More Than a Touch (Snowberry Creek #2) Read Free Page B

complained again. “Quit holding up the line, Leif. Flirt on your own time.”
    Leif shot his younger companions a dirty look. “Hush, children. To answer your question, Bridey, maybe I don’t deserve both, but I have been known to carry out a strategic raid when the objective is worth the risk. Stealing a piece of your cheesecake definitely falls into that category.”
    Then he winked at Zoe. “I’ll save you that spot.”
    After he continued on down the line, Zoe realized Bridey was giving her an odd look. “What?”
    Bridey whispered, “What do you think of Leif? He’s cute, isn’t he?”
    Zoe’s first instinct was to deny that there was any kind of attraction going on. “I just met the man a few minutes ago!”
    Then it occurred to her that she might be treading on someone else’s territory. “Sorry, Bridey. I didn’t know you were—”
    Realizing that their conversation wasn’t exactly private, she lowered her voice, too. “Interested in him.”
    “I’m not, I’m sad to say. He’s a great guy and a real cutie, but that’s as far as it goes. For one thing, I don’t know how long he’ll be here. No use in getting involved with someone who’s not going to stick around.”
    Bridey immediately turned her attention back to serving the next guy in line. As Zoe waited for him to reach her station, she followed Leif’s slow progress across to where he’d staked out two lawn chairs. Bridey was right. He was a cutie, but Zoe wasn’t one for short-term flings, either.
    Surely one evening of good food and conversation wouldn’t hurt anything, though. With that in mind, she served the last few people in line and then fixed her own plate. As she loaded it up with a variety of salads, Bridey stopped her. “Tell him I’ll cut him pieces of both the cheesecake and the pie and hide the plate in the cabinet over the stove. Never could resist a pair of puppy dog eyes like his.”
    Zoe laughed. “I’ll tell him—well, except for the puppy-dog-eyes part. No use in letting him know we’re both suckers for that kind of thing.”
    She picked up her plate and headed over to deliver the good news.
    •   •   •
    The potluck turned into a real party as wives and girlfriends joined the men who’d helped kick off the renovations. Leif had been prepared to spend the evening alone in the crowd, but his luck had changed the minute he’d spotted Zoe standing at the edge of the woods. She seemed content to sit next to him rather than mingling with the others. He should feel guilty about hogging her company, but he didn’t. Not really. Besides, other than him, most of the other men were too old, too young, or taken.
    Besides, it felt damn good to spend time laughing and talking with a pretty woman. Zoe’s eyes, which were the exact shade of blue as the sky on a hot summer afternoon, were never still as she watched the shifting crowd in front of them. She wore her dark hair twisted up in the back and held in place with some kind of stick, making him wonder just how long her hair actually was. It was tempting to tug the pin out to find out.
    Callie had dragged out Spence’s old boom box and put on music. As soon as the first song started, Sarge grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out into the center of the yard to start dancing. Funny, Leif didn’t remember Nick being much of a dancer, but the couple looked pretty good out there. Maybe the three bottles of ale he’d had were affecting his vision. More likely, it was just one more side effect of the couple being so in tune with each other.
    A movement off to the left caught Leif’s attention. One of the Reed boys was sidling up to Zoe. What was the little jerk up to now?
    “Zoe, wanna dance?”
    What was the idiot thinking? The boy had to be a good ten years too young for her. Leif waited to see what she’d say. He’d like to tell Jacob to get lost, but it wasn’t as if Leif had any claim on the woman’s time. She seemed reluctant, but she finally set