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He chuckled, flashing me a smile of straight, white teeth before he rifled through his backpack. I fanned my face. “Seriously,” Everly mouthed. “What?” I mouthed back, feigning innocence. She rolled her eyes.
Lmaooooo
“Pure beauty.” I looked up, expecting his eyes to be on the mountains, but his gaze was aimed at me.
Hehe
“I was late and—” The words disappeared as I looked up and saw blue. “Jade?” I blinked. “Duke? What are you doing here? I thought you were from Wyoming.” “I grew up in Wyoming, but I live in Calamity.”
Hehehe
“Ms. Morgan. Lajade, right? Or should I call you Lucy Ross? As in the famous country singer Lucy Ross.” I cringed. “I can explain.” “Yeah. I think you’d better start talking.” “Sheriff Evans.” I gave him my sweetest smile. “What would you say to a bribe?”
Chemistry. We had it in spades. Damn.
It was going to be hard enough to mentally erase the smiling, fun, witty Jade and replace her with the scheming, famous, I’ll-bribe-my-way-out-of-a-speeding-ticket Lucy. The last thing I needed was a mental image of her anywhere near a bed. Because whether I called her Jade or Lucy, that woman was sexy as hell.
Something I should have done at the trailhead when I’d been happily ignorant. I’d almost kissed her. I’d been seconds away from taking her face in my hands and tasting those peach lips. But then I’d walked away. I’d come to my senses. Jade Morgan was a stranger. And I doubted she’d want a man she’d met hours earlier to kiss her senseless, then disappear from her life. None of those facts made her lips any less appealing now.
I could have just asked Duke to keep my secret. I could have just said, “Duke, would you please not tell anyone who I am?” But, no. Because after years and years in the music industry, I’d become a suspicious woman who trusted one and only one person on this earth—Everly. Considering that Duke had accepted the bribe, my cynical side was struggling to see how there’d been any other option. Everyone else just wanted a piece of me. My money. My music. My looks. My sole purpose in life had been to be the brand.
“You didn’t want the latest copy of People?” I froze. My reprieve from Sheriff Evans was over. Duke stood by the handlebar of my cart. The magazine from inside was in his hand. His eyes did the same thing they had with my driver’s license, darting between the cover photo and my face. Then a line formed between his eyebrows, like he couldn’t decide which version he liked better.
A well of tears filled my eyes. It was a strange feeling to realize how much of your identity was wrapped up in a name, something given to you the day you were born. But I was Lucy Ross. My parents had given me that name with love, and I was the woman they’d raised me to be. Brave. Affectionate. Loyal. Trusting. Faults and all, at least Lucy had history.
God, that voice. Could he sing? Because if he could carry even a mediocre tune, I wouldn’t care at all about his slightly crooked moral compass. Nope. Not. At. All.
And after my parents had died, it had become a way to honor them. I’d taken their last name and made it known across the globe. Mom especially would have loved to see my name in lights. According to her story, she’d fought Dad through her entire pregnancy for the name Lucy. Dad had wanted to name me Rose Ross, and thank God he’d had a change of heart after seeing Mom in labor for twenty-one hours. In a way, I was grateful that Duke had pulled me over last week. It was nice to have someone in Calamity know my real name, and he seemed to prefer it over Jade.
Every time she called me Sheriff I found a new love for my title. That voice of hers was like warm syrup, sweet and sticky as it dripped into my ear. I wouldn’t mind hearing it as a whisper as I kissed her neck. The woman was a magnet. When I’d come across her, sprawled on the grass, I’d had to force myself to keep on my feet. The urge to drop down on top of her and run my hands over those skintight leggings molded to her toned thighs and perfectly squeezable ass had been crippling.
“In Yellowstone, in the parking lot, I thought you were going to kiss me.” Damn, I liked that she could cut straight to it. “I wanted to.” “Why didn’t you?” “I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” “But here I am.” “Here you are.” I lifted a hand and trailed my fingers over the bare skin of her shoulder.
I’d underestimated Duke. The spark between us hadn’t just been a sizzle. It was a raging wildfire that was going to incinerate, not singe. At the moment, I didn’t care how dangerous this might be. I was too consumed by the blinding need for more.
The breeze caught Duke’s scent, dragging it to my nostrils and forcing me to take a long breath. I wanted that smell on my sheets. So I shut off my brain, shoved my nerves aside to fist the hem of Duke’s T-shirt. And dragged him inside.
Hehe
“You are . . . breathtaking,”
“In public, you’re Jade. But behind closed doors, you’re—” “Lucy?” she breathed. I shook my head. “Mine.”
Behehehehe
One day, if the music returned, I was absolutely writing a song about this man. Duke Evans deserved one hell of a song. I wanted to immortalize him into lyrics. The same way I’d done for my father.
Lucy lifted her chin and met my eyes. “Can dogs be murdered?” What. The. Fuck. “Yes.” “Then she was murdered. By the same person who drove me out of Nashville.”
“I trust Everly. And I trust you.”
I dont lmao
“Because when you’re in the room, I can’t seem to focus on another person. Because you consume my thoughts, day and night. Because your smile makes my whole damn day.” I bent low, speaking so only she could hear me. “Because I don’t care if your name is Jade Morgan or Lucy Ross as long as at the end of the day, you’re mine.”
Ice raced down my spine. “What do you mean? Meghan committed suicide.” Jennifer smirked. “Did she?” No. My stomach plummeted. This crazy bitch had killed my assistant. How, I wasn’t sure. But there was no mistaking the evil glint in her eyes. The pride in her actions. She’d killed Meghan. And she would have killed Everly.
Bro
“Why did you do that?” “Because you are my life.”
Ahhhhhhh
“Duke.” “What would you say to a bribe?” She laughed. “The terms?” “Marry me and I’ll give you this ring.” “That’s it?” I fought a smile. “And I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” She tapped her chin, pretending to think about it for a moment. Then she dropped to her knees and framed my face with her hands. “I love you, Sheriff.”
We sat there, Duke cheering on the team and me humming the song that would end up becoming Duke’s. Because a man like Duke Evans deserved one hell of a song.
