Page 54 of Then Came You

She started to smile, but it disappeared just as quickly. “It’s still early. What happened to your date?”

“It wasn’t really a date.”

“No? I don’t think she’d agree.”

“My sister set it up. She’s worried I don’t get out enough.”

Gillian nodded, but she didn’t seem satisfied with his answer.

Is she jealous? Her reaction gave him hope. “She wasn’t my type anyway.”

“Hmm. So, you don’t like women who order a salad and pick at it like it’s something vile?”

He broke out in laughter, and it echoed off the trees. “You noticed that?”

“She was kinda hard to miss.”

He heard the vulnerability in her voice, and he longed to rid her of it. “In all fairness, Eden was nice enough, but we didn’t have anything in common. I didn’t want to waste any more of her time.”

While Eden had made it clear that she would have gone home with him, he hadn’t been interested, especially after seeing Gillian in the restaurant. Once he’d spotted her, he couldn’t concentrate on anything else, and he’d had trouble listening to whatever Eden had to say.

They’d parted in the parking lot, and he’d been glad he’d met her at the restaurant instead of picking her up. Crazy as it sounded, he’d rather talk to Gillian in the middle of a dirt road than to Eden in the warm restaurant.

“I owe you an apology,” she said, hugging herself.

He suddenly realized that she must be cold, standing outside at night without a jacket. He would have liked to wrap his arms around her and share his warmth, but he doubted she was ready for that.

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re cold. You should probably get inside.”

“Will you stop worrying about me for two seconds so I can get this out?”

He chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“Tonight my friends made me realize something.”

She hesitated, and he could tell whatever she was about to say was difficult for her. He had a lot to say too, but he’d be patient and let her go first.

“I could have told you about Owen earlier on, but I didn’t. I don’t know how much of that has to do with you being a cop or if I would have done the same with any man. For a while, it was hard for me to even look at you without thinking of him.”

Sam nodded, remembering all the times she’d eyed his uniform like Eden had looked at her salad.

“Anyway, it wasn’t fair of me to assign all the blame to you when I did the same thing.”

“I’m sorry too.”

“What for? You’ve been nothing but kind to me.”

He shook his head. “I was selfish. I didn’t want you to look at me and see Owen. I just wanted you to see me.”

The wind kicked up, and she visibly shivered.

“You need to get inside. We can talk more another time.”

She rubbed her arms, but she didn’t turn away. “Or you could come in for a few minutes. I have decaf this time.”