Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)

Aidan straightened. “You did. Now try it again.”


Shelby hurried around to the other side of the table. She got in position. “Is this right?”

He nodded because speaking suddenly seemed difficult. Something was wrong with him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was a tension inside him. Almost a tightness.

He shook off the feeling and circled around the table to watch Shelby get into position. He checked out her arm extension and how she held the cue, then found his gaze dropping to her butt as she bent over the table.

Her jeans pulled tight over perfect curves. Funny how he’d never noticed her ass before now and—

Shit! He took a couple of steps back and nearly collided with another table. He was attracted to her. How had that happened? They weren’t dating. They weren’t involved. They were friends. Non-sexual, genderless friends.

He told himself not to panic. That this was a natural reaction to close proximity to an attractive woman. It didn’t have to mean anything. He wasn’t going to follow up on what was little more than a biological stimulus response. Like sneezing around pollen. That was all this was. He had allergies and Shelby was pollen. Plus he hadn’t had sex in a while. Circumstances, he told himself. Not intent.

“Like this, Aidan?” she asked as she hit the cue ball.

It rolled forcefully across the table.

“You got it. Now let’s try aiming at another ball.”

He would focus on the game and nothing else, he told himself. He was stronger than biology. Or at least more determined. He had to be. He would not screw up his one chance to improve himself simply because he was a horny guy. He would not be defeated by his dick. Not this time.

*

“ARE YOU SCARED?” Shelby asked, doing her best to keep the tremor from her voice.

“No.”

She and Aidan stood in front of city hall. They’d been summoned by the mayor, something that had never happened to her before. She told herself that Mayor Marsha was a very nice, elderly woman and that there was nothing to be afraid of. But she couldn’t shake the sense of being called to face some kind of higher power.

“You sure?” she asked.

Beside her, Aidan shook his head. “It’s going to be fine.”

“You really believe that?”

“No. Everyone knows it’s never good to be called in to see the mayor, but saying it’s going to be fine sounds better than saying we should run for it.”

She laughed.

The morning was crisp and sunny. There hadn’t been snow in a few days so all the streets were clear. The town looked like a picture postcard, or something from a made-for-TV movie. Nothing bad could possibly happen here.

“We’ll be fine,” she whispered.

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I’m going to do my best to fake it.”

Aidan put his arm around her and pulled her close. “I’ll be right there with you. Faking it.”

They smiled at each other and started up the stairs.

Things were going well between them, she thought happily. She liked Aidan. He was easy to spend time with. She’d enjoyed learning to play pool and he’d survived his first “girl’s day.” Next up was a baby shower. That was going to be interesting for both of them.

They entered the building and made their way to the mayor’s office on the second floor.

“I’m a good citizen,” Shelby murmured more to herself than Aidan. “I follow the rules. I pay my taxes.”

“Let it go,” he told her. “You’ll never guess what she wants and trying will only make it worse. Every scenario will be more frightening than the one before.”

“Kept you up last night?”

“A little.”

They reached the mayor’s office. Bailey Scott, Mayor Marsha’s assistant, smiled at them.

“Hey, Shelby. You’re right on time.” Bailey, a beautiful, curvy redhead, stood and walked around her desk toward Aidan. “I’m not sure we’ve met.”

“Aidan Mitchell.”

“Bailey Scott.”

They shook hands.

“You’re married to Kenny Scott,” Aidan said. “He was such a great player. It was a shame when he retired.”

Bailey grinned. “I’ll let him know you were a fan. Most days he’s happy to be out of it, but every now and then he thinks about those glory days. He’ll be pleased to know he’s not the only one.” Bailey looked at them both. “Mayor Marsha is waiting to see you. Let’s go on in.”

Shelby had thought there would be more time to gather her thoughts, but before she could catch her breath, they were going through the large double doors that led to the mayor’s office.

Mayor Marsha Tilson was California’s longest serving mayor. From what Shelby knew, the mayor was in her sixties, had been born and raised in Fool’s Gold and ran the town like a well-oiled machine. She was both loved and respected. To date, Shelby hadn’t met anyone who didn’t like her.