Exhilarated, exhausted, stunned that she’d actually been able to pull off her role, Summer didn’t know whether to laugh or to sigh in relief as Gavin escorted her outside and they left their audience behind. Grinning as he took her hand, she said in triumph, “We did it! Did you see the way people were looking at us? I can just hear the gossip tomorrow.”
“So can I,” he replied. “Especially after everyone hears about this.” And with no more warning than that, he stopped and tugged her into his arms for a hot, sizzling kiss in full view of the diners sitting by the restaurant’s large picture windows.
Caught off guard, Summer could do nothing but close her eyes and helplessly kiss him back. And all the while, her heart was slamming against her ribs. Dizzy, her knees weak, she tried to cling to the knowledge that this was just another act of the little play they were putting on, but her mind had a tendency to fog over with pleasure and she found it impossible to think straight. Unable to stop herself, she melted against him, boneless in his arms.
Later, she couldn’t have said how long he kissed her. It could have been mere seconds or hours. She just knew that when he finally let her up for air, she could do nothing but stare at him in bemusement. Why hadn’t anyone ever told her that the man could kiss like that?
“Smile,” he said huskily.
Still standing in his arms, her thoughts all jumbled, she frowned up at him in confusion. “What?”
“Smile,” he said again. “Everyone in the restaurant can see your expression.”
Disgruntled, she immediately turned the corners of her mouth up in a slow, sultry smile, but inside she was more than just a little miffed. He’d practically knocked her out of her shoes with that kiss, but he didn’t seem to be affected at all.
“How’s that?” she asked through her teeth, gazing up at him like an infatuated teenager.
“Perfect.” Chuckling, he released her, but only long enough to take her hand. “I think we’ve done enough damage for one night. C’mon, I’ll take you home.”
Any fears she had that he might try to kiss her good-night ended the second they reached her house and he followed her inside. Refusing the coffee she offered, he immediately began analyzing the evening. “Did you see the mayor? His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the two of us together! It was great. By lunchtime tomorrow, everyone in city hall will be talking about that kiss in front of the Wild Boar. But that’s just the start. Tomorrow, I’ll order you flowers and have them delivered to you at the hospital. That’ll really get the gossips going. Then we’ll go out again tomorrow night.”
She’d expected as much. “How about the movies? It’s bargain matinee night, and there’s bound to be a crowd.”
“Good idea,” he agreed. “We’ll grab a burger first, then go see something romantic.”
Not surprised, Summer said dryly, “Of course.”
Lost in his musings, he never noticed. “You know, it was really clever of you to join me for lunch that day at the Hip Hop. It started people wondering about the two of us, and now, less than a week later, we’re going out and kissing in the parking lot.”
Pleased with himself, he impulsively hugged her. “This is great. Just great! I don’t know how to thank you for all your help.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she cautioned. “We just started, and we still have to get through the trial. We might be able to convince everyone in town, but that doesn’t mean the jury will return with a not-guilty verdict.”
“They will,” he said confidently. “I’m sure of it.”
Satisfied that he had everything worked out, he promised to pick her up the following evening at six, then wished her a quiet good-night and left. And he never knew that the real reason she’d joined him at his table at the Hip Hop that day wasn’t because she was trying to be clever but because she’d thought he needed a friend.
Summer had never dated much. But even if she’d had a wealth of experience with the opposite sex, she didn’t think anything could have prepared her for dating Gavin.
Over the course of the next week, they went out every night, and she had to give him credit. When he set out to show a woman a good time—even if it was all a pretense—he spared no effort. He sent her flowers and brought her gifts that he made a point of giving her in public. Sweet, inexpensive romantic gifts like a book of sonnets, a pair of heart earrings, a ceramic frog for her kitchen windowsill. And even though she knew it was for show, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to receive such attention from a man who really cared about her.
For a while, though, she could pretend, and she had to admit, she enjoyed herself. They went dancing and roller skating and had a candle-lit picnic at the town park in full view of anyone who chose to drive by. Anywhere there were people, they showed up, and everywhere they went, whispers followed them.
For a woman who considered herself an introvert, she should have been extremely uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to being on public display, and there were times when it was awkward. But they were causing a stir, which was the whole point of their going out, and she couldn’t help but be pleased. When she overheard people questioning her sanity, she knew they were making progress.
“I think she’s lost her mind.”
“Maybe it’s one of those midlife crisis things. Though come to think of it, she’s not that old, is she? Maybe she’s having a breakdown from working so hard.”
Stopping in at the Hip Hop for a quick sandwich before heading out to the reservation, Summer inadvertently stepped right into the middle of a gossip session in which she was the main topic of conversation. And not surprisingly, Lily Mae Wheeler, holding court in her booth, was leading the discussion. When she saw Summer, she did have the grace to lower her voice, but only to a hoarse whisper that carried the length and breadth of the café.
“The girl obviously needs therapy. Any woman who would voluntarily spend any time alone with that murderer after what he did to that poor Montgomery girl can’t be all there. I think she needs her head examined.”
Taking a seat at the counter instead of in one of the booths, Summer didn’t so much as wince, but Janie Austin shot Lily Mae a reproving frown as she set a glass of water and the menu in front of Summer. “I’m sorry about that, Summer,” she said quietly. “Don’t pay any attention to Lily Mae. You know how she is.”
Summer did, indeed, know how the old battle-ax was, but in this particular instance, she couldn’t take offense—not when Lily Mae’s criticism generated just the response she was hoping for.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Meg Reilly said with a frown from the booth where she sat with her soon-to-be stepdaughter, Hope Baxter Kincaid. “Maybe the girl’s just got more sense than most of the folks around here who are so quick to judge. Better yet, maybe all this time everyone’s been mistaken about Gavin. Summer’s smart and kind and nobody’s fool. She wouldn’t go near any man she thought was capable of murder.”
Surprisingly, a few more diners nodded in agreement, but Lily Mae only sniffed in disdain. “You always were a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, Meg, seeing hearts and flowers everywhere you looked. And that’s fine when you’re putting together one of your fancy weddings at your flower shop. But you need to take off the rose-colored glasses when you’re out in the real world. The man’s guilty as sin and we all know it. If Summer can’t see that, she’s the one who’ll pay. If I was one of those aunts of hers, I’d take out a big life insurance policy on her because any day now she could turn up as dead as Christina Montgomery.”
Just last week, practically everyone in the café would have