Free HAPPY PANTS CAFE (THE HAPPY PANTS SERIES) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

passed.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Harper sat in her jail cell and felt quite certain that she never, ever wanted to come out. Arrested. I, Harper Marie Branton, was arrested. And not just in front of an entire crowd, but in front of Austin Royce. Because, oh no, it wasn’t bad enough having been caught lying to him and then having a big old fight; she had to go and smack the town sheriff with his own scalding cup of coffee.
    Harper covered her face. She might as well just stay in this pee-scented jail cell, decorated in shades of unkinky-gray, the rest of her life. Yes! Forever. Because even if she could get over the humiliation, she was certain that Austin had charmed his way into Ms. Luci’s heart by now and had gotten that interview. That meant no article for her by next Friday. That meant bye-bye dream job.
    “Hello there,” said a deep, masculine voice. “A little birdy with a badge told me that you, young lady, don’t want to come out of your room.”
    Harper glanced up and saw the supremely masculine Austin standing on the other side of the bars, looking like he was enjoying the hell out of this.
    Oh, great. Just what I needed.
    “Come to gloat?” Harper scorned.
    He held out a hand, pinching an invisible inch. “Just a little.”
    She pulled her knees to her chest and looked away. Why wouldn’t he just go away? “Well, take a picture. Maybe you can add it to your article. I’m sure your readers will love it.”
    Austin gasped, feigning a wounded heart. “What you must think of me, Marie.” Then he applied one of those giant grins that reminded her of the silver-bullet smile, the one that had always killed her anger when they were kids. Harper couldn’t help but feel like smiling, too, although she did her damnedest to suppress it.
    “Stop. This isn’t funny.”
    He cleared his throat and scratched his short whiskers. Little did he know how that uniquely masculine sound turned Harper on.
    “Is that a little smile I see?” he teased.
    She looked away and tried not to laugh, but the corner of her mouth seemed to lift on its own. Dammit. Why does he have this effect on me?
    “Ah, yes,” he said, crossing his perfectly ripped arms over his chest, “I do believe Harper is ready to come out of her room.”
    “I wouldn’t be in here if it wasn’t for you.”
    “Are you referring to the little discussion we were having at the café or to the fact that you’re in here because you feel guilty about lying to me?”
    How did he know about that?
    “Both, I guess.”
    “Want to try explaining to me again why you lied. I hear that clearing your conscience can be very therapeutic for those serving self-inflicted life sentences.”
    Harper really, really didn’t want to have this discussion. There was only one other person in the small women’s jail of five cells—some drunk lady, passed out at the other end—so that wasn’t too bad, but talking about her feelings had never been easy. She was more apt to push a person away than say something mushy and gushy. Simply put, she hated feeling vulnerable or exposed emotionally.
    “I think it’s time to go.” Harper stood and was about to call for the officer on duty, but it seemed that Austin had other plans.
    “I told them not to bother us until I called. I promised them honorable mentions in the article.”
    Harper narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to do? Rub it in?”
    “Get the truth out of you. Why did you really lie?”
    She drew a deep breath and looked away. “I really don’t know, Austin. I guess seeing you shocked me a little.”
    He tilted his head to one side. “But you didn’t recognize me when we met at the wedding?”
    “No. The Austin I remember was short with really thick glasses, a big belly, and lots of big teeth. He looked like a chunky version of Waldo. With lots of big teeth.”
    Austin’s smiled dropped off.
    “But I still liked him,” she admitted. “A lot.”
    He frowned. “Which is why you moved away without ever saying