When We Met

Taryn didn’t get the problem. “Isn’t she allowed? From what I’ve seen, she works pretty hard for the town. Going away might do her good.”

Dellina and Isabel exchanged a look. “Maybe,” Isabel admitted. “But it’s weird. Like she might never come back.”

Larissa looked as confused as Taryn felt. “Does she have a husband?”

“She’s a widow.”

Taryn reached for another chip. “Maybe she has a mysterious, handsome man she travels with,” she teased.

Isabel’s eyes widened. “Mayor Marsha with a secret lover?”

Noelle shook her head. “Okay, I’m kind of with you on that one. While I want her to be happy, it’s kind of strange to think about.”

“We should all be so lucky when we’re her age,” Taryn said firmly. “I vote for the secret lover story. The mayor has earned it.”

“Troublemaker,” Dellina grumbled.

“You know it.”

* * *

TARYN WAS NAKED. Angel stared at her and felt the breath leave his body. Good thing because that made room for more hot blood to fill his groin. She was tall and leggy and totally naked, with her long hair covering her breasts and hard nipples playing peekaboo with him. And speaking of hard—

“Get up.”

“I am up,” he mumbled only to realize the slightly crabby voice wasn’t coming from the vision in front of him but was instead at the periphery of his consciousness. Nor was the voice in question talking about up in the sense that he meant it.

He sat up instantly. But even in his newly awake state, he had the sense to make sure the sheets were covering his now painful erection.

Consuelo stood in the doorway of his bedroom. The hall light was on and she was already dressed. He glanced at the clock and saw it was a few minutes to six.

“Why are you awake so early?” he asked.

“We have to be somewhere.”

“Where?”

“A basketball game. At Score. It’s the PR agency with the football—”

“I know what it is,” he said, willing his penis to calm down. There was no way he could stand with Consuelo in the room. She wasn’t the type to pretend to ignore it, and he didn’t want to take the ribbing.

“You’re crabby,” she told him. “We’re leaving in five minutes. Be ready.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He waited until she walked out of the room and closed the door before standing. He pulled on sweats and a T-shirt and then got socks and athletic shoes. Five minutes later, he was presentable in all ways possible and headed out the door.

It was still dark outside, but first rays of light were visible over the mountains. Consuelo stood by her truck, her keys dangling from her fingers. He noticed she’d removed her engagement ring.

“Hey,” he said, pausing by the passenger door. “You two set the date yet?”

“Do you want me to start the day by killing you? Because I can.”

Her tough talk didn’t bother him. He knew the cause. He grabbed her around the shoulders, then twisted her until he had her in a headlock. He wasn’t trying that hard and she could have broken free at any second, but she didn’t. Instead she leaned into him.

“Don’t be scared,” he said quickly. “Kent’s lucky to have you.”

Consuelo shrugged free of his hold and stared at him. “What if I don’t know how to be what he wants?”

“Dollface, you’re his fantasy.”

“Fantasies change.”

“He’s not going to change his mind. He loves you.”

Under any other circumstances he would have added something like “God knows why.” But she was vulnerable and he wouldn’t tease her when she was down.

“Yeah,” she said, not sounding convinced. “I guess.”

He pulled her close. She stepped into his embrace. He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Look at it this way. If he does change his mind, you can kill him and I’ll help you hide the body.”

She chuckled. “Deal.”

They drove to Score. On the way, Angel briefly wondered if he would see Taryn, only to realize she wasn’t exactly the organized sports type. He’d seen enough of her to know that she had to work out, but in a clean, civilized way. An elliptical, he would guess. Maybe some free weights. Probably pink and with a designer label.

The image made him smile. Yeah, that was Taryn. Not fussy, he thought. Perfect. What he would give to see her with a little mud on her cheeks. Or naked. Naked worked for him.

They pulled up in front of the offices, then Consuelo made a U-turn. Angel saw the full-sized basketball court and the guys waiting.

Ford and Justice were his business partners. He’d met Jack and Kenny around town and knew Sam by sight. Also joining the game were Ryan Patterson, a local engineer, Raoul Moreno and Josh Golden. Which meant they had a full team.

“Hey,” he said as he and Consuelo walked onto the court.

They greeted each other and shook hands. He half expected a comment about the girl, but her reputation seemed to have preceded her.

Jack stepped into the middle of the group. “Let’s divide up into teams and see who gets their asses handed to them. Sam?”

Sam stepped forward with a cloth bag in his hand. “We’ll draw chips. Consuelo’s team is shirts.”

Kenny grinned. “Am I the only one who wanted her on skins?”

Angel prepared to get between them, knowing Consuelo was more than capable of doing permanent damage to the man. It didn’t matter that Kenny was more than a foot taller and at least a hundred pounds of muscle heavier. She could have him on the ground and screaming in a heartbeat.

But she only raised an eyebrow and murmured, “In your dreams, rookie.”

The guys all laughed, then reached for the bag to pull chips.

Two minutes later, they were sorted into teams. Angel pulled off his shirt and told Kenny, Raoul and Sam to stay clear of Consuelo. “She’ll play to win and she plays dirty.”