Page 144 of That Rush

The word comes out lower than I intend. Paige goes still beneath my hand, then turns into me instead of away. Her palm settles against my chest.

“Everyone?” she asks.

“Anyone who needs the information.”

Her eyes drop to my mouth. “You look remarkably serious about public education.”

I slide my other hand around the back of her neck. “Tell me to move.”

“That would be a waste of both our time.”

I kiss her.

Her fingers bunch in my shirt as she lifts onto her toes and opens for me. I mean for the kiss to be a point, a statement for anyone watching. Her tongue strokes mine, and every sensible reason for keeping it brief disappears.

I angle her head and take her mouth deeper. Paige makes a soft sound against my lips and presses closer. I feel every stare, and I want every single person watching to understand.

Someone whistles from the direction of the refreshment stand.

Paige smiles against my lips. “Your message has reached the entire county.”

“Good.”

I kiss her once more before releasing her. Her mouth is wet, and the pleased look in her eyes does nothing to settle me.

She smooths the front of my shirt. “Go move those auction baskets before you frighten anyone else into buying a book.”

“I didn’t frighten him.”

“No. You just stared at him like you were picking a spot on the ranch with soft ground.”

“I was polite.”

“You were territorial.”

I lean in. “You liked it.”

Her smile turns smug. “Go lift something heavy, Slade.”

Twenty minutes later, Paige finds me behind the booth, opening another box of donated books. The crowd has thickened across the lawn, and Josie is at the craft table demonstrating a concerning lack of respect for measured quantities of glue.

Paige braces one hand on the table beside me. “You are unbearably pleased with yourself.”

“I’m working.”

“You’ve been wearing that expression since you informed a perfectly nice man that I’m yours.”

“He needed accurate information.”

“He had accurate information. I gave it to him.”

“I added context.”

“You kissed me like you wanted him to see your name stamped across my forehead.”

“I was aiming lower.”

Her breath catches. She glances toward the narrow opening between the booth wall and the library.