My Ex's Baby (Crescent Cove 8)

He drew her into his arms, handing her the hot chocolate. “My family would really love for everyone to come. Bring in the New Year with us. We have a huge box of sparklers near that gorgeous arbor if you’d like to do it up stroll-style along Main Street.”

The crowd clapped and more sparklers fired into the night.

A little girl with red braids and a purple jacket came up to me. “You can haff mine, so I can have a new one.”

I laughed at her pronunciation and took the sparkler from her. “Thanks, sweetie.”

A woman in a sharp crimson jacket held her hand out for the little girl. Gold flashed in her ears and her fingers. She was hella put together. All class.

She smiled at me and then tugged her daughter away.

With my free hand, I clutched the antique wire of my large pendant and glanced down at my navy dress. The purple lacy edge along the hem fluttered in the breeze and tickled the back of my matching suede boots. The ones I’d spent weeks dying to match.

I might never look as classy as that woman, but at least I had a one of a kind dress. And my gray long jacket had been rescued on a trip into the city. I always got the best stuff down there to repair and resell. It was what I did. Repurposed and made things shine again.

“Careful, Kin.” A large, warm hand curled around mine.

My breath hitched as August pulled me in, taking the dying sparkler from my fingers. It gave one last flash and died between us.

“Guess you got a defective one.” He waved it quickly to get the last of the heat out of the burned out stick.

I shivered. Because it was cold, of course. Not because I hadn’t been this close to him since…well, since that day at the hospital.

I’d done my damndest to keep out of his way—as much as one could when one worked in the same damn building as the guy she was avoiding. Oh, and couldn’t forget the whole helping with the wedding thing. But I managed well enough most of the time. Unfortunately, my stupid body hadn’t gotten the memo that he was off-limits.

His gaze drifted to my mouth then back up to my eyes. “You look amazing, Kin.”

I pulled my hand from his. “Can’t compete with the bride and her party, but I clean up all right.”

He frowned. “Why would you need to compete? You’re one of the most beautiful women in the Cove.”

My mouth went dry. “Wow.”

“You know you’re gorgeous.”

I looked down at my feet and jammed my hands into my coat pockets. “That’s sweet of you to say.”

“Get over here, Beck!”

We both looked up at the barked orders from Sheriff Brooks. It just felt weird to call him Jared, even in my head. He was as much the badge as a man in my mind. And I’d learned long ago to be wary of the badge even when I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Badge equaled social services and social services meant being trapped. I’d learned to avoid any and all of that when I was a kid.

I shook my head. Where had that come from?

It had to be all the crazy emotions of the day. It had been a damn long time since I’d thought of my teen years. I preferred to be firmly rooted in the now.

Now was where it was safe. That safety did not include the very tall and pleasantly wood-scented August Beck.

He’d even put on his good, dark-washed jeans for the occasion. The ones he wore to go to the bank or to meet with important clients. His baseball cap was gone. Instead, he wore a heavy green knit hat that made his green eyes glow. His dress coat—well, dressy for August—was open to show the crisp white Oxford shirt and tie that Ivy had to have picked out.

I didn’t think he knew to buy that shade of forest green and celadon plaid mix.

I tugged on his tie. “You look pretty good yourself, Aug.”

He flushed and reached back to tug his hat down. “Ivy threatened me with a month of diaper duty if I didn’t at least wear a tie.”

“Did she tie it for you too?”