He nodded, staring at the water for a long moment before tossing in his coin. “Now what?”

“Now you wait.”

They began to walk again, this time toward City Hall.

“Want to know what I wished?”

“No! You can’t tell. Not until or unless it happens.” But she was curious what a man like him, who had everything anyone could ever want, would wish for.

Trey walked her up to her second-floor office, where Avery was neck-deep in spreadsheets for the afternoon’s budget meeting with the comptroller. She looked up as they came in, her eyes going wide as she took in Sandy’s arm linked through Trey’s.

“Good morning Sandra, Mr. Peyton.”

“Morning, Avery. Sorry I’m late. Dinner Belles for breakfast.”

“Say no more.” When the phone rang, she lifted a finger for them to wait. “Mayor Crawford’s office. How can I—Yes, she is. Is it ready? No, no, I’ll run down and get it.” Avery hung up. “Back in a jiff, Sandra. Our order is ready at the print shop.”

“I’ll hold down the fort.”

As her assistant hurried off, Sandy waved Trey into her office. “Welcome to the inner sanctum.”

He strode inside and began to look around. She wondered what he thought. She’d done what she could to spruce the place up, bringing in an Aubusson rug and a few pieces of antique furniture she’d picked up at an estate sale, covering the walls with framed black and white photographs of Wishful in its heyday. But there was no hiding the fact that it was a municipal building. He wandered over to the console table set below the bank of windows overlooking the green and picked up a photo.

Nerves had her linking her hands even before he turned. “You have a picture of the Hoka.”

“Yes.” The old indie theater had been their place. Where they’d hung out. Where they were meant to have met that last night. “I didn’t have any pictures of you. Couldn’t have kept them if I did. But I had that.”

“Sandy.”

Trey set the picture aside and crossed to her, sliding his arms around her. It was easy to do the same, to flow into him and lift her mouth to his.

The perfunctory knock on the door had her leaping back as if she’d been scalded—or trying. Trey’s grip on her was too firm, so she was still partly in his arms when the older woman with silver hair came into the room.

“Sandy, sorry to bother you, but Avery isn’t—Oh, excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt a…meeting.”

Not sorry enough to step into the hall until it was finished, Sandy noted. She moved away from Trey, deliberately not looking at him.

“It’s fine, Mom. What are you doing here?”

“I brought you some cheese straws.” Helen came all the way into the room, a cookie tin extended.

Sandy took it automatically, frowning as she opened to check the contents. “Cheese straws?” Why was she bringing by cheese straws at nine-thirty on a Thursday morning?

“Well, I’m tinkering with the recipe. Trying out a pimento cheese variety. I thought you’d like to try them out. Go ahead. Have a bite.”

“May I?” Trey asked.

Sandy held out the tin, knowing her cheeks were on fire again. It was ridiculous to feel as if she’d been caught at something. She and Trey were both grown adults, both single. But knowing that did nothing to stem the trepidation.

He popped a cheese straw in his mouth and groaned in appreciation. The sound just made Sandy blush harder. He’d made the same sound when she’d kissed him last night.

“I don’t know what the originals taste like, but these are top notch. I can’t remember the last time I had cheese straws.” He plucked one more up before Sandy could close the container.

“And who might you be, young man?”

Trey held out his hand. “Gerald Peyton. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Helen Campbell.” She shook once, keeping hold of his hand and giving him a shrewd onceover. “You’ve been doing a great deal in our town.”

Tags: Kait Nolan Wishful Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net