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“My treat. Call it our first date.”
Date? A shiver races through me, but I force myself to calm down by thinking of all the reasons why relationships don’t work for me. God. He made a joke about a date and I’m preempting our wedding.
“I’ll get us a table.” I grin.
I pick a booth near the back of the diner and slide in. I take the moment I have alone to check him out from a distance. He’s so sexy that I can’t help but think naughty thoughts when I’m around him, and his personality is infectious. I’d forgotten how nice having company could be.
I glance outside and shiver. It’s still dark and I can barely make out Conrad’s car parked in the lot. Is he out there watching me? Probably. What if seeing me with Conrad makes him break?
“Here we go.”
I smile at the tray overflowing with food and reach for my lonely little cheeseburger.
“Get eating,” I laugh.
He doesn’t need any encouragement as he piles fries into his mouth.
“So, tell me more about who you are. How long have you been a detective?”
“Three years,” he replies. “I was a cop before that. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do. My dad was a cop, and so was my grandfather. It was kind of expected of me.”
“Are you’re parents around here?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, back home in LA. I’ve moved around a bit for work, but I like where I am now.” His eyes sparkle as they lock with mine. “What about you? Are you close with your family?”
“My parents died when I was fifteen,” I explain.
His face falls and I immediately feel bad.
“No, it’s fine. It was so long ago that I’m fine talking about it. We were close, but since they died my only real family is my aunt. And I don’t speak to her as much as I should,” I admit with a grin.
“I’m guilty of that too,” he says, rubbing his jaw. “Mom is always yelling at me for not calling more. I think that’s a guy thing, though.”
“Maybe,” I giggle. “You have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope. Only child. Another reason why my parents hound me so much.”
We continue talking until we realize we’ve been sitting there for nearly two hours. I can’t believe how easy he is to talk to, and secretly I’m disappointed our little date is over. He drives me back to the parking lot, getting out to open the door for me. I smile at his chivalry.
“I had fun,” I admit, leaning against my car.
“Me too,” he grins. “We should go out for burgers after running into each other in a sex club more often.”
I laugh. When he puts it like that…
He leans in and presses his lips against mine, catching me off guard. My heart pounds as I lift my hand to his face, my fingers brushing over the soft stubble lining his jaw. I fall deeper into the kiss as his hands creep around my waist. It’s been so long since I kissed anyone, but it feels so right with him.
“Wow,” he mutters, pulling away. He looks dazed, and I can’t help but giggle. The fact that he looks as affected by that kiss as I was makes me feel less insecure. “I hope to be doing that again sometime soon.”
“Maybe. If you play your cards right. Will you
call me?”
He steps forward and presses his lips against mine again as his fingers caress my neck. “I’ll definitely be calling you.”
**
Parking my car, I exit the garage and start the few blocks back home. The sun is just starting to rise, but it’s still dark enough outside for me to spook myself at every tree rustling in the wind. I’m halfway to my complex when I see him. Just out of the corner of my eye, I see him duck behind a Dumpster on the other side of the street. He keeps himself hidden in the shadows, but I know he’s there.
