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“That bad, huh?”
“Worse.”
My heart pumps fiercely against my ribcage when I join Garrett out back. I’m so livid I could scream. “Whatwas that?” I growl at him, poking him square in his very hard chest.
“What was what?”
I should probably think better of getting toe-to-toe with the police chief, even when he’s off duty. But I don’t. I get as close to in-his-face as I can but my nose hardly comes to the top of his chest.God this is so humiliating.But I’m not stopping until my point is made. I’mnotthe lesser Gray sister. “I’m not some damsel in distress that needs rescuing. I’m certainly not some possession.”
Garrett flinches as though I’d smacked him. I take advantage of his speechlessness.
“You think that’s the first table of idiots I’ve served? Because it’s not.”
“You don’t deserve that, Aurora.”
I’m caught off guard by his use of my first name. He’s called meGraysince the first encounter, where I spilled coffee in his lap and tried to mop it up with a towel. The same instance that gave me the distinct impression that the man is packing way more than a Glock. “I need the tips.”
“Why?”
“I need to pay your sister back, for one.”
He dips his head, ever so slightly, and our gazes lock. I can’t look away. When he speaks, his breath is warm, soft, on my cheeks. “What aren’t you telling me, Gray?” he murmurs and this time, when he calls me by my last name, it’s very nearly a caress.
That I need to come up with the money for textbooks isn’t a secret I’m willing to share right now. I don’t need Garrett, or anyone else, mocking me for going back to college. I already know no one thinks I’m actually capable of finishing my degree. I don’t want them to know until I can shove a diploma in their faces.
Garrett reaches for the hand that’s still pointed at his chest. His touch makes me dizzy and I gulp a swallow. It’s unfair, the effect this man has on my body. If only he didn’t hate me. If only I didn’t desperately need to prove to my family, and the rest of this town, that I’m way more capable than anyone gives me credit for being.
If only I didn’t want him.
“Who did this?”
“What?” I’m in such a daze I don’t realize that Garrett’s pushed up my sleeve. The burn mark on my wrist is impossible to miss.
His thumb passes tenderly over the wound that no longer hurts. “Whodid this?”
I shiver at the sheer force of his quietly spoken words. The masculine protectiveness that promises to end the person responsible. Holy hell, now I know where all these romance authors get this stuff. I never thought I’d find it so hot, even if it’s completely out of context. My gaze drops to his lips of its own accord. If he weren’t so angry at my imaginary assailant, I’d kiss him until we both couldn’t breathe.
I yank my hand free before I do something reckless, like comb my fingers through Garrett’s five o’clock shadow. “Stand down, Chief. It’s just a burn mark. Apparently, even scrambled eggs have it out for me.”
“Scrambled eggs?” His confusion is…cute.
“Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve been trying to teach myself to cook so I’m not completely useless around here.”
“You’re not useless. Don’teverlet anyone convince you otherwise.” His fingertips graze my jaw, tipping my face up. My lips part as I give up trying to fight what I’ve clearly wanted since the moment I first laid eyes on the sexy cop. “Let me teach you.” He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, sending shivers throughout my whole body. “Come over when you finish your shift.”
The back door flies open and I jump back.
“Thereyou are,” Grandma Rose says with an exasperated sigh. “Break’s over. Get back inside.”
The door slams behind her. “I have to go.”
“If you need me to intervene—”
“I’llhandle them.” I hold the door halfway open, the bustle of noise from the full diner spilling outside. My pulse races, but it has nothing to do with the rowdy table I have to face and everything to do with the stormy eyed man staring back at me with a glimmer of what appears to be hope in his eyes. “But thank you, Chief.”
“Scrambled eggs,” Garrett says, following me back inside. He lowers his voice, his warm breath tickling my ear. “It’ll be our little secret.”
CHAPTER6
