or nibble on it. He knew she didn’t mean anything suggestive by her actions, but he still found her incredibly distracting.
At first he had considered pursuing her but she was a sophisticated woman who wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him. He hadn’t traveled the world; he didn’t wear designer brands. A fling, a one-night stand, was all he could hope for.
But even as the attraction grew stronger, he’d held back, knowing that one night would not be enough for him. And he couldn’t afford to have a wild, passionate affair while he was the mayor of this conservative town.
So it was a good thing he hadn’t asked her out. It was. Definitely.
“Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Matty,” Miss Doris said. She gave him a kindly pat on his arm. Matthew was sure she would have ruffled his hair if she could reach that high. “Now you can go flirt with that pretty reporter.”
He looked at Sydney again. Her head was down and she was mouthing the words she’d written on her notebook. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail as if she was getting down to business. “My charm doesn’t work on her.”
“Your charm works on every female in town,” Miss Doris said with a cluck of her tongue. “You know, when you were appointed the interim mayor, I thought the townspeople had lost their minds.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear.”
“Can you blame me? We had just lost a mayor who ignored his duties while having an extramarital affair with his secretary. And then he runs off with her before his term is over.”
Matthew nodded and wondered when people would stop talking about the former mayor, who had run away with his secretary six months ago.
“And then the town has to follow the line of succession and appoint the council member who acts as deputy mayor. And it happens to be you, the most eligible bachelor. It seemed to me we had stepped out of the skillet and into the fire.” Miss Doris lowered her glasses and gave him a stern look. “Is it true that you dated all of the Reed sisters?”
“Not at the same time,” he insisted. That was the problem with living in a small town. He’d dated half the women and was related to the other half. “And that happened years ago. I shouldn’t be held accountable for who I dated in high school.”
“But you will be held responsible for who you keep company with these days,” the older woman warned. “Rumor has it that you’re not dating anyone.”
“That’s true.” Considering his reputation and his predecessor’s actions, Matthew knew he had to be on his best behavior. He could not give his opponents any ammunition against him, especially since he planned to run for mayor in the next election. He hadn’t thought his love life would be an issue until he met Sydney at her first town hall meeting.
“No one believes it,” Miss Doris declared. “The women in my book club say you’re dating someone in secret. We’ve taken bets.”
Matthew wasn’t surprised. The people in Seedling took bets on everything from the first frost to whether a pregnant woman would have a boy or a girl. “Who’s in the lead as my secret lover?”
“Isabel Bennett.”
“Izzy? The librarian?” He had known her since kindergarten. They’d gone on one date when they were teenagers and they hadn’t even held hands much less shared a kiss.
“She’s showing a little more spirit and a lot more skin lately. It has to be a man.”
“It’s not me,” Matthew said. “I recommend you change your bet or you’re going to lose your money.”
“You’re telling me you’re not interested in any of the women in Seedling?” Miss Doris watched him closely. She gave a cackle when he tried to keep his expression blank. “Oh, you are. She must be off-limits if you’re not already dating her.”
Yeah, Sydney Tate was definitely off-limits for the next six months. Even longer if he won the next election. But he wasn’t sure he could wait that long. “There’s no one,” he said.
“Yes, there is,” Miss Doris said as she walked away. “You are flirtatious and charming to every female over the age of twenty-one, but I’m going to figure out which one of them is special to you.”
“Don’t you have something better to do with your time?” Matthew asked, his voice tinged with exasperation.
“Everyone is curious why you are being so secretive about your love life. You’ve never been secretive before. It can’t be good.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m focusing on my job.” And maybe he didn’t want unfavorable comparisons between him and the previous mayor.
“Matty, there are only two kinds of entertainment in Seedling. You either have your own sex life or you’re discussing someone else’s. Most of the bets made in town are about who is in whose bed.” She looked over her shoulder. “And I was the only one who bet correctly about the previous mayor. I’m going to get this one right, too.”
X LEANED BACK in his red leather chair as he waited for me to come to him. The sexual hunger that tore through him stole his usual easy smile, and a ruddy color streaked across his cheekbones. He was holding back...for now.
I could tell it wasn’t easy for him, but this time I was in charge. He clenched the chair’s armrests with his large fingers as his uneven breath echoed in his office. I couldn’t wait to straddle him in that chair and have the ride of my life.
I stripped off my dress and tossed it on his cluttered desk. I stood naked before him. I should have felt nervous. Anyone could walk in on us. The open windows behind him overlooked the busy town square. Anyone could see. But I didn’t care. I loved the way he stared at me. It made me feel desirable. Beautiful. Invincible.
Tilting my head back, I allowed my hair to fall past my shoulders. I had nothing to hide. I arched my spine as if I was offering my bare breasts to him. My nipples were tight, my breasts heavy, as anticipation flowed through me.
X parted his lips and said—
“Morning, Sydney.”
Sydney yelped and jumped in her seat, her heart lurching at the sound of Matthew Stone’s voice. She dropped her pen and glanced up, just as Matthew set his coffee mug on the table.
“Uh, hi.” She blinked and looked around. The scent of coffee and baked goods suddenly hit her. Multiple conversations overlapped as the clink of silverware sounded loud to her ears. She’d forgotten that she was at Dawson’s Diner, the most popular meeting place in Seedling. Today it was even more crowded than usual as people grabbed their morning coffee or had breakfast with friends.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Matthew said as he sat down across from her.
“It’s okay. I was just working on something until you arrived.” Sydney stared at Matthew, noticing every detail of his white T-shirt and blue flannel shirt to his jeans and boots. She wished she didn’t feel so hot and jittery. Why had they set up this meeting? For an interview. Right. She was writing an article on the proposed walking trail and he’d agreed to comment.
“Is that your writing assignment?” Matthew gave a nod to the notebook in front of her. Words covered every inch of the page, crowding each other and spilling past the margins, as if she had too many ideas for the paper to hold.
“Uh, yeah.” She quickly closed the cover and stuck the book under the short pile of notebooks she kept for taking notes. Sydney wondered why she kept writing the fake erotic diary when she was in public. Someone could easily lean over her shoulder and read her work. Maybe it had something to do with the reoccurring theme in her diary—exhibitionism. In almost every scenario she had written in the past week, she and Matthew were so overwhelmed with desire that he’d