Page 20 of Snowed In With the Maverick
He smiled and tapped his paper cup against hers. “Good, coffee,” he agreed. But the company was much better.
* * *
Three hours had flown by, and Andrea had already met over two dozen Tenacity residents and local ranchers. She was enjoying being with Seth and watching him share information about his plans with the curious citizens who stopped at their table on their way to vote. He spoke with confidence and sincerity, and Andrea could see why Seth was a good businessman. When someone spoke, he listened intently, validated their concerns and answered questions directly.
“Maybe you should run for mayor one day,” Andrea said.
Seth laughed. “I don’t know about that. Plus, you have to be a town resident. Now you,” he said, tipping his chin in a way that was decidedly playful, “would be a real contender.”
Andrea shook her head. “I like people. But I don’t like conflict.”
“Is that a prerequisite for the job?”
Andrea raised an eyebrow. “As far as I can tell.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have liked growing up in the Taylor household,” Seth said, giving her a wry smile. “I had to learn to hold my own from a young age.” He was smiling, but Andrea could tell it was a loaded comment.
“You’ve mentioned your brother Daniel. What about your other siblings?” She wanted to know all about his family. His childhood. What he was good at in school. What kind of life he wanted to build. She wanted to know everything about him.
“Daniel’s the eldest, and then there’s Ryan. We’ve got three sisters. Charlotte, Allison and Eloise. She’s the baby. She’s the one who’s married to Luca Sanchez’s cousin.”
“There are more Sanchezes than Luca and Nina?” Andrea asked.
“You’ll meet them sooner than later. There are the Tenacity Sanchezes, and the Bronco Sanchezes,” Seth said. “Every last one engaged or married off.”
“Got it,” said Andrea. “So, your siblings. Are you close with all of them?”
“Closemight be a stretch. We get along fine now, but there’s the usual sibling drama.” He gestured toward her coffee cup. “Need a refill? Or something to eat? Are you warm enough?”
Clearly, he was steering the conversation away from family, but it didn’t escape her notice that he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.
Seth had given her no reason to distrust him, but she was on edge. Giving in to this attraction would be so easy. But the way it threatened her independence was terrifying. She couldn’t lose herself again.
She’d felt the same way with Harold, initially, before his ugly side appeared. The Saturday afternoon after their first date, a dozen long-stemmed yellow roses had been delivered to her doorstep. Whenever they went out, Harold went out of his way to jump ahead and open doors and pull out chairs for her. She didn’t need it, but she liked it.
But then, she slowly started to realize that his money and attention were just about all that he had to give. Whenever they had a conversation, he had a way of subtly changing the topic to something about him: some kind of professional success he’d had or accolade he’d been bestowed with. It was obvious that while Harold masqueraded as this charming, confident genius who sounded like a member of the royal family, he was in truth deeply insecure and compensated with his deplorable behavior.
The memory of feeling under his thumb made her stomach suddenly twist into knots. “I don’t need anything,” she said, standing up. “I’m just going to run inside to use the washroom.”
“Sure thing,” said Seth, a hint of concern in his eyes. “I’ll be here.”
Andrea retreated to the warm entrance of the Town Hall, where a few residents were in line holding their voters’ cards, and volunteers were checking names off a list. She offered a polite smile before slipping past them and heading to the single restroom, where she closed and locked the door, then stood at the mirror, looking at her expression reflected back at her—a mix of determination and something harder to define.
He’s not Harold,she reminded herself. Every interaction with Seth so far had been polite, respectful and warm, and laced with what she could tell was a mutual attraction that pulsed like an undercurrent between them.
Andrea closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She was in control. She was safe. There was no reason to let this unfounded anxiety take over.
A knock sounded at the door. “Just a sec,” Andrea called. She exited the washroom to find Angela Corey standing just outside, holding her purse and her voter’s card.
Angela’s face broke into a grin. “Andrea! Sorry, honey, I wasn’t sure if anyone was in there. You voted yet?”
“Not yet,” said Andrea. “I’ve been outside at the information booth. Not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s a—”
“Adino theme park!” Angela said emphatically. “I was just talking to that nice man outside.” She gave Andrea a sly grin. “Now, that man could sell me an empty box, I’ll tell you that much.”
Andrea grinned. “It’s a neat idea.”
“Look at you, getting all involved in every bit of town life.” She nodded her head approvingly. “That’s what Tenacity needs. Young blood like yourself, willing to pitch in and make a difference.” She shifted her gaze over Andrea’s shoulder. “Speaking of which. There’s JenniLynn Garrett, come to cast her vote. My grandson Ellis has mine. I think he’d do a great job for the town. But JenniLynn is predicted to win. Just about everyone I’ve talked to is voting for her. Don’t get me wrong. My grandson put up a good fight, and I hope he jumps back into the ring next time. But I think if it’s JenniLynn, she’s gonna be great. Whoever can get that fool Marty Moore out of here will make me happy.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you later, honey.”
