All eyes turn to the girl. She’s in her early teens, and she’s a little on the surly side. She takes one look at us, rolls her eyes, and turns away. “I’ll look for decorating tips.”
Hot Cop catches the girl by the arm and gently turns her to face us again. “Piper.”
She heaves a breath and gives us a rote “Hi, I’m Piper, nice to meet you.”
Chloe’s grin is quick and bright. “I’m Chloe. You remind me a lot of myself at your age.”
Piper’s narrowed eyes assess Chloe. I have no idea what she sees, but I can’t imagine how anyone could find fault in this woman. She’s amazing inside and out. Piper doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t pop off with a smart-ass remark either.
“Is that right?” Hot Cop says to Chloe.
“Oh, yeah,” Chloe confirms.
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” He gestures to the other women. “Piper’s my goddaughter. This is KT and Laiyla.”
Piper offers a wave, but no smile.
“Okay,” he says. “Go find your decorating tips.”
When Piper turns on her heel and walks away, Hot Cop looks at Chloe. “Does that dim our spark, Ms. Hart?”
She smiles. “Hell, no.”
KT gives me a puh-leeeeze look, then to Chloe, she says, “Maybe you should move into the Georgie Pie.”
I’m thoroughly entertained. It’s fun to see someone else’s sexual shenanigans for a change.
Hot Cop turns his gaze on KT and me and offers his hand. “I’m Xavier, by the way. When I’m out of uniform, you can call me Z. We haven’t formally met, but I’ve heard about you ladies around town.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” I say, shaking his hand.
“I never do.” He shakes KT’s hand, then says, “I’d better get going. Those cupcakes won’t bake and decorate themselves.” His gaze lingers on Chloe. “And I’ll see you around.”
“Yes, you will.”
“Be good,” he says before he turns and follows his goddaughter.
KT and I wait for him to disappear into the store before turning our expectant gazes on Chloe.
“What?” she says, grinning like a teenager. “It’s just a spark.”
“Sparks like that start fires,” KT says in that matter-of-fact, deadpan way of hers. “Don’t go trying to get this town to live up to its name.”
“Ha,” Chloe says as we continue down the aisle.
“Back to our previous topic,” I say. “KT, I think you should move into Georgie Pie for now. You’re the one who’s doing all the work.”
“Growing out of seventy square feet of living space is a process,” she says. “It’s like introducing a goldfish into their own twenty-gallon tank. You can’t just drop them in. They’ll die from shock. A transition is required.”
I start laughing and swing my arm over her shoulders, hugging her to me. “I love you.”
Which results in a round of silly hugs and I-love-yous all around. I’m having a hard time remembering the last time I was this happy. Quite possibly here in Wildfire with Levi and our friends. The realization nudges me closer to that decision Levi wants me to make.
Chloe picks up a casserole dish with a bright blue paint on the exterior and almost drops it. “This could cause serious damage.”
“You want to see damage,” I say. “Look at the price.”
Chloe turns the dish over and sucks air before gingerly putting it back on the shelf.