by Sandra Owens
“Neiman, Jordy Neiman. I bumped into the dude, apologized, but he didn’t want my apology.”
“Asshole stepped on my foot.”
I walked back to Jansen. “Not another word.” He spit on my shoe, and I grabbed his earlobe and twisted it until he squealed. “You do that again, I’m going to throw you in a cell and lose the key.”
Returning to Neiman, I said, “Do you want to press charges?”
“No, man. I just want to leave. That was what I was trying to do when he tackled me.”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted, but I let it go. I did get John Mackey to agree to give a statement to Tommy tomorrow, which would still suit my purpose. “I want you to write out what you saw from the time you arrived, Tommy. I’ll do the same.”
“You gonna fire Jansen?”
I eyed Tommy. “Would you?”
“Definitely. He’s trouble.”
“That he is. Speaking of trouble, guess we’re about to find out how much when we try to get him into the back of your patrol car. Give me your stun gun.”
Turned out with the stun gun pointed at him and my threat to use it, Jansen was as manageable as a puppy.
7
~ Jenny ~
“We should have gone to Asheville,” Autumn said, shaking her head at the sundress I held up.
“You’re being too picky. I’m going to start calling you Bridezilla.” We’d made the two-hour drive to Knoxville because Autumn had gotten it in her head that she’d find exactly what she needed in Tennessee. The shop we were in had some adorable women’s clothing, but apparently Autumn didn’t think so. Shopping wasn’t my favorite thing in the world to do, but she was my bestie, so sacrifices were called for.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “You haven’t seen anything yet. I’m just getting started on my bride bitch.”
“Heaven help me then.” I held up another dress. She wrinkled her nose. “Jeez, Autumn. You’ll be on your honeymoon. You probably won’t have any clothes on half the time.” I grinned when she giggled. “Besides, you’re going to Hawaii. All you really need are bathing suits.”
“I just want everything to be perfect, and that includes my clothes.”
“And it will be. You wouldn’t allow it to be any other way.” Her interior designer eye extended to her wardrobe. I often wished I could put outfits together the way she did. Give her a plain, shapeless dress, a scarf or two, a funky belt, a few accessories, and she’d turn them into something that looked right out of a fashion magazine.
“Am I really turning into a Bridezilla? I’m trying not to.”
A little. “No, you’re being entirely sane about your wedding and honeymoon.”
She elbowed my arm. “Liar.”
“Let’s wrap this up for the day. We’ll get back to the valley just in time for dinner.” Truthfully, what I wanted to do was warn her again about Brian’s roving eye, but I kept my mouth shut. I’d tried to tell her a few times, but she didn’t want to hear it.
“Jenn?”
“Mmm?”
“I’m so glad we’re friends.”
“Me, too.” I hugged her. “Now, let’s go feed me. I’ve worked up an appetite helping you spend money.”
Natalie and Savannah should be here. Like most teenaged girls, the four of us had spent hours planning our weddings, describing our wedding gowns, and dreaming of the exotic locales we’d go on our honeymoons. At one point we’d pinkie swore that no matter where we might be in the world, we’d come back when one of us was getting married.
When Autumn got engaged, Savannah had said she’d arrange her schedule to be here three weeks before the wedding, so she could spend that time with Autumn and me, doing things like helping Autumn shop. Now she was flying in the day of the rehearsal and leaving the morning after the wedding. As for Natalie, she would never come home again.
“Why are you so quiet?” Autumn asked as we drove back to Blue Ridge Valley.
“You wore me out, I’m hungry, and my feet hurt.” I didn’t tell her that Natalie and Savannah were on my mind. The time leading up to her wedding was supposed to be happy and fun, and I didn’t want her to be sad, too.
We ended the day by having dinner at Fusions, the second-best restaurant in the valley, Vincennes being the best. But the last thing I wanted to do was hang out where I worked. We’d finished eating and had relocated to the restaurant’s lounge a few minutes before Brian joined us for a drink, after which he’d take Autumn home.
