Page 12 of Hello Tease

Laughing, Emily ran up to me, wisps of hair loose from her ponytail and light shining in her eyes. “Did you hear that? I won!”

I smoothed back her hair and kissed the top of her head. “You sure did.”

She ran off to play with Maya, and then I heard Liv say, “That’s Hayes.”

I glanced toward the back door, and my lips parted.

Holy hell, what did they put in the water in this town? Hayes looked like the kind of guy who would give you the night of your life and leave your bed empty the next morning.

He had on a white shirt, tattoos swirling down his muscled arms and up his neck. A ring glinted on his lip, and a dangerous spark glinted in his steel-colored eyes. His lips lifted in a smirk as he pinned me under his gaze and said, “So you’re the new neighbor?”

I had to swallow to find my voice, not sure who caught me off guard more—his professional-football-playing brother or him. Here I thought I’d moved to a sleepy small town where nothing ever happened, but looking at the crowd around me, I had a feeling this place was anything but boring.

“I’m Larkin,” I managed.

He walked up to me, leaning on the table, and said, “Welcome to Cottonwood Falls.”

7

KNOX

I used to work nights,but when the dayshift officer retired, I took his place. Waking up early was still an adjustment, and it was hard for me to remember that I woke up the same time as most people nowadays. So when I heard the doorbell and saw it was seven in the morning, I let out a groan and wondered who it could be.

I smoothed my ruffled dark blonde hair, threw on a T-shirt to go with my sweats, and walked to the front door. When I opened it wide, I had to smile. Larkin was dressed in green scrubs, standing with Emily beside her and Jackson on her hip. She also had two plastic bottles of water in her other hand.

“Didn’t scare you away with the party?” I teased.

She chuckled and said, “Actually the opposite. Do you mind if Emily uses your bathroom?”

I gave her a confused look, but she winked at me in explanation.

That adorable wink. I would have done anything. “Okay. You remember where it is? In the laundry room?”

Emily giggled evilly and nodded, then zipped past me.

As I let them all inside, I asked Larkin, “What’s that about?”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “We lay in bed for half an hour yesterday coming up with ways to prank you again. She had so much fun with Maya on Saturday, and it’s the happiest I’ve seen her since... the divorce.” Larkin looked down at the ground, clearing her sad expression, and then handed me a bottle of water. “I would have brought you coffee, but my machine busted in the move and it’s going to take two days for my new one to get here.”

“We can’t have that,” I replied, gesturing toward the empty chairs at my table. “Let me make you some.”

“Are you sure?” she asked over a peal of laughter from Emily. She cringed, and I had to laugh.

“Of course,” I said. “Any hints on what’s going on back there?”

Larkin laughed, sitting at the table with Jackson. “Nothing destructive.” She let him stand on his feet and held his hands to keep him up.

“That’s a relief.” I went to the coffee pot in the corner of the kitchen and took out a few bags of ground coffee. “Do you have a preference? Dark roast, blond? I have some vanilla or hazelnut flavored blends as well.”

When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Larkin sitting at the table, haloed by the light coming through the window. Jackson stood on shaky, pudgy legs dressed in denim shorts while hanging on to her hands. The scene belonged in a painting.

Larkin looked over at me, her smile just as bright as the morning light. “Are you a coffee connoisseur?”

“That’s two things cops are experts on, right? Coffee and donuts?”

A laugh fell past her lips, and I fell for the sound. A full, throaty, all-consuming sound that brought a smile to my face. “I guess that’s so,” she said. “Honestly, I’m not picky. Anything hot with caffeine will do.”

“Low standards. Just what I like in a woman.”

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