“I’ve not had enough alcohol to even ponder that, but…” Arissa grinned. “It’s a nice visual.” Then she gestured to the door. “Those two men across the street. They invited me to sit on their laps. That’s the most action I’ve had in months.”
Jo hooted in laughter. “Bert and Ernie over there?” She gestured to the window behind them. “That’s Elmer and Sal, the town’s dirty old men, Honey. They’re harmless. Now…” She started with raised brows. “It’s Hya you need to watch out for, the one in the big caddie. Honey, she can get cranky, but deep down, she’s good people.”
Arissa jerked forward, shifting in her seat. “She almost ran me and my car over, then yelled at me even though she was on my side of the street.” Arissa sat back in her chair, grinning at the thought of the colorful characters of Summerville. “I think I’m going to really like it here.”
“Yep, that’s Hyacinth, she’s one of the Summerville Belles.” Jo threw her head back in laughter. “Those three women are a damn hoot. They keep the sheriff on his toes. They’re the female versions of Elmer and Sal.”
“Hya scared me a little.”
“Sugar, her bark is worse than her bite. Now, if she raises her cane at you, run.” Jo nodded. “Run quick, cause that thing is dangerous.”
“Good to know.” Arissa looked at her watch. “Oops, I didn’t mean to take so much of your time.”
Jo looked to the back of the large room and saw Hank. “You can say oops again, Sugar, cause we aren’t alone.”
Arissa followed Jo’s stare to see the sheriff leaning on the doorjamb of his office. He’d changed into a faded gray tee with the Summerville PD logo and jeans. His arms were folded, pulling her eyes to his biceps. She curled her fingers because what she wanted to do was start at his shoulders and work her way down, touching every inch of him with her hands then her mouth. Her gaze lifted, looked right into those dark eyes and didn’t care if he knew she was eye fucking him from across the room. Arissa held his dark brown gaze when she said to Jo, “Oops.”
Hank’s eyes drifted down Arissa’s body, letting them linger on her crossed bare legs. Her skin looked smooth and silky. His hands clenched, wanting to run them up her legs until they got lost under her dress. His eyes briefly connected with hers, he could get lost in them, but he righted his thoughts, giving Arissa a chin lift before he hollered across the room. “Jo, you drinking on the job?”
“I can hold my liquor, Boss, besides it’s almost punching out time.”
Hank shook his head. His eyes moved to Arissa where he caught that flush across her cheeks. He’d thought about her throughout the day. He probably shouldn’t have, but he did. No one could keep a count of how many times he reached for his cell to message her; it was that many. From the little time he stood there, the conversation he heard Arissa and Josephine having, Summerville was not making a great first impression on Arissa.
Jo eyed her boss from head to toe. “Looks like you’re already punching out. You heading over to Moe’s?” Jo asked, taking the plate of brownies and walking to her desk. “Arissa made these for us as a thank you. You should try one. They’re delicious.”
Arissa was wishing she’d had another hit of that rum. Maybe it was because she was feeling pretty good, but not good enough to not care that she brought the man brownies, her actions not fooling anyone, or maybe it was because he likely overheard her saying she thought he’d make a great stripper, knowing that every other warm-blooded female in town felt the same draw to him, but at the moment she couldn’t look at him. The tile on the station house floor was fascinating. Maybe she should take up the old men across the street on their offer and go sit on their laps until the effects of the coconut rum faded enough for her to drive.
Hank was gazing at the top of Arissa’s head, who kept her focus fixed to the floor, as he made his way through the bullpen. “Brownies, huh?” Hank said to no one in particular. It was then Arissa raised her head, and when Hank got her eyes, they were soft. He held back what those eyes were doing to him. But he also noticed the slight flush of pink glowing on her cheeks grew darker the closer he got. He looked from her to Jo. “Yeah, gonna head over there, find out the outcome of the dart game and grab something to eat.” He stopped next to Jo’s desk, snatched a brownie and popped it into his mouth and mumbled, “Mmm.”
“Arissa’s had two hits of rum, doesn’t seem to hold her liquor like me. You should take her with you, get some food in her stomach,” Jo said, then added, “As the sheriff, public safety is your concern.” Jo’s eyes twinkled as she meddled.
Hank started to cough through his chewing and swallowing of the delicious chocolatey treat. He was successful in getting it all down. He glanced over at Arissa to see if he could read the expression on her face. It was his chance to get to know more about her. Her being here, bringing him brownies, he knew she wanted to get to know him better too, but she was city, through and through. He wasn’t going down that road again, despite how tempting that road was. “Maybe she’d rather go home, you pass the old Meyer place on your way.” He looked at Jo. “You can drive her.”
Arissa wasn’t so drunk that she didn’t realize immediately she’d misread the situation. Not a spark,
