Page 5 of No One Has To Know

I keep an interested expression on my face. In reality, I’m wondering if I should head to the laundromat and do laundry tonight. The forecast calls for rain later in the week. If I don’t do it now, good chance I’ll run out of clean clothes by then.

Last thing I need is to haul my laundry bags twelve blocks away in the pouring rain…

Someone knocks against the glass. A quick rap-tap-tap with their knuckles.

I give a jolt at the sound. Dean notices. Frowning, he reaches for a chocolate chip cookie. “Look he’s stopped by.”

I am.

Glancing past Dean, I see the uniform in front of the window. For a split second, my heart stops beating… but then I notice the steely blue eyes and the crooked grin that makes his handsome face even more attractive. He has this hard jaw with just a hint of stubble; it turns him from a boyish man in his early thirties to something that makes my heart rate kick up for a whole other reason.

Officer Burns.

He’s the local beat cop, and the same officer who saved me from Brick.

Almost as soon as I first started at the flower shop, I noticed him. When the weather’s nice, he often patrols on foot, lending a comforting presence to the rundown neighborhood. Something about him screams that he’s the type of guy you can trust. The type of guy who’ll keep you safe.

Who’ll do anything to protect you.

A good guy.

I wave at him.

He tips his police cap at me. It covered a head of thick dark hair with just a hint of a curl. The cap lifts, letting loose a strand that falls roguishly forward in his face. His blue eyes twinkle in amusement, and then he’s gone.

Dean clears his throat.

I shake my head. “Sorry about. You were talking about—”

Shit. I have no idea what he was talking about.

If he can tell, he’s good enough not to mention how distracted I was. Instead, he pushes the plate of cookies back toward me. There are two left, both chocolate chip.

“I was saying that cookies might be a good lunch, but I’d love to take you out for dinner, Angela. If that’s okay with you. I know this great Italian place. It’s not too far, and I can pick you up so you don’t have to walk.”

Hang on—

“You have a car?”

He nods.

Not many people in Springfield do. It’s the type of community where we rely on the bus or our feet. Parking is scarce, and gas costs way too much anyway.

So, to be honest, does dinner. I can’t tell you the last time I splurged on a meal out that wasn’t a knock-off fast food place.

I think about it for a second. When I moved to Springfield, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to date again. I thought, maybe, that I might be. When that didn’t pan out, I focused on keeping a roof over my head. That’s all that mattered to me.

The close shave with Brick was a wake-up call. I’m not owed a damn thing. I could keep putting everything off until tomorrow—or I could try living today.

I don’t know if Dean’s a good guy. He’s a nice guy, though.

Maybe that’s just what I need.

“Okay. How about seven?”

3

ANGELA

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