Paxton texted back immediately. I can be there in thirty if it’s an emergency. Otherwise I’ll be there tomorrow morning.
Tinsley walked out into the gallery and snapped a picture of the paintings and sent it to him. She didn’t have to wait long for Paxton’s text. I’ll be there in two hours. Know of a place I can stay for the next while?
Tinsley put her finger on the phone and was going to suggest her place only to start and stop typing no less than five times. I’ll ask around.
See you soon, beautiful.
Tinsley stared at the text for way longer than she should. Then, taking a deep breath, she locked up the gallery and hit up the lunch crowd across the street at Harper’s bar.
She had thought of the apartment above the bar, but Harper’s bartender, Georgina, was living there. Then she thought of Trent’s house, which was near hers. He’d moved out and into a home he’d bought with his wife on the other side of town. However, Karri Hill, Peter Castle’s girlfriend, was renting it. Her cousin Ryker had a guesthouse, but that would take a lot of bribing and threats to get. The last option was the Bell family. They had an old family mansion that they had turned into a bed and breakfast.
Tinsley pushed open the heavy wooden door to the bar and was immediately overcome by air conditioning and the smell of freshly fried food. It made her mouth water as she looked around the bar.
“Howdy, Miss Tinsley,” Gator said. He was a mountain of a man in overalls and a South Carolina COCKS hat. He was aptly named, considering the man was the town’s alligator removal expert.
“Hi, Gator. Have y’all seen any of the Bells?”
“Gage is right over there,” Gator answered with a nod of his head.
Gage and Maggie Bell were the children of the owners of the bed and breakfast. Gage was named after a twelve-gauge shotgun, and Maggie’s full name was Magnum. Their parents were avid shooters and Gage and Maggie had followed in their footsteps. Maggie was an Olympic silver medalist, and Gage had made the men’s Olympic team, but placed fourth in shooting.
Tinsley walked around the corner of the wall and found Gage sitting at a tableful of men. Several were in their early twenties to Gage’s mid-twenties. Then there were a couple of men who looked to be in their thirties and finally a man who looked to be in his forties.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Tinsley said, coming to stand near Gage.
“Tinsley, no apology necessary. Guys, this is my friend Tinsley Faulkner. She’s the artist who owns the gallery across the street. Tinsley, these are my Olympic teammates.”
“Oh, wow. It’s nice to meet y’all.”
“Maggie and I are hosting the men’s and women’s shooting teams this week. We’re getting in a ton of practice at the estate and then time for team building,” Gage said proudly.
Tinsley smiled at the men even as she felt herself groan inwardly. “I take it you’re all full up for the week then?”
Gage’s smile fell. “Not a couch to spare. I’m sorry, did you need a room?”
“Yes, but don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll text you some B&Bs that are in Charleston.”
“Thanks, Gage. Y’all have a great retreat week.”
Tinsley walked back to the bar and pulled herself up onto the worn barstool. She sent a text to Ryker but didn’t hold out hope that he’d agree. He was very guarded about his privacy. He’d let Trent’s wife, Skye, stay in the guest house. But that was an anomaly. And just as she thought, she got a text back from Ryker that simply said No.
“Here you go, Miss Tinsley,” Skeeter said from the stool next to her. He slid a shot glass toward her. Tinsley looked down at it and back up at Skeeter. He was a skinny guy who wore clothing two sizes too big for him. “You look like you need this.”
“Skeeter, it’s too early for vodka.”
“Georgie,” Skeeter called out as the young bartender came over with a beaming smile that seemed way too happy, considering her living in the apartment upstairs was causing Tinsley the pain she was in right now. “Orange juice, please.”
Georgina poured a glass and handed it to him. Skeeter poured the vodka into it. “There. It’s one of them fancy mixed drinks now.”
Tinsley laughed. What else was she to do? In less than two hours she was going to tell the man who burned up her dreams that he was going to be staying in the bedroom next to hers. She wasn’t going to sleep again until Paxton Kendry was out of her house. Even then it was debatable, considering the way he took over her dreams.
“Thanks, Skeeter.” Tinsley took the drink and chugged it down.
She slid from the barstool and pulled her shoulders back. She was walking into war. Not with the thieves, but with her heart.
7
“What do you mean I’m staying at your place?” Paxton asked again. He’d been working for the past hour setting up hidden cameras in the art gallery when Tinsley dropped that little bomb. It wasn’t bad. In fact, it was an answer to his prayers. However, he had a case to solve and lying in a bed just one thin wall away from Tinsley—who made him question everything he thought he knew about his life goals—wasn’t going to make things easy.
Tinsley plastered on a smile that was way too perky to be real. “The B&B is all filled up for the week. The Olympic shooting team is there. It would be unpatriotic to kick them out. The only other place is my house. I have a guest room. It’s not like we’d have to share a bed.”
Paxton raised an eyebrow and watched as Tinsley turned bright red. “That’s too bad. Are you sure you have the spare room available? I don’t mind doubling up.”
Tinsley sputtered. He could see her struggling between being shy and not backing down from him. Paxton eagerly waited to see which side won out.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to be on top of you like that. Personal space-wise, I mean.” Tinsley blinked her eyes innocently and Paxton wanted to simultaneously groan in sexual frustration and applaud her for not backing down from him. It was seriously the biggest turn-on of his life when a woman got him. Most didn’t. Tinsley did. The fact that she was so nice only turned him on more. He wondered if anyone else knew she had this naughty, playful side. Then he realized he hoped they didn’t. He wanted to be the only one to see this side of her.
“I don’t mind. I’m flexible. I can be on top, too.” Paxton loved the way her eyes dropped down and then flew back up. What she was thinking was written all across her face and he’d be happy to fulfill every single thought she had.
Finally, Tinsley shook her head. “You’re teasing me again.”
“More like feeling you out.”
Her mouth dropped open and then she snapped it closed. “And they say women are confusing,” she muttered before walking away.
Tinsley closed the office door and looked at her phone. She bit her lip and finally reached for it. “Hey, Tins. What’s up?”
“Hi, Ridge. I have a question for you,” she said to her brother.
“What’s up?”
“Do you have a spare room for someone to stay?”
“Well, I have a spare room, but it’s filled with a whole bunch of things Savannah bought for a house she’s decorating. There’s about a two-foot-wide path through it. Why?”