Page 29 of Stripping Bare
The woman strolled by on the way to the counter, and Tessa said, “That’s a beautifulsweater.”
“Thanks.” The woman gave a warm smile. “It was made by a local textileartist.”
“A very talentedone.”
“I’m Brynne Whitfield.” She held out her hand and Tessa shook it. “My boutique, La Belle Style, is just down the street. No pressure, but I have another one in the store. Cream with an embroidered dragonfly on the back. It would look amazing with yourskin.”
A man the size of Montana stalked up, swooped the woman off her feet, and gave her an unapologetic kiss of possession.Wow.That was either insanely bold or wildly romantic. Tessa wasn’t surewhich.
When Montana Man sat the woman back on her feet, her face was flushed and she was beaming at him. Wildly romantic, then. “What was that for?” she askedhim.
“Because I’ve heard a man should regularly sweep his wife off her feet, Mrs.Steele.”
Steele?
He had to be one of Jonah’sbrothers.
Stopping here hadn’t been a good idea. Tessa hadn’t considered the possibility of running into other members of the Steele family. Shortsighted, considering the town was named forthem.
She needed to leave now. She’d head back to Asheville and contact the police about her potentially compromised files. She gathered her things and shoved them into her bag. “Again, lovely sweater,” she said to Brynne. “But I have to be on myway.”
Brynne gave her husband the evil eye as if he’d just tanked a sale. Tessa didn’t have the heart to tell her the duster wasn’t her style anyway. “If you change your mind, here’s my card.” Brynne pressed a business card into Tessa’s hand. “Please come byanytime.”
Tessa had no intention of ever stopping in Steele Ridge again. Not after Jonah had made it more than clear he wasn’t interested in her problems. Wasn’t interested in her. Last thing she needed was to be hanging around like an eyelash-fluttering tweenager stalking the school’s starathlete.
Still, she slid Brynne’s card into herbag.
As she did, her phone played a snippet of a piano concerto and vibrated softly against the leather. Ah, the perfect excuse to make her escape. “Excuse me, I need to takethis.”
Brynne gave her a small wave, and Tessa hurried out the door. She quickly pulled out her phone and thumbed the accept button. “Hello?”
“Tessa.” Jonah’s voice meandered its way down her spine, leaving an unwelcome tingle in its wake. “I know you’re pissed at me, but I need yourhelp.”
He’d offeredto swing by Tessa’s place in Asheville and been surprised to hear her say she was still in Steele Ridge, right downtown. Hell, he was surprised she’d answered hiscall.
When he pulled his car into a spot just down from the Triple B, he was relieved to see that Tessa was, in fact, standing on the sidewalk. Her face was a placid mask of disinterest, but she wasthere.
He left the Tesla running and stepped out to wave at her. “Overhere.”
She pointed at her own car. “The meters are for a max of two hours and the lot is full. How long will this emergency takeus?”
He had no idea, but from the sounds of the call he’d received, the situation wasn’t good. “Don’t worry about themeter.”
“Don’t worry about it? If I leave my car here, I’ll get aticket.”
His impulse was to snap at her. Because although his own family gave him plenty of shit, most of the rest of the world not only jumped when he told them to do something, but also asked if it should be a long or a triple jump. He didn’t use that power often, but every once in a while, it came in handy. “Let me put it to you this way. My brother’s girlfriend owns the place, my brother is the city manager, and my cousin Maggie is the sheriff. I think I’ve got you covered if you get aticket.”
Instead of walking in his direction, she patted one of the old-fashioned parking meters. “It says they’ll alsotow.”
Fucking hell.He yanked his phone from his pocket and hit a couple of buttons. When his brother answered with “Grif Steele,” Jonah said, “There’s a silver BMW parked in one of the spaces near the Triple B. Can you please make sure it’s not ticketed ortowed?”
“Are you asking for gratuitous favors from a civilservant?”
“Civil, my ass. Andservantisn’t a word I’d ever associate with you. How about this? Tell Aubrey that if she’ll feed the meter every two hours, I’ll pay her twenty bucks on top of thecost.”
“She’ll be all over that. But what’s thedeal?”
“It’s an emergency. I need to get to Asheville and Tessa Martin is going with me.” He motioned for her to head his way, but she stubbornly stayed put. “She’s worried her car will get hauled off while we’regone.”
