Page 51 of The Good Luck Cafe
The knock came again until Moira stood and walked over to the sidewall of the boat to see where the sound was coming from.
“Do you hear that?” she called behind her.
Before Gil could respond, the boat rocked, and she went tumbling forward. Just in the nick of time, Gil reached out and grabbed her, pulling her against him before she fell overboard. For a moment, she stopped breathing. They were so close. Close enough to kiss, and some part of her had always wanted to kiss Gil.
The knock came again. Harder this time. Then the boat rocked, and both of them went tumbling forward into the cold ocean with a startling splash.
Moira sat up and gasped for air, blinking the view of her bedroom into focus. She ran a hand through her hair and realized someone was knocking on her front door. Her doorbell was broken. She needed to get that fixed. What time was it?
She eyed the bedside clock.Six thirty a.m.?Who in their right mind would be at her door this early on a Saturday morning? Grabbing a robe, she headed toward the door and peered out the peephole. Gil’s face came into view, and all the heat and memories of the dream she’d just been enjoying came rushing back to memory.
She was dreaming about him? And now he was on her doorstep? Maybe she was still dreaming.
He knocked again.
Moira wished she’d taken the time to at least brush her hair. She tightened her robe and finally opened the door for him. “Hi. What are you doing here?” Her gaze caught on the flashing lights in her driveway, where a sheriff’s car was parked. Her heart immediately took off racing. “What’s going on?”
“The lock-in that we agreed to,” Gil explained. “Sheriff Ronnie got it in his head that he’d arrest us first thing in the morning. He’s being a bit dramatic, if you ask me.”
Moira took a breath. “Oh. I see.”
Gil’s brows lowered. “Why? Did you think you were actually in trouble?”
“I just woke up.” From a dream about Gil. “I’m not thinking much at all.” She looked at the cruiser again. “I need to get dressed.”
“That’s fine, but no coffee,” Gil said. “For some reason, Sheriff Ronnie is pretty adamant about that part. Do you want me to wait out here?”
She hesitated. “You can come in. I’ll just be a few minutes.” She let Gil inside and gestured at the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked back to her bedroom, regretting that she had to give up her Saturday to be woken this early and hauled down to the town’s jail. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, her mind returning to that dream about Gil. Why was she dreaming about him? They’d agreed to play nice in this mayoral election, but that didn’t mean she should be fantasizing about kissing him. He was still planning to shut down her mom’s bakery, and she was still planning to knock him out of office. Mayor Moira Green had a nice ring to it.
Moira brushed her hair and teeth and returned to the living room, where Gil had his eyes closed. He looked like he’d fallen right back to sleep. “All right. Let’s get this over with.”
He jerked awake and smiled back at her, making her insides warm. Then he stood and faced her. “You don’t look like a criminal.”
He was teasing, but his words hit her wrong. She had been a criminal once. She’d acted without thinking, and she’d been hauled to jail. She didn’t want to relive that memory, but she kind of was right now. “Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. You don’t look like someone who’d vote to tear down a woman’s livelihood for the sake of a few votes, and yet…” She trailed off as she walked past him toward the front door. Blame her rudeness on the fact that she hadn’t had her morning caffeine yet.
Turning back, she looked at Gil. “Fair warning. It’s probably best not to make conversation with me until after I’ve had a cup of coffee.”
Gil smiled. “I completely understand.”
And maybe he really did understand. He was one of the few people who knew she’d spent a night in jail.
“I was about to come looking for you two,” Sheriff Ronnie said when they reached the car. “I told Gil you had five minutes, and it’s been six.”
Moira slid into the back seat beside Gil, keeping several inches of distance between them. “You never said anything about coming to our homes while we were still asleep.”
“Or about handcuffs,” Gil added, glad that the sheriff hadn’t put those back on Gil’s wrists upon entering the car. He was glad Moira didn’t have to wear them either.
Ronnie offered a deep, rolling laugh. “I wish I was a fly on the wall to see how Denise is reacting right about now. Miles and I flipped a coin on who got to arrest her.” He flicked his gaze in the rearview mirror and looked at Gil and Moira. “Arresting the town’s mayor and our very own small-town hero is pretty fun too.”
The ride to the sheriff’s department was mainly filled with Sheriff Ronnie talking in between sips of his thermos of coffee.Must be nice.
Gil tapped Moira’s hand on the seat between them. “You okay?” he half mouthed, half whispered.
She nodded. “I was kind of expecting to drive myself to this lock-in this morning.”
“Me too. I’m hoping my friends and family pull through and bail me out pretty quickly.”