“Hey, babe,” he said, giving Autumn a kiss. “Jenn, how’re they hanging?”
“Same as always.” Brian claimed I had balls. He’d come to that conclusion not long after I met him when I’d threatened his if he ever made my friend cry. So far, he still had his balls, but if he kept staring at my butt whenever he thought no one was paying attention, he wasn’t going to have them for long.
We’d just ordered our drinks when Dylan Conrad walked into the lounge. He paused in the entryway, his gaze scanning the room. The man was so freaking hot. At seeing me, he smiled, making my heart thump in my chest.
“Mind if I join you?” he said, coming to a stop behind the empty chair at our table for four. “Unless you’re expecting someone.”
That was said to me. “Nope. Have a seat, Chief.” I had a sudden fantasy of playing cop and criminal with him, me being the bad guy and him having to frisk me. I hoped my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. He sat next to me, and I caught a whiff of man and something spicy. I also hoped I didn’t start drooling.
His eyes danced with amusement. “Introduce me to your friends, Red.”
Oh. Right. I was sitting here staring at him like an idiot, and now I knew for sure my face was beet red. “Ahem, this is my best friend, Autumn Archer, and her soon-to-be husband, Brian Stratton. Guys, this is Dylan Conrad, Blue Ridge Valley’s new police chief.”
“Welcome to Blue Ridge Valley,” Autumn said. “I’ve heard great things about you.”
Dylan sat back in his chair. “Oh?”
I kicked her under the table. That devilish gleam in her eyes meant she was up to no good.
“Yep. You have really pretty eyes, by the way. Jenn said they were the color of Tennessee whiskey, and she’s right.”
I kicked her again. Harder.
Dylan turned those beautiful eyes on me. “You been talking about me, Red?”
He was fighting a smile, so I knew he wasn’t mad. Still. “Nope. I hadn’t noticed what color your eyes were until now. One thing you need to learn about Autumn is that she likes to stir the pot.”
“That’s true,” Brian said.
Autumn punched his arm. “Hey, whose side are you on, anyway?”
“Yours, babe. Always yours.”
I hated when he called her that. Mostly because I’d heard him call other women babe.
Dylan glanced at me and winked, and what was it about a sexy man winking at you that made your heart flutter? Thirty minutes later we were all laughing like old friends, and I could tell Brian and Autumn liked him. I didn’t blame them. I sure did. The question was, what was I going to do about it?
“Isn’t this cozy?”
Well, hell, if it wasn’t Chad the Stalker. What a surprise. I glared at him. “Are you following me now?”
“Of course not. I just want to talk to you.” He scowled at Dylan.
Dylan put his arm around the back of my chair, pulling me next to him. “Jenny’s with me now, Mr. Perrine. I don’t take kindly to you harassing my girlfriend.”
Huh? What was he up to? Autumn glanced at me, the same question in her eyes. I shrugged, telling her I had no idea.
“Is that true, Jenn?” Chad said.
“Ah, yeah. It is.” Why not agree if it would make him go away?
“Is there anything else you wish to say, Mr. Perrine?”
Man, Dylan’s voice had gone stone-cold. So had his eyes. A little thrill shot up my spine. I’d never had a man step in as protector before. It was kind of cool in a medieval-knight-in-s
hining-armor way. I wondered if he had a white horse stashed away somewhere.
“No? Then I suggest you leave before I decide to arrest you for being a public nuisance.”
Chad’s fists clenched at his sides, and for a second I thought he was going to do something stupid like punch Dylan. But with one last glare at me, he walked away.
“Wow,” I said, watching Chad’s retreating back.
“That was crazy cool,” Autumn said. “You ever talk to me with that menacing voice, I promise I’ll skedaddle away as fast as my legs can carry me.”
Dylan grinned. “He didn’t quite skedaddle. Maybe I need to practice making it scarier.”
“That turn you on, babe?” Brian said. “I can talk plenty scary if that gets you off.”
Along with the way I’d sometimes catch Brian checking out my butt, that was another thing about him that rubbed me wrong. He was always making inappropriate comments.
