Paint the Town Red (Fox & Oakby Murder Mysteries Book II)

Mayor's Orders

"Well, hello there," Mr. Guthrie murmured and grinned from ear to ear.

Imogen continued staring at the Mayor.

"Evening, Guthrie," the latter said and looked around the room. "Imogen," he added for some reason addressing her standing lamp.

"Mr. Mayor," the gallerist answered with a mannerly nod.

Imogen was still finding her vocal cords nonfunctioning.

Guthrie chuckled. "Fancy a match?"

"Pardon?" The Mayor's eyebrows jumped up.

Guthrie pointed at the cricket bat with his long bony index finger.

"Um... no," the Mayor answered and hid the bat behind his back. "I see I'm... interrupting."

"Not at all!" Imogen crowed, while Guthrie lazily drew out, "A tad, yeah."

Imogen threw him a glare.

"Please, come in. We're... um... looking into my art, and we're almost done."

"We're not." The gallerist's tone was nonchalant.

Imogen groaned.

"I'll go," the Mayor said and turned around.

Imogen jumped to her feet.

"No! I mean— It's not necessary! Perhaps— Perhaps, you could wait?" She didn't want to whine, but she properly didn't want him to go!

The Mayor looked at her over his shoulder. Suddenly Imogen saw him in all his awkward glory that was so very him: slightly disheveled, in a thick wooly jumper, his hiking boots in his hand, muck slowly dripping off them onto her floor.

"Could I speak to you in the kitchen, sir?" Imogen said firmly, and before he could answer, she turned around and marched out of the room.

He followed. Imogen turned to him, and she didn't fail to notice that he'd closed the door behind him. And she took handfuls of his jumper, and pulled him down looking him straight in the eyes, and for a second his eyebrows did that surprised thing, and his eyelashes fluttered just as always - and there he was! And all was right in the world: her fingers tangled in his soft thick semi-curls, and he sighed into the kiss, and Imogen's ears tingled. Her ears tingled when a kiss was exceptionally good. She'd only found out recently when kissing the Mayor had started happening on the regular basis.

"I missed you," she said when he moved away.

He hummed, seemingly not expressing anything in particular. He looked positively dazed, and Imogen giggled.

"Um..." said the Mayor, and Imogen giggled again.

"Will you wait for me to be done? We're making me a portfolio," she asked and patted the jumper on his chest. She properly fancied the jumper - and the chest.

The Mayor blinked a couple times, and his gaze sobered.

"Is Guthrie—"

"Shush," Imogen murmured and placed a finger across his lips. "We're being rude. I'm supposed to be having a business meeting in the lounge. And we're so obviously kissing in the kitchen."

The corners of the Mayor's lips twitched in a small smile.

"Maybe we're discussing some official town business," he said and leaned to her again. "And not... kissing... in the... kitchen," he murmured between kisses.

"I really need to go," Imogen whispered and untangled out of his - wonderfully warm and familiar - hands. "Will you please wait for me? You could—" She paused because nothing he could do to entertain himself came to her mind.