?”
Her blue eyes practically went black again with that pupil flare.
So, he assumed, did his.
A couple of people strolling by jerked their heads in their direction, as if they, too, recognized something about their stillness. Like two predators about to pounce and filet each other with their claws and teeth, or maybe leap to that other thing nature channels were so known for.
Fucking, in other words. That was the other thing nature channels were known for.
“Gabe, I mean... your standing in the community and mine, if someone finds out we’re—”
“You’re not Hester Prynne. I’m not Dimmesdale.”
This made her smile. Albeit somewhat tautly. They were straight up a couple of nerds to pull out that reference during a sexual negotiation. They were perfect for each other.
“Or if it doesn’t work out with us... it’s not like there’s another school in Hellcat Canyon...”
“Eden...” He struggled to keep his tone patient. “...we’ve both survived awkward situations. I’m a professional. You’re a professional. People might talk. But people will always talk about stuff. What else is there todobut talk and butt into everybody’s business in Hellcat Canyon?”