Page 23 of Always a Bridesmaid
Not only was he spot-on about her being flighty and temperamental, she had a few loose screws to boot.
Yay for his instincts, but what did he do about the heat stirring in his gut? It wasn’t the only part of him slowly waking up, either. It’d been a long time since a woman had been this close to…Definitely not thinking about that, or the situation’s gonna get even bigger.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Violet shout-whispered, and he wondered if his pervy thoughts were showing. “I realize this doesn’t exactly help the case I was pleading about being levelheaded, but this is an extenuating circumstance.”
“My buddy Tucker would approve of your legal jargon—he’s a lawyer.”
“That’s Addie’s fiancé, right?”
Ford nodded, stifling the desire to run his fingers through the strands of silky hair draped across his knee. “What’s the extenuating circumstance, then, Madam Foreman?”
“Ha-ha.” She ducked her head, attempting to peek under his thigh, although he doubted she saw much besides his track pants. “Larry Hurst is my biological father. He only ever acknowledges my existence when he absolutely has to, and the last time I saw Cheryl, she told me I was ruining Maisy’s wedding with my dramatics.”
“You, dramatic? No.” Sarcasm was already their home base, but hurt flickered through her features, and Ford instantly regretted his words. If she wasn’t gonna jab back, it sucked out the fun, and he hadn’t meant to cross into sore-feelings territory. “You also seem extremely energetic. How would you like to go hang out with some puppies?”
“Trying to lure me into your dark, windowless van?” There was the live wire he wanted to grab on to. Before he could answer, she added, “You know what, I don’t even care. Anything to get away from here. Let’s go.”
Chapter Five
Ford made a cooing, bird-type sound, and Violet froze in place, afraid to move or blink or even breathe.
That’s it. I’m going to have to climb the guy and strangle him.
Sure, she’d blow her cover, but she’d asked him to sneak her out, and instead he was drawing attention.
Addie was the only one who glanced their way, though.
A few hand signals from Ford, and Addie’s voice turned boisterous. She began loudly talking about how excited she was for the wedding, and the mayor and his wife would be there, right?
With Larry’s and Cheryl’s focus on Addie, Ford stood, his back to the counter. Then he pulled Violet to stand in front of him. His warm breath wafted over the shell of her ear, and goose bumps swept across her skin. “Walk with me now…”
He nudged the back of her foot with the toe of his sneakers, and they moved as close to in sync as you could with someone you’d barely met. The stutter step made it clear his legs struggled not to overtake her shorter stride, but in no time, they were out the bakery door.
The loud chime had her striding faster, in the opposite direction of the window that overlooked the sidewalk. “Thanks,” she tossed over her shoulder. “You make a pretty good shield.”
“Happy to help.” Ford’s hand moved to her lower back, his fingertips radiating five spots of heat. He propelled her toward a giant black truck with wheels the size of boulders.
Violet dragged her heels. “Wait, where are we going?”
“To train puppies,” he said, reaching around her to open the passenger door. “That was the deal, remember?”
“Deal? I thought it was more like you taking advantage of my desperate situation.”
“Why can’t it be both? Now, can your teeny legs reach that high, or do you need a boost?”
Despite thephfft,don’t-be-absurdnoise she made, she wasn’t sure. Using the metal step, she clamped onto the seat. It took nearly doing the splits, but she’d be damned if she was going to ask for help getting into a truck that was clearly overcompensating for something.
The engine also growled as if it had something to prove, and then she was riding down Main Street with a man who was little more than a stranger. How did she always manage to get herself into such bizarre situations?
If it was her gift, she was going to find the receipt, because she totally wanted to return it.
“So, the Hursts are your parents?” he asked.
Violet tilted her head. Was this guy for real? If he was pretending to be unaware of her family’s soap-opera history, he shouldn’t bother. Every time she’d visited Uncertainty, she’d heard the whispers. Noticed the curious looks.
In this abnormally small town, her notoriety came from being the mistake. The physical reminder of infidelity, which was why she didn’t blame Cheryl for not being her biggest fan. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about me.”
Ford shifted into a higher gear. “Why? Are you famous?”
