Her date with the handsome doctor had been incredible. The dancing even better. The kissing? Well, Alex’s talents in that department had been more than she’d even imagined they would be. Her lips were still swollen, but she loved every throb that came from them. It reminded her of him. She could still smell his scent in her hair. The sex? Even though vanilla, she’d reached two orgasms that had blown her mind.
“Time to sleep, Shelby,” she told herself aloud, closing her eyes, hoping her silly head would settle back and let her fall asleep. She knew it would take a while to stop thinking about Alex. Images of him and his brothers, Justin and Brandon, appeared in her mind.
Shelby opened her eyes and sat up. She needed that herbal tea that helped her sleep. She rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen to fix herself a cup, praying it would do the trick and grant her a few hours of rest.
Thank God it was Sunday and not Monday. Tomorrow was a workday and Austin’s schedule was totally packed, which meant she would be swamped.
* * * *
Lucille heard the knock on her door. She wondered why Trixie had shown up so early. They weren’t supposed to leave for Vegas until five tonight. It was only noon. Trixie was always so impatient when it came to partying. “Coming.”
Lucille opened the door.
Not Trixie.
Shocked by who was standing on her front porch, she asked, “May I help you?”
What she saw next horrified her.
A wicked smile.
A gun.
“No!”
The weapon fired.
Lucille fell to the floor, feeling horrific pain in her gut.
Chapter Seven
Brandon walked through Norma’s Diner, which was busting at the seams. He headed to the booth where his pop sat with his new wife. Even as busy as the restaurant was, his eyes still zeroed in past his two lunch partners. His focus was on the woman three booths down, reading a book. He’d seen her at Alex’s ground breaking ceremony.
Justin had told him that her name was Shelby Taylor. His brother had already put the moves on her. So like him. Never wasting any time to pounce. Then he would move on to his next conquest. Later, Alex had told him she worked for Austin Wilde as his personal secretary. He knew Austin. Hell, everyone in the whole state knew the man. Wilde walked a fine line but always ended up on the right side of the law. So far, anyway.
Brandon’s brain was in a damn tailspin ever since seeing Shelby. This must’ve been her Monday lunch. Dining alone? He thought about asking to join her, ditching his dad and Connie.
No one had impacted him so fast or so strongly ever. Not even Ashley. When he’d watched Justin walk away with the Wilde beauty at the ceremony, the old green-eyed monster of jealousy had shown up in his head. He wasn’t about to go down that path again, especially not with a girl from this town.
Still, he could just imagine how soft and sweet Shelby would be under his body. During the deposition back in Elko, his mind had kept producing images of her in various states of undress. What was underneath those clothes of hers? He was pretty certain her hidden skin was just as fair as her gorgeous face, which was currently turned his way. Her big blue eyes were wide. She wore her hair up. She didn’t look like a one-night-stand kind of person to him, so he turned his attention away from her and back to his dad and Connie.
He’d sworn off women long ago, not that he’d become a monk by any means. His bedroom had gotten quite the workout, especially after Ashley had broke it off with him. Lately less, but still active. More accurately put, he’d sworn off anything that smacked of permanence with any female. No one was invited to stay for breakfast. No one.
“Hey, son.” His dad waved him over. It was still odd seeing him in the sheriff’s uniform, though he loved that his dad was so happy. His dad’s new attitude was more likely due to Connie than him being the head lawman of Wilde.
Connie was so different from his mom. She was a bit scattered, where his mother had been so neat and orderly about everything. He’d been in high school when his mother had died, but he could still remember how everyone held on to their glass else his mom would swoop it up, carrying it to the kitchen to be washed. Now he realized his mother must’ve had a big case of OCD, which he’d apparently inherited from her. Fuck, he missed his mom.
“I took the liberty of ordering for you, son,” his dad said. “The special today is meatloaf with gravy.”
“I love meatloaf.”
“I know you do.”
Brandon scooted into the booth opposite the happy couple. “What sides?”
“Mashed potatoes and a side salad.”
His dad did know him. Quite well, too. Testing him, Brandon asked, “What dressing did you pick for my salad, Pop?”