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CHAPTER1
Aurora
Dammit, I’m going to be late.
The harder I press down on the gas pedal, the louder the rattle under the hood sounds. I’m two miles from Caribou Creek. I can ignore it for two miles.
I give the dashboard a little pat. “Tomorrow,” I promise. “I’ll take you to the shop tomorrow.” Todd Crowley, closest thing I have to a grandpa, owes me a favor, anyway. Poor Bess hasn’t been the same since she got towed last month.
Stupid Garrett.
I bite down on my bottom lip, glancing at the dashboard clock every three seconds. Willing those digital numbersnotto change. I promised Grandma Rose I’d be on time for my shift at the diner. I swore it up, down, and sideways so she’d let me take off the first half of the day. I want to prove I’m reliable. The kind of person who canrunthe diner. But Ihadto make that quick trip into Anchorage to meet with my advisor.
Granda Rose thinks I went shopping with a girlfriend who was only in town for one morning, which probably doesn’t help my case. But the truth needs to remain a secret for now. Until I have something to show for it.
“C’mon, Bess. We’re gonna make it!” The speedometer needle bounces like a spring’s broken somewhere inside. Something it does whenever I hit seventy-two miles per hour and beyond. I have no idea how fast I’m actually going now. Only that there’s an open road and the first hints of Caribou Creek around the bend.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Too soon.
The whine of a siren cuts through the otherwise peaceful drive just before I spot the flashing red and blue lights in my rearview mirror. “Are you kidding me?” I groan, gripping the steering wheel so fiercely I might rip it right off. I slow and pull onto the shoulder, just past the city limits sign. Another couple hundred yards and I’d be able to see the diner down the street.
So close.
I’m only a couple minutes behind schedule.It’s okay.I will my rapid pulse to slow, but it doesn’t listen.
New plan.
I pull down the visor mirror to check my makeup, finger comb my unruly hair, and adjust my sweater to show a hint of cleavage. Not enough to get accused of bribing a cop, but a peek to hopefully help my case. I affix my sweet, innocent smile, adding pink tinted cherry lip gloss for good measure. If there’s one thing I excel at, it’s playing the role of the clueless Gray sister. It’s gotten me out of more trouble than I can count.
I shake the stress out of my shoulders, just starting to feel confident that I can sweet talk my way out of a ticket. I’ll only be five minutes late. Maybe six. But then I catch the reflection of the cop striding up to my car.
Fuck.
Police Chief Garrett Bradley.
My arch nemesis if ever I had one.
Hehatesme.
Can’t entirely blame the man since I’ve spilled beverages in his lap not less than four times—one of those times I tried to clean it up and accidentally felt him up. I’m still haunted by howbighe is. Good grief, I’ve had more lusty dreams about what he could do with that weapon of mass destruction than I would ever admit to anyone. Not that any of my fantasies will ever come true. There wasn’t an inch of the grumpy police chief’s six foot two that appreciated my awkwardis that a gun in your pocket or you just happy to see mejoke.
We’re unspoken sworn enemies.
I shouldn’tstillbe thinking about that cock all these weeks later. Even if it’s been an embarrassingly long time since I’ve gotten any action between the sheets.
A knock on my window startles me. I let out a squeak and throw my hands to my chest. Thanks to my visor mirror, I catch how red my cheeks, neck, and exposed chest are. Iwouldbe cursed with a blush that covers my entire upper body.
I roll down the window, hoping Garrett’s in a rare good mood.
Or maybe he’ll threaten to tow Bess again.
“I should’ve known it was you.” Garrett Bradley braces hands on his hips, his head shaking. I don’t have to see behind the mirrored sunglasses to know what emotion lingers in those stormy eyes. My money is on annoyance. “Speeding, Gray? In my town? I thought you knew better.”
“I’m late—”
“Now you’re going to be even later.” The indifference in his voice irritates me to my core. I want to scream at him. But I also want to jump out the window and climb him like a tree. Being around him is so fucking confusing. Which is why I make a point to avoid him at all costs. The sooner I can squirm my way out of this ticket situation, the sooner I can get the hell away from him.
