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Eli had always wondered what would have happened if he had actually grown a pair and kissed Emma Andrews all those years ago. In his mind, it would go one of two ways. Maybe she would have immediately pulled back, with some line or other about how they were better off friends.
Or maybe she would have kissed him back and they would have been happy for a few months before everything went to hell and he was left without even her friendship. Even if everything had gone right, and he hadn’t arrested her dad, it wouldn’t have lasted with them. Such was the way of high school relationships, after all.
Even before the shit with her dad, before either of them could even imagine what the future held, he had suspected things between them couldn’t end well if he kissed her.
Now he knew for sure, because he had kissed her and it had not ended well.
To say the least.
But before the ending, in those explosive moments between the first crash of their lips to when she pushed him away...Christ. Good didn’t begin to describe it. He didn’t have words for what that was. It was so far outside his realm of experience, he genuinely didn’t know what to make of it. Sure, he had felt lust before. He had felt anger. But he had never felt them at the same time and so thoroughly consumed with one object. The combination was a potent blend that had made him somehow both forceful and needy.
That wasn’t him. He wasn’t forceful with women. He wasn’t needy with sex. He didn’t give angry kisses that left his own lips tender for hours after—God only knew what he had done to hers.
And now he was hard again just thinking about it. There was something wrong with him. There had to be. He had spent the last three days since their kiss in a near constant state of arousal and fury, and the only thing that kept him from hunting her down and finishing what they had started was his promise to her.
He wouldn’t kiss her again. She would have to kiss him.
She would do it, too. Maybe it would take days, weeks—oh, good Lord, he hoped it wouldn’t take weeks, he would never survive that and his dick would fall off from depression—but she would come to him eventually. Oh, yes, she would. She had changed somewhat in the last eight years. She took her coffee with cream instead of skim, and her laugh came slower than it once had. But this had held true. Emma Andrews never left a job unfinished.
And he was very much unfinished. Painfully so.
Which was why he was standing on Main Street, watching Emma paint the last of the streetlights, his pants too tight across the crotch and his mind full of impure thoughts. He wanted her to paint his pole with her tongue.
Yes, there was definitely something wrong with him.
“Just what the heck is wrong with you, Eli?” a strangely familiar voice demanded, echoing his own thoughts.
He turned around. “Suzie!” He grinned, genuinely happy to see her. She was close with Emma, but once upon a time she had called him a friend, too. Along with Luke, they had spent their high school years as a tightknit foursome. And then he had arrested Emma’s dad, and the battle lines were drawn right down the middle, boys against girls. That had hurt, even though he wouldn’t have taken Suzie from Emma, not for the world. But still. He had always liked her. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed her until now.
“How are you doing? When is this one coming?” he asked with a nod at her stomach.
Her eyes lit up and she gave her belly a fond rub. “Any day now. A girl.”
“Yeah? Is Michael going to make it back in time?” Michael was Suzie’s older brother. He had been, in Eli’s opinion, a fairly stable, reliable type, until last year when his wife had suddenly filed for divorce. Two days later, he took off for Kilimanjaro.
“No, he’s in Switzerland now. He can’t miss the summer climbing season. But he’s talking about coming home for Christmas, so—” She broke off with a frown. “But I don’t want to talk about Michael. You distracted me!”
“Sorry.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I was just so happy you were talking to me again.”
“Don’t you try to charm me with those long eyelashes, Eli. I’m not talking to you again. I’m lecturing you. There’s a difference.”
He sighed. He had a pretty good idea of what the lecture would entail. Emma. “Any chance you want to continue the lecture over coffee?”
“No coffee for me, thank you. But I’ll accept a treat from Sweet Things. They have these great lemon candies that I like to suck on. It makes the baby kick.”
“Sure.”
“You’re paying.”
“Of course.”
He held the door for her and then followed her in. It was like stepping into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, without the creepy factor. Everything was bright and cheerful, from the pink-and-yellow striped curtains to the jars of colorful candies.
