Page 14 of Hottie on Her Shelf
He stroked his chin. It had just enough dark blond six o’clock shadow to be as sexy as his wrists. “Do you want to bring back witch trials?”
What on earth? “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Me, neither.” Extending a finger, he tapped it against his lips. Which…were as sexy as the aforementioned stubble and wrists. She wanted to touch it all. “How about the speed limit along Main Street and Beach Road? Good with it?”
“The slower speed is to protect the heavy pedestrian traffic in those areas. It’s both reasonable and appropriate.”
“Agreed. Plus, we rake in a ton on speeding tickets. Not just tourists, either. The ticket fines cover the cost of resurfacing and filling in potholes.”
Huh. So the mayor was more than a pretty face. An impeccably proportioned, handsome-as-hell face. While still an adversary, he’d at least be an interesting one.
Fitz looked down at the imaginary carpet line, took two steps closer to it. “Do you want to repeal the law prohibiting biting a landlord under any circumstance?”
It took biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “That’s a real law on the books of Swan Cove?”
“Yep.”
Randall had filled her in about plenty of old, weird American laws after a history podcast week. Cursing (technically) was a misdemeanor in Michigan. Delaware prohibited R-rated movies at drive-ins (doubtful it was enforced). Hallie had no idea that her own city had its own weirdly noteworthy law.
“No, I’m, ah, not prepared to wade into that particular issue.”
Fitz tapped his chest with an index finger, then swung it back and forth between the two of them. “That’s what I said when I first read it. It feels inconsequential but was clearly a hot-button enough topic to get passed. Better to let sleeping dogs lie.”
They both chuckled together for a moment, just long enough to feel like they were in sync.
This pleasant banter was too nice, too easy. Too distracting. Too close to flirting. Hallie cleared her throat and tossed her ponytail. “What is the point you’re trying to make?”
“Like I said, we start over. You can be all hopped up with micro-aggression and righteous indignation toward Mayor Montgomery, your opponent. But when we’re not stumping? We’re just Fitz and Hallie. Two people who agree on a lot.”
That was true. They were getting along famously right now. They were having too much of a good time. It was an effortless push-pull.
It was dangerous.
He’d stepped closer again, so close she leaned back and tilted her head to look up at him. “Why?”
“Why not?” His hands gripped just above her elbows and pulled her to her feet. Warm breath with the faintest aroma of Guinness puffed across her cheeks. At least an inch of air still circulated between their bodies, but this close, Fitz’s presence filled that empty space and pressed in on her. It felt like they were on the brink of something.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was on the brink of kissing her. Swan Cove’s biggest playboy and most eligible bachelor. It was easy to see why so many women fell for his act.
Worse yet? She was on the brink of letting him. Hallie pulled out of his grasp. Stepping backward, however, banged her into the chair. She staggered sideways in a half spin and almost fell.
Until, of course, Fitz steadied her. Of course, because he was Mr. Smooth and she was apparently Princess Awkward in this cautionary tale.
As soon as her feet were planted again, Hallie brushed off his hands. “Now I know what you were doing all day.”
Mild amusement flickered across his face. “This should be good.”
“Once I announced my candidacy, you did a deep dive into The Art of War, didn’t you?”
The amusement blinked away, replaced by a confused squint around those blue eyes. “The book?”
“Yes, the book. Everything good and useful is in a book. And this one, by Sun Tzu, is studied by strategists and politicians and masterminds the world over.”
“Well, I don’t have a copy. What is it you think I got out of it today?”
“The most classic quote from it: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This”—Hallie waved a hand over the carpet-scuffed line that was back between them—“encounter that just took place? Your attempt to keep your enemy close? It won’t work.”
She rushed out of the room before Fitz could see just how well it had almostworked. How her pulse still pounded. How her mouth was still parted, wishing for more.
