Page 116 of You Found Me
“Are you kidding?” Annie scoffed. “Of course not. He was a stodgy, middle-aged Russian mafia guy with a nasty temper. But it worked. Kept him cooperative and compliant. He didn’t find out the truth for at least a week after I shipped out to Milan.”
He heard footsteps on the stairs and leaned forward, hand hovering over the End button. “Got to run. It’s almost time for her shift.”
“Wait. Just one more thing.” Annie held up a hand. “If you want to pursue something with Della—notLucy,Della—do it after this job is done. That way you’ll have a clear head and you can sort out what was real and what was just pretend. She’s not a small-town girl at heart. She’s a big-city, spotlights girl. Remember that the next time she flashes those sweet baby blues at you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Homecoming weekend brought football, apples, and a cold snap that put frost on the leaves and made Della long for the coat she had stashed in her sister’s closet. No matter. Lucy had a boyfriend to snuggle with, and Della intended to take full advantage.
She was having the hometown girl experience she’d never had but always wanted, dammit, and she was going to soak up every second of it.
It might never happen again.
After a week of Ward’s silent distance, she was relieved that they were spending this quality time together. And since they were in public with his family, he’d be forced to actually talk to her.
“I adore this.” Della snuggled up against Ward underneath a cozy fleece blanket supplied by Elyse. “I adore absolutely everything about this. Does the apple festival always start with a football game?”
“Not always.” Ward leaned close to her ear. “What are you doing?”
“Acting like your girlfriend.” She wiggled closer. “And conserving body heat.”
“Lucy,” he growled.
She knew it was irritation, but she felt like there were undertones of something else. Something that made her tingle with anticipation.
“Homecoming is usually a few weeks before the festival.” Elyse spread another blanket over her and Samantha’s laps. She’d brought a rolling cart full of them, which she handed out to anyone who forgot to come prepared. “It all depends on the weather, really. This year’s harvest is a little earlier than normal. It’s nice. It brings a lot more people to the game.”
The stands were packed. It was a chilly night, but so many people gathered to take part in something fun made it feel cozy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been just a face in the crowd, watching someone else perform. There was no pressure. No worry. Just fun.
It was perfect.
Well, almost perfect.
Ward still wasn’t doing a whole lot of talking, and he was so stiff that parts of him might break off in the cold.
She nudged him with her shoulder and pointed at the cheerleaders. “Why can’t they have pants like the guys? They must be freezing to death.”
“If you’re cold, I can get you a coat,” Ward said through his teeth.
“Why would I need that?” She turned her head to look him in the eye. Their lips were so close to touching that to casual observers, it probably looked like a kiss. Della blinked innocently at him and wondered what he’d do if she leaned just a tiny…bit…closer. “A good boyfriend would put his arm around his shivering girlfriend to help her stay warm on a night like this,”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re clearly not cold.”
“You can’t tell if I’m cold or not.”
“You’re not shivering.”
“I could be.” She faked a shiver. “Brrr.”
“Stop that.”
“Why?” Her pulse quickened. “Does it give you ideas?”
“No.” He looked away.
“Uh-huh. Sure it doesn’t.”
“I have rules,” he bit out in a low growl.