Page 40 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

“Why are ya laughing?” she demanded.

He stepped forward and into her personal space, leaving only a small space between their lips. “When I want to kiss you, I will.”

She sucked in a gasp.

He stepped away, still holding eye contact. “Now, stay here for ten counts, then come after me.”

She shook her head as though she hadn’t quite made the leap back from what he’d just said about kissing her. He’d thrown her off-balance. Good. He turned from her and ran up the bright green grassy hill and to the right. She started counting, and before he was all the way concealed, he glanced back at her, catching her eyes before fully disappearing out of sight. Then, he hunkered down and cut a sharp left, hiding behind a big pine.

The sun was almost completely down now, leaving a soft glow about them.

A moment later, she crested the hill and headed off to the right, the last direction she’d seen him go. He waited until she’d gotten well past, then went after her. When he was a few steps behind, he stopped. “Allie.”

She shrieked and spun around, her hand going to her chest. “Mother Hubbard! Don’t sneak, are you crazy? I could’ve gouged your eyes out or something. I told you we should have done this at Tulips and Tandem.”

Right, because the Spencers needed them trampling their flowers on opening week. He chuckled and took a step closer to her.

The same hand that had gone to her chest in fright now came out in a “stop” motion as he moved closer. “How’d you do that?”

He stepped into her hand, letting it rest on his chest. “I made you think I headed right, then cut back to the left. You can do it too. When you crest the hill, just make sure to look back. If you can still see my eyes, then it’s too soon to change directions.”

“I can do that.” She took a deep breath, then glanced up. “You ran off, and I had this terrible thought aboutThe Blair Witch Project. You knowThe Blair Witch Project? Jo’s always complaining about the movies I make her watch, but I haven’t seen that movie since high school, and I swore never again.” She was rattling off, something she did when she was nervous or emotional. It was adorable. “Anyway, I just had this thought that maybe—”

Brandon took another step closer.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. His heart nearly thudded out of his chest. It hurt, that firm beat, but in the best way he could imagine. He knew what it was like to be in gunfights. He knew what it was like to lose people he cared about. He knew the adrenaline of hand-to-hand combat, and he’d experienced the excitement of first kisses, but never had anything felt like this. Never had any of those things come close to this moment with Allie.

“Kissing you,” he said. And he did.

He slowly lowered his mouth to hers, just a whisper of a touch, a soft caress against her silky lips. She shuddered against him, and he felt his chest puff out in pride. He’d never thought he’d have this effect on a woman again, let alone on a woman like Allie Ward. He pulled back to look at her.

Her eyes were closed, her dark, thick lashes were splayed across the tops of her rosy cheeks, and her beautiful lips were parted slightly. Her frame had gone nearly limp in his grasp, so he held her up. Held her close. She stopped breathing again, and he quirked a grin.

“Sunshine,” he whispered against her mouth. “Breathe. I don’t need you passing out on me right now.”

She sucked in a ragged breath. Her hands rested on his arms, and her fingers suddenly dug in. She didn’t open her eyes. “Brandon, so help me, if you don’t give me a proper kiss right now, I’m going to—”

With a smile on his face, he swooped in again and claimed her lips with his own.

Chapter 13

May

“No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.”

- Buddha

Allie turned off her podcast as she pulled down the drive to the old manor house. She lifted a hand to the midday sun and shielded her eyes, then pulled in front of the house and parked in the gravel driveway. It was a warm day, but even if it hadn’t been, Allie would’ve burned with excitement. She and Brandon had been officially a couple for five-plus weeks now, and she’d loved every moment.

Though she’d demanded some ground rules. Sure, she’d been officially single for six months, but that was hardly a world record. She didn’t want to rush things as she had with every other boyfriend from her past. As much as it scared her, she wanted this one to work. She wanted to be with Brandon. So she’d made rules, or really one rule: only three dates a week. They saw each other almost daily—hard not to, considering he had fingers in their honeypot.

She’d suggested two dates a week. If the angry scowl and crossed arms on Brandon had been any indicator, he’d thought that was dumb, and he had countered with four. They’d settled on three. Sure, she wanted to spend every spare moment with the guy, but that was her habit. Her relationships always burned bright at the beginning and then fizzled to a stuttering whine.

So she changed her plan. She’d had to, now that she’d let Brandon in and she was no longer single. Her former plan of “no men” and “learn to be happy alone” didn’t work with Brandon in the picture. So she’d amended her plan, changing it from “no men, learn how to be happy alone, be more like Jo,” to “don’t speed-date Brandon, do what makes you happy, be more like Jo.”

She felt good about it. She could do this. What was life if not a bunch of fresh starts, anyway? And she so wanted Brandon to be her long-term, so she had a plan to help him want to stay. Mostly, that plan consisted of getting him involved in town happenings.

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