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“I think I’ve died and gone to food heaven. How have I never heard about this place?” he finally said between bites.
“They only do breakfast a few days a week here, but the owners have another restaurant in Virginia.”
“I’ll let you take me there sometime,” he offered.
“Smooth.”
They ate in companionable silence, but it felt natural to share a simple daily task with him. Like five years hadn’t passed since the last time they’d willingly spent any real time together. When they were done, Conner walked her to her truck.
“I’m going to be heading up a new task force this week, so I might be a little out of pocket, but just text me and I’ll get anything you need done. I’ve got all those dates written down, and I’ll be ready with a crew this Saturday to clean up the warehouse.”
“You’re sure you’ll be available for the sparring match next Friday? I need to put the tickets on sale.”
“One hundred percent, and I also convinced a few others to participate.”
He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. There were names of several cops she knew, with their contact information. On the back, he sketched out details, like how many seats the gym could hold, a beverage vendor they could book, and an interior photo of the gym to help her visualize the space.
“So we could have two or three matches before you and Parker as the main event?”
“Are you going to wear those pants as the ring girl?”
“Absolutely not. I’m wearing a string bikini, duh.”
The air seemed to go still, and she looked up to see all the humor had left his face. Then he gulped before practically growling, “Don’t you dare.” Worry was written all over his face.
“Afraid I’ll distract you, and my brother will win?”
“Yes, but I’ll also have to fight every man there for gawking at you.”
Looking into his now-dark green eyes, it was clear he was serious. She wondered why he would feel any kind of defensive need to protect her, but wrote it off as his nature as a cop. His entire life was built on protecting people.
“I’ll see you Saturday to clean up the warehouse,” she said, changing the subject.
“I managed to round up a lot of volunteers—you can thank me over dinner Saturday night.”
“I never realized you were so interested in party planning, or so persistent.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I think this is a great cause, and technically, I was ordered to participate, but my real motivation is you.”
“Me?”
Her throat tightened, and the hairs on the back of her neck tickled as they stood straight up. Conner closed the space between them, but he didn’t touch her, and she found herself wishing he would.
“Working on this assignment together is a great excuse to finally get to spend more time with you.”
His voice had dropped to a husky whisper, and the foot between them crackled with energy.
“Why would you want to spend time with me when you know my brother hates you, and I could never trust you?”
“I didn’t do it, Hannah. It never happened. And you know you can trust me. You want to, but first, you’ll have to stand up to your brother.”
“I’m not interested in being part of your drama with my brother. Or being used to hurt him more. You’re the one who needs redemption, not me. I could never disappoint my family.”
“You mean you’d never stand up to them or dare to make up your own mind.”
She shook her head as if that would help her scatter the desire and anger Conner brought out.
“Why don’t you let me handle the cleanup, and you just be ready for your sparring match? You can try to hurt and humiliate your old friend again in front of all his colleagues.”