Autumn punched his arm. “Behave.”
How did she not see that deep down he didn’t respect women? I wanted to shake her. Back when he’d asked her to marry him, I’d tried to tell her my concerns, but she’d insisted I was imagining things, had even accused me of being jealous that she was engaged. Believe me, I wasn’t, considering her fiancé was Brian. Maybe I was wrong and they’d have a good marriage. I sure hoped so.
Brian put his arm around Autumn’s shoulder. “It’s getting late, babe. You ready to go?”
I glanced at my watch, surprised to see two hours had passed. They said their good-byes, and suddenly I was alone with a man I wouldn’t mind having as a boyfriend. A temporary one.
“You don’t like him much, do you?”
The man was observant, for sure. I shrugged. “I think she’s making a mistake, but it’s her life.”
“True.”
The waiter appeared, and Dylan and I both declined another drink.
“But I will have a cup of coffee and a slice of pecan pie,” he said. He glanced at me. “Join me?”
“Sure. Coffee for me, too, and a piece of that chocolate volcano thing you guys do.”
“That sounds good,” Dylan said after the waiter left. “I went for the pie because I’ve never had pecan pie before. Thought I should try it.”
“I like a man who’s adventurous where food’s concerned. Chad wouldn’t…” I about bit my tongue off. Why was I even thinking of Chad when I was with a man like Dylan Conrad? “Sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“No problem.” Dylan put his hand over mine. “If you need to talk about him, I’m a good listener.”
Was this man for real? Guys hated it when you mentioned previous boyfriends around them. That had been my experience, anyway. I glanced down at the hand covering mine, liking how big and strong it was. And warm. And how would that hand feel roaming over my body?
“Jenny?”
“Mm?” And the way he said my name made all my nerve endings tingly, not to mention other parts of me.
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now.”
I lifted my eyes to his and saw the heat in them that matched what I was feeling. “You tell me,” I whispered, knowing he could.
Before he could answer, the waiter returned with our coffees and desserts, and the moment was lost. One side of his mouth curved in that half smile that made my stomach twitchy. I exhaled a silent breath, trying to get my heart to calm down when he turned his attention to his pie. If he had leaned his face down to kiss me, I would have let him.
When we finished our dessert and coffee, he walked me out, and I came to a halt at seeing two silver Mustang GTs sitting side by side. So someone did have a car like mine. That explained why people kept thinking they saw me in places I wasn’t.
“Whose car is that?” I wasn’t even sure which one was mine, and I peeked in the window of the closest one. The locks popped up, startling me, and I jumped back. At hearing Dylan chuckle, I glanced over to see him pointing a remote at the car. “Yours?”
He grinned. “It is. Like it?”
“What’s not to like?” I couldn’t decide if I liked that we had the same cars. Seeing the silver Mustangs sitting side by side, it was like they were a couple. I wasn’t ready to be the other half of a couple with any man now that I’d gotten Chad out of my life, and this…well, it seemed like some kind of sign. Maybe I should sell mine after all and get an early start on my world tour.
“Hey, where’d you go?”
“What?”
“Just now.” He tilted his head and peered at me. “What were you thinking?”
That I can’t decide whether to run from you or climb you like a tree. “Have you ever traveled? You know, like to other countries?”
8
~ Dylan ~
“Yeah. Why?” I honeymooned in Paris with Christine, but I wasn’t going to talk about that. Her question had come out of nowhere, and I waited to see where she was going with it.
She shrugged. “Just wondered. My dream is to go on a world tour. I’m leaving right after Autumn’s wedding. My flight is booked and paid for. I’m saving as much as I can between now and then so I can travel as long as possible.”
I leaned against the door of my car and crossed my arms over my chest. “When’s the wedding?”
“Second Saturday in December.”
So she’d only be around two more months. Probably for the best. I found her too intriguing. “Where do you want to travel?”
Her eyes lit up. “Everywhere! The Netherlands, Peru, China, Ireland, Scotland.” She laughed. “You name the place and I want to go there.”
