The Hero Next Door

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“Do I detect a bit of matchmaking here?” Kate gave the trio an amused scan.

“That’s an understatement if I ever heard one,” Heather muttered, trying to come up with an escape plan.

Chuckling, Kate gave her arm an empathetic pat while casting an affectionate smile at Edith. “I’ve been there. But, hey, it worked for me.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Heather warned. “She already…”

“Hi, ladies. I think this is my table.”

At the mellow baritone voice behind Heather, three pairs of eyes switched focus, while she kept her gaze fixed on the tub of popcorn. She’d expected to spend the next few hours sitting next to a middle-aged widow, not a handsome cop. The change in plans did not bode well for her peace of mind, which was already shaky.

“Well, sit right down and make yourself at home.” Edith gestured toward the chair beside Heather’s. “The men will be back in a minute. They went to the concession stand.”

Pulling out the chair, J.C. settled in. A faint whiff of rugged aftershave wafted her way, and Heather squeezed the napkin in her hand into a tight ball as her heart skipped a beat. This was weird. Even Mark had never had this kind of effect on her. And J.C. wasn’t even trying.

Now there was a scary thought!

“You know everyone here, don’t you, J.C.?” Edith asked, every inch the proper hostess.

“Yes. Julie served me my first tea, Kate gives me a great weather report whenever we meet, and Heather—” he directed one of those pulse-disrupting, half-hitch smiles her way “—taught me a few things about cats.”

“Cats?” Julie gave her employer a puzzled look. “I didn’t know you were into cats.”

“It’s a long story.” Heather was saved from further explanation by the return of the men.

Todd set a pitcher in front of J.C., and the dark-haired cop picked it up. “Would you like some soda, Heather?”

Grasping her plastic cup, she edged it toward the pitcher. “Thanks.”

Once her cup was full, J.C. reached past her to fill Craig’s, his sun-browned hand brushing hers. She jerked back as if she’d been burned, watching in horror as the soda in her cup sloshed out and headed toward her across the table.

Acting on instinct, she scooted her chair back—and collided with the man passing behind her, who was juggling a large tub of popcorn and a pitcher of lemonade. The popcorn rained down on her like a sudden summer shower.

Mortified, Heather closed her eyes, wishing she could melt into the floor like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz. How much worse could this night get?

A giggle erupted to her right. Kate. Another followed on the left. Julie. She identified the deeper chuckle across the table as Chester’s.

Forcing herself to open her eyes, she risked a peek at the man beside her. The suspicious twitch at the corners of his lips told her he was struggling to contain his own laughter, and heat radiated across her cheeks.

All she could do was try to make the best of an embarrassing situation, Heather decided, accepting that she’d never live this down. Pasting on a smile, she gave a vigorous shake of her head, sending kernels flying in all directions. “Popcorn, anyone?”

J.C. released the chuckle he’d been holding back and plucked a kernel from her hair. “Interesting serving method. But I don’t think it would go over at your teas.”

She liked the way the skin crinkled at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, Heather thought, giving him a good look for the first time. And at this proximity, she couldn’t help noticing the faint glint of gold in his dark irises. His strong, clean-shaven jaw also fascinated her. A faint shadow suggested he had a heavy beard. Would his skin feel smooth or textured against the tips of her fingers? she wondered.