Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 104(@200wpm)___ 83(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
I strode across the room and flung open the refrigerator door. “Even if we end up snowed in for a little while, we definitely won’t starve. Since my family was supposed to be in town, I stocked up on all kinds of stuff. But you don’t need to worry about cooking because I already prepped breakfast for this morning before I found out they weren’t going to be able to make it into town because of the weather.”
His gaze raked down my body, spreading goose bumps in its wake. “I should’ve known when you put on that sexy librarian outfit of yours that you’re the kind of woman who’s prepared for anything.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I’d always thought my clothes were fairly boring, but I felt as though I was dressed to seduce with the way he was looking at me.
“Not even close.” He stroked his hand down my side, resting his palm on my hip as he peered over my shoulder into the fridge. “But if we keep talking about your clothes, I’m going to want to rip them off you to assuage a different kind of hunger. Then it’ll be a long time before we eat breakfast because food will be the last thing on our minds.”
Holy moly. That was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. Twisting around to look up at him, I suggested, “The sausage breakfast muffins I made only need thirty seconds in the microwave.”
The green in his eyes was more pronounced as his gaze heated. “Are you giving me free rein to do my worst, little one?”
My answer should’ve been a resounding no. Sleeping with a guy who I’d just met was completely out of character for me. But Lincoln was only visiting Winter Falls, so my time with him was limited. “Yeah, I think I am.”
The phone rang, breaking the spell between us and making me groan in frustration. For the first time ever, I cursed the fact that I had a landline. “I’m sorry, but I really need to get that. My job is kind of twenty-four seven at times. And with the storm as bad as it is, the call could easily be an emergency.”
He inclined his head in understanding. “I’m not going anywhere. Go ahead and grab it.”
Heaving a deep sigh, I walked over and stabbed my finger against the speaker button so I could pull out the breakfast stuff while we were talking. I figured I might as well multitask and get Lincoln fed so he had plenty of energy for whatever we got up—or down—to after I took care of this call. “Mayor Andersen.”
“Hey, Bethenny. It’s Hayden. We have a row of houses on Sycamore Street that’re without power.”
Looking out the window, I didn’t bother to ask when their power would be restored. It was bound to be a while, and odds were good that more houses would be hit before the storm was over. “How many homes are impacted by the outage?”
“Ten, and the power company has us on their list already.”
“How many people do we need to relocate?” Just about every home in Winter Falls had a fireplace or wood-burning stove to help keep warm in situations like these, so most of the people would choose to stay put for the time being.
“I already took a couple of people in since I’m just one street over. So there are only six more, which is a lucky coincidence.”
My brow wrinkled as I wondered what he could possibly think was lucky about having to relocate in the middle of a blizzard. “How so?”
“They’re around the corner from the house your mom and dad rented for the week. You didn’t mention anything earlier today, but I’m assuming they canceled the trip because of the storm and your brothers stayed back, too.”
“You’d be correct with that assumption.”
“Perfect. Thanks, boss.”
“It’s no big deal. I’ll—” A dial tone blared from the phone, and I turned to glare at it. “I can’t believe he hung up on me. Whatever happened to deputy mayors sucking up to the boss in the hope that we’ll hand over the keys to the kingdom when we don’t want to run again?”
“It sounded to me like he was just calling to confirm the rental house is available. Not for you to fix the situation from here when he can do it much more easily since he’s in the thick of things.” Lincoln pushed the speaker button to hang up on our end. “That’s what deputy mayors are for, right? He was elected to make your life easier. Let the man do his job.”
With my take-charge attitude—and also my tendency to be a bit of a control freak—that was easier said than done. “Well, yes, but—”
My words broke off when Lincoln cupped my cheeks with his palms and lowered his head to capture my mouth. My lips parted on a gasp, and his tongue swept inside to tangle with mine. I tended to have tunnel vision when it came to my job, but his kiss was one heck of a distraction. All of my attention was laser-focused on Lincoln, and I wanted it to stay there. Forever if it was up to me.