Page 79 of Make Her Mine

I shake my head. “I’m not in line.” I’m terrible at these kinds of games and I definitely won’t be able to hit the target with everyone watching.

Hailey laughs. “This is your last chance. He's almost done. Come on.”

I dig for some bravado. “Why would I pay for something I can see anytime I want?”

There are low whistles and ooohs from the crowd.

Hailey laughs again. “Okay, fine. I suppose you want to save your money for the kissing booth, huh? But you can’t monopolize him the whole time.”

My eyes go back to Jefferson's. “Kissing booth?”

He grins as he settles himself on the perch again. “You know me, Lily, always happy to help out around here.”

I don’t even need to look in the direction of Lu and Allison to know that they are already heading toward the kissing booth to find out when Jefferson's shift starts and to be first in line.

I should not care. The kissing booth is harmless after all. It's an age-old tradition. It's fun and silly and raises money for causes. I don’t know what the cause is this year, but it doesn’t matter. Jefferson is a regular. He brings in a lot of money. And obviously he signed up for this before he and I were involved in this crazy plan.

But despite all of that, I don’t really love the idea of him at the kissing booth, puckering up for anyone and everyone who comes along. Or really anyone else at all.

Dammit.

Well, I can convincingly play the jealous girlfriend I guess.

I dig in my pocket and hand my money to Ty Bennett, Hailey's husband. “On second thought,” I say. “I think I will take a shot.”

I hear Jefferson's chuckle as I walk to the line from which I have to throw the three balls. I glare at him, focus on the target, imagine Allison kissing him, and throw the first ball as hard as I can.

It hits the target dead center, and Jefferson goes splashing down into the water again.

He comes up laughing, and his eyes find mine immediately. His gaze stays locked on me as he pulls himself up out of the water, and while he again stands, stretches, and pushes his hair back.

“I think that rounds out my shift,” he says to Hailey.

She nods, grinning broadly. “It does. I don’t wanna make you late for the kissing booth.”

Jefferson climbs out of the tank and comes down the stairs. He heads straight for me.

I actually find myself glancing around, contemplating an escape route.

He comes to stand directly in front of me. “Nice shot.”

“I know.”

“I need to change.”

I just nod.

He wraps a cold, wet hand around my upper arm. “Come with me.”

I give in immediately. Can’t have the town see us bickering. I fall into step beside him as he starts for the ‘changing room’ set up off to the side for this very purpose. It’s essentially a tent made up of sheets draped from poles and clotheslines.

I don’t even hesitate when he ducks inside. I follow him in. He's able to stand up inside and it's got four sides, but I know people can hear our conversation outside so when he lifts an eyebrow, I lower my voice to a whisper.

“I kind of made a big deal about having seen you without your shorts,” I tell him. “So I can’t really act like it's weird for me to come inside while you change, right?”

He grins. “You made a big deal about seeing me naked?”

“Shut up.”

---