Eli looked around curiously. He hadn’t been here since the grand opening four years ago. Not because he didn’t like candy, but because it had been pretty clear from the way Emma had hugged Kate Gonzales, the owner, that they were good friends, which made this place her domain.
Which meant—
Eli cursed under his breath. It was an ambush. He gave Suzie a reproachful look when Kate popped up from behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box.
“Officer Carter.” Kate’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Suzie, I have those lemon drops for you.”
“Yay, candy.” Suzie reached into the pink-and-yellow striped paper bag Kate offered her and popped one into her mouth. “I found him on the sidewalk, stalking Emma like a total perv.”
“Hey!” Eli protested. “I wasn’t—” He paused, remembering what his thoughts had been. Definitely a little pervy. Fair enough. “I wasn’t stalking her. I just happened to be patrolling the street at the same time she was painting the lights. You know, doing my job?”
Kate’s head tilted while she studied him. “Does your job also include making our friend angry every time she sees you?”
“Emma is always a little angry. That’s part of her charm.”
“She’s been stomping around town for three days now, bossing the life out of everybody,” Suzie said. “It’s annoying.”
“Three days, huh?” It had been three days since he kissed her, and apparently it had left her in as bad a mood as it had left him. He tried not to look too pleased about that. “Well, ladies, I’m real sorry about that, truly I am, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Not until she let him, anyway. “So unless there’s something else I can do for you—”
“There is,” Suzie interrupted. She exchanged a look with Kate, who nodded. “You can drop out of the race.”
He should have seen that coming, much like the entire ambush. But he had forgotten how devious Suzie Barnett could be, and how much she loved running people’s lives for them. Helping, she called it. He always heard “helping” in quotation marks.
“Now, why would I do that?” he asked.
“Because if you win, Emma will leave. And we don’t...that can’t happen. We love her. And she loves Hart’s Ridge. This is her home. She’s been through enough, with her mom and her dad. Just let her be happy, already.”
His chest felt like someone had placed a fifty-pound brick on it. Would she really leave Hart’s Ridge if he won? Yes. He knew that in his bones. She had as good as told him that herself, right before he kissed her. And that was what he had wanted, wasn’t it? For her to admit that he wasn’t nothing to her, because hate, at least, was something.
Funny how it hurt just the same.
He had only ever wanted her to be happy...and safe.
But Emma leaving Hart’s Ridge? Over his dead body.
“Then I guess you better make sure I don’t win,” he said.
***
The last three days had been the busiest of Emma’s life. Her mind was made up. She had to defeat Eli in the race for mayor. And since defeating Eli meant proving to the people of Hart’s Ridge that she was the best mayor they ever had, she threw herself into the work heart, body, and soul.
Mostly body, actually. Who knew being mayor was such a physical job? Her arms and shoulders still ached from scrubbing and painting the streetlights. Now in addition to that, her feet ached from walking up and down Main Street, talking to the owners of each and every business along the way.
Cesar had taken full responsibility for the food truck, roping in his grandson, who was a few years younger than Emma, to help. They were doing little better than breaking even there, but it was hard work now that they no longer had an easy setup. But that would change, she hoped, once she got the bed and breakfast up and running.
The first thing she had done, after leaving Eli Saturday morning, was submit her paperwork to City Council to get on the ballot. Well, no. The very first thing she had done was fume and cry to Suzie and Kate about how unfair Eli was, although she neglected to mention the kiss. Then she submitted her paperwork. From there, she hit the ground running.
And it was a lot of running.
If Hart’s Ridge was going to get tourist money, those tourists were going to need a place to stay—something slightly classier than Goat’s Tavern. And that meant turning her home into the bed and breakfast of her parents’ dreams.
It was surprisingly fun, picking out new furnishings for the guest bedrooms. Cost was a factor, but she had savings. So long as her plan worked, she could recoup the cost with future customers. Of course, if it didn’t work, she’d be screwed. And broke.
