She closed a fist over the front of her shirt, frowned slightly, and then smiled. “You’re right, and I can change in a jiff.” She stood up, met his gaze, and asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” he replied with more confidence than he actually felt. “Go get ready.”

As she disappeared into the house, Wyatt wondered what he’d been thinking to ask her out on what she might construe to be a date. If she resumed flirting with him every time they bumped into each other, he’d be so screwed. He was already plagued with erotic dreams about her that awakened him from a sound sleep and kept him wound up for the rest of the night.

Chapter Four

Fifteen minutes later, Erin emerged from the house onto the porch. For an instant, Wyatt gaped at her in startled wonderment. She’d changed into a simple denim skirt and a pink knit top, which were dressy enough for where they planned to eat, but she wore black commando boots on her feet and had a brown leather bomber jacket draped over her arm. What the hell? But as unconventional as her choices in accessories were, she looked adorable in spite of herself, and the fact that she hadn’t aimed for a sexier look eased his mind.

Once they were inside his truck, Wyatt said, “Unlike most people, I can’t safely converse while I drive. If you’d like to listen to music, I won’t mind if you turn on the stereo.”

She smiled and shrugged. “You forget that I spend most of my shifts inside a truck with a police radio blabbering at me. I appreciate silence inside a vehicle. It gives me a chance to clear my mind and let my thoughts wander.”

Wyatt couldn’t imagine what it might be like to hear people talking nonstop over the airwaves all day. He was pretty sure it would give him a bitch of a headache. “All I get is silence. That would drive me crazy.”

He said nothing more until they reached West Main and he nosed his pickup into a parking spot. As he turned off the ignition, he glanced over at her and grinned. “How’s that for luck? We’re only a few feet from the door.”

She gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s one of the many reasons I love living in Mystic Creek. In the Seattle area where I grew up, there are so many people that parking spaces are normally at a premium.”

She didn’t wait for him to walk around to open her door. Instead she exited the vehicle when he did, and they met on the sidewalk. The Cauldron had gotten a recent facelift. Sissy and her mother, Doreen, had done extensive remodeling inside but hadn’t been able to afford to have the exterior brick sandblasted and revitalized right away.

“This place is starting to look pretty uptown,” he said, mostly because he was nervous and could think of little else to say.

Erin nodded. “I love what they’ve done with the interior, too. I hadn’t moved here yet when the renovations were done, but Sissy had the foresight to take before pictures. The difference is amazing.”