Don’t push me, echoed in her mind though and she decided not to poke at him with a when you say anything, do orgasms count?
Instead she said, “Hey, do you want to take my wedding dress along with the jewelry?”
“I definitely don’t want your wedding dress.”
“Guess I’ll just keep it then. Maybe I’ll need it—”
“I’ll burn it tomorrow,” he said. “No problem.”
Her eyes widened. As did her smile. Gotcha.
She nodded. “That's all I needed to know.”
Zander held her gaze for just another second and she wondered if he’d figured out what she just figured out.
He hated her wedding dress because he liked her.
But he turned on his heel and stomped across the porch and down the steps before he said anything more.
As he disappeared around the corner of the house, Caroline returned to her rocking chair and picked up the best sweet tea she'd ever had in her life. She propped her feet back up on the railing of the porch and took a long draw on the green bendy straw, feeling the strangest sense of satisfaction and contentment. Especially considering her life was a big fucking mess right now.
She just couldn’t help thinking that perhaps this day had turned out very well after all.
7
Why had he only picked shorts when he'd gone through Charlie's clothes for stuff for Caroline to borrow?
Sure, Louisiana was sweltering in July, but he really should've thought through the fact that Caroline Holland dressed in short denim shorts would be a bad idea. If not for his own sanity and ability to sleep at night, then for the traffic hazard she would create were she to, for example, decide to walk down one of the main streets of Autre in a pair of those short denim shorts.
He sighed. He was on his way to the bed and breakfast to see if she needed a ride back to New Orleans. Whether she was going home or to catch an airplane or whatever, he didn't care. Or so he told himself. But he was willing to offer her transportation to get her outside of the parish borders where he felt responsible for her.
He pulled up nearly on the back bumper of Hank Bast and flashed his lights.
Hank stuck his hand out his driver’s side window and waved for Zander to pass him.
Yeah, that wasn't happening. Hank was driving fifteen miles an hour in a thirty mile-an-hour speed zone and while, technically, it wasn't illegal, the fact that he was doing it to ogle the blonde who was walking along the shoulder was a problem. Maybe not for cop Zander, but certainly for man Zander.
Zander leaned out his window and yelled, “Move along, Hank!”
Hank just gave him a thumbs up.
With an even heavier sigh Zander grabbed his cell phone and dialed Hank’s number.
He picked up a moment later. “Hey, Zander.”
“She's too young for you. And too good for you. And you're blocking my way. Move.”
“This is what’s wrong with you youngsters,” Hank said with a chuckle. “Always in such a hurry, you miss a lot of the beauty in the world.”
Yeah, Zander wasn't missing a bit of the beauty of Caroline Holland. It was irritating as fuck.
“Seriously, Hank. It’s creepy.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Hank hung up on him. But then stepped on his gas pedal and drove on past Caroline.
Then, realizing that he might come off just as creepy as Hank, Zander pulled up next to her and rolled down his passenger side window.
“So the part about leaving tomorrow—which is now today—didn't really register?”
She looked over at him with a smile as she continued to walk and he rolled along beside her.
“Is there anyone currently being booked into any prison system for the illegal transport, buying, or selling of exotic animals in Louisiana?”
“Not that I'm aware of.”
“So also no one is specifically being booked in connection with the lion cub I brought yesterday?”
“No.”
“Then no, I’m good here.”
“You're going to stay until we arrest someone for the lion?” That was not going to be good for his sleep. Or for the people around him when he was sleep deprived.
“I'm going to stay until I'm satisfied with the results of your efforts.”
Well, that was vague as fuck.
Probably on purpose.
He watched her walk for a few more steps. “Where you headed?”
“To get coffee.”
“I'm quite certain that the bed and breakfast offers coffee as part of your stay. Want me to talk to the management?”
“Oh, I had a cup of Heather's coffee this morning and it was delicious. But—and I'm sure this will shock you—I like my coffee a little more…”
“High maintenance?”
She shot him a grin. “I was going to say interesting.”
“Potato. Potahto.”
She actually laughed at that. And Zander had to fight a smile.
“Where exactly do you think you're going to get this froofy coffee?”
“I was going to head downtown and find your local coffee shop.”
“We don't have a local coffee shop.”
She stopped and faced the truck, a hand on her hip. “There's no place for people to get coffee in this town besides the gas station or their own homes?”
“Nope,” he lied.
“Your grandma's restaurant doesn’t serve coffee?”
Dammit. “Well, she sure as hell doesn't serve coffee with any kind of caramel syrup or nutmeg or whipped cream.”
“Huh. Maybe I'll chat with her about adding a cappuccino machine. It could increase her morning bottom-line substantially. Especially with all the tourists.”
As much as Zander would enjoy watching Ellie shoot Ms. I-Always-Get-My-Way Holland down, the last thing Zander wanted was Caroline in his grandma's bar. Because Ellie would enjoy getting to know this woman, as would the other dozen or so family members who would be there.
He did not need for them to find out about her ex-fiancé and brother dealing in illegal animals, or her brother trying to kidnap her, or her father’s various, questionable business practices or how Caroline spied on, stole from, and lied to nearly everyone she knew.
Almost worse, it would only take them about five minutes to realize how charming and funny and smart she was. And to invite her to the next crawfish boil. Which she would, of course, say yes to because his damned family was just as charming and funny as she was.
And, of course, at some point someone would definitely mention that Charlie had a cappuccino machine—along with caramel syrup, nutmeg, and whipped cream—in the office she shared with Jordan in the education center at the Boys the Bayou Gone Wild Animal Park.
Charlie and Jordan would love Caroline. Hell, they’d probably get Fiona on a Zoom call and would be planning a middle-of-the-night sting operation to take down the animal buyers and sellers themselves before they finished their first caramel macchiatos.
He really had no other choice here.
He stopped the truck. “Get in.”
She turned toward the truck, and planted her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”
“You need froofy coffee and I need you to not walk around town causing traffic accidents.” He didn't include the part about not getting to know his family. “I'll take you over to the next town. They have a coffee shop that'll make whatever you want.”