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Story: Grimm County Wishes

Jazz returned to her place next to Iona, and Shane walked back into the scene.

“And then there were two!” he announced, as if it wasn’t obvious to everyone over the age of four how many women were left.

“Ladies, for our final dates, we have a little surprise. As much as we love it here in Grimm County, we’ve exhausted all the dating possibilities.”

“Hey now,” Al began. Who was this city slicker to come in here and knock his town? It didn’t matter that what he said was true.

“For our final round of dates, you’ll need to pack your bags because we are headed to—” he paused, and Al swore he saw him counting to five on his fingers — “New York City!”

The girls cheered and clapped as expected, and Al did his best to look enthused. He’d never been to New York City, so this would be fun. He looked from Iona to Jazz and sighed. So. Much. Fun.

Chapter 33

“We’re in the home stretch. The green mile. The final meal.” Shane lowered his voice as he smoldered at the camera. He stood in front of a giant fountain in Central Park, creating a backdrop that would be perfect for the promos. “Tonight, you will each have a romantic adventure with Al. This will be your last opportunity to talk with him, so make sure you put it all on the line. Leave no feeling left unsaid. The next time you see him, one of you will get a proposal, and the other, well,”—he frowned and shook his head— “her case for Al’s affection will be dismissed.”

Al bit the inside of his cheek. Twenty-four, maybe thirty-six more hours and they’d be done. He was surprised by how much he’d disliked filming, given that he was the only deputy that enjoyed shootingGrimm County Lawmen.

“Iona, you’re up first. Jazz, you can wait over there.” Shane guided Jazz to a park bench to wait for her turn.

“I hope he won’t be too worn out for you.” Iona smirked as she grabbed Al’s hand. She wore a sleek black dress, going all the way to her ankles but with a slit bordering on indecent. She placed her hand on his chest and leaned in close. “I hope our date involves private time. I still haven’t been able to show you my best moves.” She lifted his hand to her lips and slipped his index finger into her mouth, moaning loudly.

“Uh, well, anyway.” Al cleared his throat and stepped back, pulling his hand out of her month. Was she for real? There was no way she got off by sucking on his finger. Although, those nachos he’d had for lunch had been pretty good. Since Marina used to live here, she’d told him where to find the best ones. They’d been made with beef cheeks, which Al had never tried before but holy hell, he would have to figure out a way to get that when he was back home. And the cheese was so melty, like—

The clip-clop of a horses’ hooves reminded Al that he was on a date with Iona. Not nachos.

“Our romance has been like a fairy tale, so I thought it was only appropriate that we finish with a horse-drawn carriage ride.” The driver pulled the reins to stop the horses, then hopped down and opened the door to the white open-air buggy.

Iona’s lip curled. “How romantic,” she bit out.

Al fought back a grin. “Something wrong?” Yeah, he figured Iona was more of a Ferrari kind of girl.

“No, of course not.” A wicked smile crossed her lips. “I can be creative.”

***

Jeannie bounced her leg as she waited on the bench next to Jazz. Her eyes drifted to her watch as she tried to sneak another peek. Forty-five minutes had passed since the happy fairy-tale couple disappeared into the park. They couldn’t be much longer. Surely there were horse labor laws or something.

“Hot date tonight?” Jazz asked.

Jeannie jolted up, blinking. “What?”

Jazz nodded toward her wrist. “You keep checking the time. I thought you might be worried about missing a hot date.”

“Oh! No.” She smoothed her hands along her leg, trying to calm her nerves. “No date at all,” she mumbled, “hot or otherwise.”

“Are you sure?” Jazz asked, surprise clear on her face. She lowered her voice and scooted closer. “I thought you and Shane were …”

“Nah,” Jeannie shook her head. “We didn’t make it past flirting. There was one date, but we didn’t click.” Jeannie sucked in a breath, remembering the date that ended with her getting railed by Al in the supply closet.

“No happy ending to the date? That’s a shame.”

“Not with him.” Jeannie started off in the direction where the carriage should return. Seriously, the horse was probably half dead. The production company was going to get fined for animal cruelty.

“Oh well, plenty of fish in the sea. Listen, I’ve been wanting to ask you, what’s it like living in Grimm County?”

Jeannie turned sharply. “It’s, um, okay.” The bouncing in her leg was back.

Jazz twisted her hands in her lap. “Just okay?”