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

good-bye, I suppose?”
    Is that what he’d been talking about earlier at the café when he’d called her a coward and accused her of some wrongdoing?
    “I didn’t say good-bye because you didn’t come to the party. You were too busy kissing my sister’s friend Becky.”
    Austin’s mouth straightened into a hard line. “How did you know about that?”
    “I saw you.”
    He bobbed his head and scratched his chin again, grinning with utter cockiness. “Ah, I see.”
    “What?”
    “Well, you’re right. She did kiss me, but I paid her a dollar.”
    “Why?”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, well, in those days, there weren’t a lot of girls lining up, and she was the only one willing to teach me.”
    “Teach you?”
    “I wanted your first kiss to be perfect. Well—slobber-free, really. But still, it cost me a buck, and I never got my real kiss.”
    Harper felt all of those tiny little cracks in her heart suddenly fill up. Sure, people liked to believe that events like those that happened when they were children didn’t really matter, “I’m all grown up now. I’m over that!” but Harper knew differently. It was like “The Princess and the Pea.” One tiny little pebble—a setback or a triumph—sometimes became the foundation upon which everything else was built. Harper believed that caring about a boy would only lead to disappointment. Although she didn’t feel bad or unhappy about it, that belief had never left her. Silly, but true.
    “And,” he added, “I did come to the party, but I couldn’t find you. Your parents were too busy having fun to help me look for you.”
    “Now I feel like a complete ass for never having said good-bye.”
    The two stared at each other for several long moments. Harper didn’t know what he was thinking, but she was thinking how happy she was to have met him again. Simply because he’d helped to heal a tiny part of her that she didn’t know needed healing.
    “So.” Austin sighed. “What’s next?”
    He looked at her with those stunning hazel eyes, and she felt her insides spark up and tingle. The man was gorgeous, no doubt about it. Chunky Waldo no more. But there was something else about him she couldn’t articulate.
    “I guess you tell them I’m ready to come out?” She smiled.
    “Can I have your number, sweetie?” Austin’s and Harper’s heads swiveled to the cell at the far end. The very inebriated woman, who was in her fifties, with mascara smudged across her face, clung to the bars. “I’d like to come out, too. With you. On my face.”
    Austin blinked and then looked back at Harper. “I’ll be right back.” He moved toward the secured exit but then stopped. “Oh, and by the way, Harper, I didn’t get an interview with Ms. Luci. I was leaving town when the sheriff stopped me.”
    He’d been leaving town and got stopped? “You were really giving up on the story?” Was it because of her?
    No, he would never do that. He’s way too competitive.
    “Let’s call it a temporary retreat.”
    “And now?” Harper asked.
    “May the best reporter win.”
    Harper’s entire body felt like it was glowing. The idea of spending a few more days with Austin sounded like… kind of cool. Nothing more than hanging with an old friend.
    Uh-huh. Tell that to the nipples.
    “Game on, big boy,” she said.
    Austin laughed and disappeared out the doors.
     
    ~~
     
    Austin drove back toward St. Helena, trying to keep his eyes on the road instead of on Harper, who sat in the passenger seat looking practically edible. He’d given her his sunglasses to keep the wind from her eyes, and with the large lenses on her delicate, round face and the hot summer sun whipping through her short hair, he decided that this was actually one of the best views he’d ever had. Which was why, once again, he began thinking he should head home. The moment they reached their destination, this nice little truce would be over and the rivalry would begin again. The wise thing to do would be to