Then there was Harper, mouth open, trying to form the word no only nothing came out. At first he thought she was just embarrassed being caught in a fib. But then her eyes went wide with panic, her face flushed fully, and Adam watched, knot in his stomach, as the embarrassment quickly turned to humiliation.
“No. Adam and I aren’t, um . . .” She cleared her throat and sent him a small smile that was all apology and agony. “I lied,” she finished, then threw her shoulders back, and damn, if her courage in the face of utter mortification didn’t cause something inside of him to rear up.
“You lied?” McGuire asked, and there was something about his humorous tone that had Harper fidgeting with her hands.
She was taking in every surprised look, every questioning glance through a skewed filter. A filter that was the unfortunate side effect of expending energy and too much heart on a guy who didn’t deserve it.
Harper nodded, her smile small and tight, as if it were the only thing holding her together. The last time she’d tried to look this brave had been when Dr. Dildo made it clear he wasn’t interested in what she had to offer. Which was a hell of a lot, if you asked Adam.
Her hurt over the rejection was so deep it tore at his gut then, and he sure as hell wouldn’t let her go through that again. Not in front of a station full of guys.
“She lied about when we started dating.”
“I did,” she said at the same exact time McGuire mumbled, “She did?”
“She did,” Adam said, slinging an arm over her shoulder and pulling her to him, as if she was his. Funny thing about that, she kind of felt like his. Had since their first kiss. “I realized how special she was a few months back, when we were shooting the latest Cuties with Booties calendar. Then I bumped into her at her grandma’s shop, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her, so when she asked if I would do some modeling for her grandma’s shop I said, Hell yeah. A chance to spend time with her? That was a no-brainer.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Harper whispered, and he could hear her voice crack.
He looked down into her eyes and felt himself drowning in the emotion he saw there. “I know. I want to,” he said gently.
“Well done. The way to a lady’s heart is always through her family,” Lowen said, looking at Adam as if reciting the eleventh commandment. He turned to Harper. “I guess that’s how he sweet-talked you into helping plan Beat the Heat.”
Now it was Adam’s turn to gasp.
Harper, however, looked as if she was going to throw up. Or bolt. Not that he blamed her. She’d come here to help him out, and her quick thinking on her feet, outlining a vision that Lowen could get on board with, had somehow caused her to be drafted into his shit storm. Not his intention.
“Harper is one of the most creative people I know,” Adam said. “She’s friends with just about everyone in town and would no doubt throw a party that reflects the town’s wishes.”
“Slippery slope,” Harper quietly said to Adam, referring to his own lie by omission, and pushed through a smile that was so big it could have been seen from space.
With a look that said he had this, Adam added, “Even though it was the perfect solution, we realized that our private relationship would be a conflict of interest.”
They may not have slept together, but the whole town had seen their kiss. So no one was more surprised when Lowen shrugged, as if he hadn’t delivered a three-day training last spring on the negative impacts of mixing department business with personal interests, and said, “I don’t see the problem.”
The man sounded relieved at the information that Adam wouldn’t be left to his own devices. Harper looked horrified, whether it was over the idea of coming clean about their relationship after his big speech—and tanking his shot at lieutenant. Or being drafted into planning Beat the Heat—and spending the next two weeks with him. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that the direction had changed and someone was about to feel the heat.
“In fact, I think it’s a great idea. The papers will love it. ‘Local art teacher brings small-town traditions back to St. Helena’s Beat the Heat.’”
Harper took in a deep breath and he saw the word no forming on her lips, then she looked at him and slippery slope didn’t even begin to describe what Adam felt. Suddenly, he didn’t want to be Five-Alarm or the guy who played beer pong on his days off. Hell, he was too old for beer pong.
He had no business having a girlfriend and wouldn’t even know what to do with one. But he liked who he was around her, and how he felt. And the idea of spending a little more time with her seemed right.