And her dad—
And Hart’s Ridge—
She gritted her teeth. No. She wasn’t going down that path. Everything was a risk, sure. Success wasn’t guaranteed. But failure was guaranteed if she did nothing. Not just for her, but for Hart’s Ridge.
They were all in this together. There was no other way. With that in mind, she headed for Goat’s Tavern.
The moment she crossed the threshold, nostalgia made her insides ache. Years ago, when they were kids and this was nothing more than a ramshackle barn, they all used to hang out here for long stretches of lazy hours—Eli, Luke, Suzie, and her. Luke had done a lot of work to turn it into a tavern when his parents had made the decision to retire from farming, but the bones remained the same. In fact, they had left their mark on one of these walls. It must still be here, somewhere. It was hard to get a sense of where, exactly, because Luke’s decorating taste seemed to be “more is more.”
The tavern was decorated for the holidays—all of them. Christmas lights were strung up behind the bar. Some of the tables had Halloween-type centerpieces, and some had Easter bunnies and eggs. Patriotic bunting in red, white, and blue lined one wall. It was...a lot. But somehow it worked. The whole place looked cozy and festive.
“Emma Andrews, it’s about time you came to see me! Get your tiny ass over here and give me a hug.”
Emma laughed. She wasn’t tiny, but she supposed that compared to Luke, everyone was. At six-three, he looked like he had just stepped out of a lumberjack catalogue, if there was such a thing. There ought to be, because she had the feeling that most women and some men would pay good money to see Luke Buchanan, flannel sleeves rolled up to his elbows, chopping wood. Or whatever it was lumberjacks did.
She let him lift her off her feet in a big hug. “It’s good to see you again.”
“How are you, Emma?” He set her down on her feet again, smiling. “Let me tell Ethan to take over the bar, and we can catch up.”
“Actually, I’m here on business.”
His smile cooled. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Right. Okay. What can I do for you, Acting Mayor Andrews?”
Guilt hit her hard. There wasn’t anything wrong with catching up, was there? They had been friends once, great friends. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t talk anymore. No, that was on her. He had never taken sides. She was the one who refused to see him again, because she was afraid of running into Eli. And now she had gone and hurt his feelings. He deserved better than that.
“We can talk business later.” Impulsively, she reached out and squeezed his arm—or tried to, anyway. It was like squeezing a rock. “Let’s catch up first.”
“Awesome. I’ll tell Ethan. What are you drinking? You want something to eat?”
“Vodka soda, light on the vodka because I’m driving. I already ate dinner, but I’ll take some sweet potato fries. I’ve heard they rival Delmy’s yuca fries.” Emma considered herself a connoisseur of fries, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to try Luke’s, no matter how full she was.
“You heard correctly. Grab that table in the corner and I’ll join you in a minute.”
“Great.” She took a step and then paused, looking around, and called after him, “Hey, Luke, where’s—”
“Under the dartboard.” He grinned at her surprised face. “You’re asking about our initials, right? I wanted them protected. You’ll notice that there have been a lot of initials, and some profanities, added to these walls since then. So, under the dartboard, where the filthy animals couldn’t get to it.”
Hearing evidence that underneath the mountain man exterior still beat the most sentimental heart this side of the Mississippi made her chest tighten. Why had she stayed away for so long?
Because you’re a terrible friend, that’s why, came the accusing voice of her conscience.
She could fix that. She would just...add it to the list of everything else she needed to get done. She only had five minutes to contemplate how, exactly, she would do that when Luke returned with her vodka soda and a beer for himself.
“Fries will be out momentarily,” he said, sliding onto the seat across from her.
“Great.” She raised her drink and gave an appreciative nod. “Thanks.”
He took a swallow of beer, then leaned back in his seat with a smile. “So, Madam Mayor. How did that happen?”