Damn. I wanted to take all that energy and excitement to bed with me. “You’ll get to all those places, Red, if you’re determined to make it happen.” I could see that it wasn’t just idle talk, that she would live out her dream.
“I know. It’s just seems like it’s taken forever to save the money I need, but I’m almost there.” She eyed her car. “I’ve thought about selling my Mustang, but there’s no way I can bring myself to sell Lady.”
“You named your car?” This girl kept making me smile, and even though I was rusty at it, it felt good.
“You didn’t?”
“Didn’t know I was supposed to. How about Gaga? Then together we’d have Lady Gaga.” I loved how she laughed—deep, throaty, and sexy.
“Please don’t name your car Gaga.”
“Pity. I was rather liking it.” She took a few steps toward her car, and I wanted to ask her to come home with me, help keep my ghost away.
“Well, it’s getting late. I guess I should head home.”
Did guess mean she really didn’t want to leave? I was out of practice and didn’t like being unsure of myself. Put me in a roomful of misbehaving cops and I was confident I could whip them into shape, but I was at a loss as to how to go about seducing one slip of a woman.
“Good night, Dylan.”
There was no one else walking by, and damn if I was going to let her go without at least a kiss. I followed her to her car, opening the door for her.
“I think I should kiss my new girlfriend good night.”
A wide grin split her face. “You mean pretend girlfriend. Thank you, by the way.”
“You’re welcome.” I did some fast thinking. She fascinated me, and I wanted to get to know her. “You know, it might not be a bad idea for us to continue the ruse for a while. Make sure he doesn’t doubt that you’re no longer available.”
“After tonight he’s probably given up.”
“Maybe, but we can’t be sure.” Was I pushing too hard?
“True, and he is stubborn. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be seen together now and then.”
I hoped for more than now and then, but it was a start. “Can I kiss my pretend girlfriend good night?”
“Will it be a pretend kiss?”
“Red, when I kiss you, there will be no pretending about it.” I’d asked her twice now, and she’d evaded answering, which I took as her answer. I hid my disappointment, smiled at
her, and said, “Good night, Jenny.”
“Wait,” she said when I stepped away.
“Hmm?” I paused, waiting for her to speak.
She grinned, then tapped her lips with her finger. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Am I? What’s that?” After her evasion, I wanted her to say it, to ask for a kiss.
“My kiss.”
“Ah, that.” I walked back to her, put my hands on the roof of her car, caging her between my arms, and lowered my face until our mouths were only inches apart. “To set the record straight, this kiss is going to be real.”
“Yes, please.”
That made me smile. She was simply adorable. I brushed my lips over hers. Her mouth was soft and warm, and although I’d only intended a brief good-night kiss, just one taste of her and my intentions flew out the window.
I moved to one corner of her mouth, teasing her with little flicks of my tongue. Her breath hitched, and when she tried to meld our mouths together, I dodged her attempt, moving to the other side of her lips, then gently nipped on her bottom lip.
She let out a soft whimper, and I was lost. I swept my tongue into her mouth, finally and fully tasting her. And forgetting we were standing in a restaurant’s parking lot, I plastered my body against hers as our tongues tangled in an age-old dance. It had been so long since I’d had a woman’s soft body pressed against mine, and I desperately wanted her. Right here. Right now.
Before I truly lost my mind and ravished her in a parking lot, I lifted my head, smiling down at her. It was only because of my training that I was able to project an image of control. Inside I was a trembling mass of desire. At least I wasn’t the only one affected by that kiss. Her chest heaved as she sucked in air.
“Good night, Red.” I wondered what she’d say if she knew she was the first woman I’d kissed since burying my wife.
“That was nice,” she said, then ducked into her Lady car.
I grinned as I watched her drive away. Nice, huh? “Next time we kiss, Jenny Girl, I’ll do better than nice.” I gave her a ten-minute head start, and then I drove by her apartment to assure myself that she was tucked safely inside, no ex-boyfriend giving her trouble.