Emma groaned, dropping her face in her hands. “Can you believe it? Me, mayor. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. Asking me to be mayor and Ethan to be deputy mayor, now that was ridiculous. He hates people, especially if they want something from him. But you? You have a way of making things happen. You always have.”
“What about you? You made this happen.” She gestured to the room around her. “This place is amazing.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with it.”
“Who is Goat? Did you pick up a new nickname since I last saw you?”
He shook his head with a laugh. “No. Goat is Goat. I’ll introduce you before you leave.”
“Sweet potato fries.”
Emma looked up at the sound of a familiar voice to see Luke’s younger brother balancing a platter of food. “Hi, Ethan.”
He set the platter down in front of her. The spicy-sweet smell made her mouth water. “I thought he must be lying when he said you were here. I had to see it for myself.”
She cringed inwardly at the unspoken accusation. Ethan was another innocent casualty in the war between her and Eli. “Well, here I am.”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t say anything else, just stalked back to the bar. Emma bit her lip, watching him go. How many people had she hurt, when she cut Eli from her life?
“Don’t mind Ethan,” Luke said. “That’s just his way of saying don’t stay away so long next time.”
“There won’t be a next time. Promise.”
He reached forward, gave her hand a squeeze. “Good.”
“Well, this sure looks cozy. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Emma looked up to see Eli, arms crossed over his chest, mouth pressed into a firm line, dark eyes glittering. Even without his uniform on, power and authority rolled off him in waves. She snatched her hand back like she had been caught raiding the cookie jar before dinner.
“Hey, man. I was hoping you would swing by tonight,” Luke said. If he noticed the air had suddenly gone thick with tension, he didn’t show it. He cocked his head at Emma. “You should have brought Suzie along. We could have made it a reunion.”
Eli continued to glower. “I didn’t expect to see you here. It doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”
Emma narrowed her eyes. “And what kind of place would that be?”
“Wherever I’m not, would be my guess. But you know I come here. You know my friends come here. Which means this isn’t your kind of place.”
The tension rolling off him gave her pause. Was he seriously mad that she had encroached on his turf? What did he think, exactly? That she was here to turn Luke against him? Rude. It occurred to her that once upon a time, she had done exactly that—with Suzie, not Luke. But that was when the wound was still fresh and she was still young. She wouldn’t do that now. She might want nothing to do with Eli, but she wouldn’t dictate who other people could see.
“I like it here,” she snapped back. “I like Luke.”
Luke beamed. “Of course you do, honey.”
Eli clenched his jaw so tightly she could see the muscle tic in his cheek. “Outside. Now,” he ordered through gritted teeth.
She stared at him with patent disbelief. “You must be joking. In the first place, because you do not get to order me around like I’m your lapdog. I am your boss now, thank you very much. Secondly, my fries would get cold, and cold fries are disgusting. And lastly, nothing good can come of me following you into the dark where there are no witnesses.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you chicken, Ms. Andrews?”
It was exactly what he had said three days ago, right before she had grabbed him by the face. Right before the kiss. Was it rage or lust that made her cheeks heat from the memory? A combination of both, probably. That seemed to be the way of things, when Eli was around.
“Your schoolyard taunts have no effect on me. I am an adult.” But because this was so obviously a lie—schoolyard taunts always got a rise out of her—she slid from her seat and stood. “Fine. We’ll talk outside. Don’t go anywhere, Luke. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“It will take longer than that,” Eli said. “You might as well go back to the bar.”
Emma spun furiously to face him. “I am here to discuss business. Don’t get in my way, Eli.”
She pivoted on her toes and stalked toward the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the dartboard. She hated to ruin her dramatic exit, but she couldn’t resist taking a quick peek. She lifted the dartboard and peered underneath.
There they were, four sets of initials, carved into the wooden beams. Suzie had encircled them with a heart, because Suzie was like that. Emma slid the dartboard back in place with a hollow feeling in her stomach.
Funny how the marker of their friendships had outlasted the friendships themselves.