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Finally, Conner got fed up with Parker’s stubborn anger and pushed him away. Hannah’s dad grabbed Parker’s arm before he could go after Conner again.
“Now what the hell are you two fighting about this time? You weren’t hitting on my little angel, were you, Maguire?” her dad asked with a big smile.
Conner’s chest heaved, but a big grin spread on his face.
“You can’t blame me for flirting a little, Mr. Paletti. It’s not my fault your daughter is so beautiful and talented.” He winked at her as he shook her dad’s hand in greeting.
“Wipe that smirk off your face and stay away from Hannah,” Parker threatened.
“I can’t believe two grown men who used to be friends are fighting over old drama.” She grabbed her sketches that were all mixed up and shoved them in her bag. Her mind was racing. Conner said he’d been flirting with her, that he found her beautiful. That was news. Or maybe he was just saying that to placate her father, who was the current fire chief, into letting him off the hook for fighting with Parker.
“You’re the chief, Dad. You deal with them, because there is no way we’re going to manage to pull off any fundraisers for the community with these two taking cheap shots every time we get together.”
“I’m not working with this traitor on anything,” Parker said before stalking off.
“Perfect. We didn’t need him anyway,” Conner said.
“Are you really too proud to admit you were wrong and just say you’re sorry?” Hannah challenged Conner. After all, her brother’s college girlfriend was found in Conner’s bed and claimed they’d slept together.
Her dad stood silently, watching and listening.
“I’m never too proud to say I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Staring into his eyes, she would swear he was telling the truth.
But if he hadn’t slept with Parker’s girlfriend, then why didn’t he fight to prove his innocence five years ago? Why hadn’t he ever tried to tell her that before?
Chapter Four
Even after icinghis cheek, his right eye was a deep purple the next day, but at least he could open it and the swelling was gone. He’d willingly taken the hit from Parker after seeing the desperation in Hannah’s eyes, knowing his ex-best friend wouldn’t stop until he landed at least one punch. Parker hadn’t changed in the years since their friendship ended. Still stubborn, with brute strength, but too slow to get the drop on Conner.
When she first became a paramedic, he used to look for her on every scene, then later he’d drive by the community center on his morning shift to try to catch a glimpse of her. He imagined it was like searching for a first edition of a book or a buried treasure. The thrill of the chase.
Now after talking with her again, he was anxious to know how she was doing. He wanted to hear about everything he’d missed. Hannah had changed a lot in the years since college. Previously, she’d been timid and a little shy. Now she was confident, self-assured. Especially when it came to helping the kids in their community. Nothing would stand in her way.
Working alongside her was definitely going to be a problem. How was he supposed to resist her searching blue eyes that looked at him with so much emotion? When they were kids, he would find her watching him, studying him, and she would blush the prettiest shade of pink when he caught her. Even after all these years, he’d found the same interest coupled with heat in her eyes yesterday. While he was enemy number one now, she was still his ultimate weakness—but she believed the same lie that had driven the wedge between him and Parker.
In college he and Parker had shared an off-campus apartment for four years. The week after they’d graduated from college, they threw one last party before it was time to head back to D.C. to start their prospective academies. Parker was going to the fire department, and Conner into the police academy.
The party had been epic, but he woke up in a fog to find his best friend’s college girlfriend, Mariah, in his bed. It had felt all kinds of wrong and at first he’d thought it was a prank, but when Parker burst into his room with hate in his eyes, things got real. Mariah claimed they’d had sex, and Parker stormed out. The next time he saw his best friend of sixteen years, they fought like two lions, destroying their apartment and leaving each other bloody. The friendship was unsalvageable.
Shaking away the memories, he checked his watch before exiting his new sergeant’s squad car, along with two cinnamon lattes. Hannah had texted him the night before asking him to meet her again at the wharf. Like an excited schoolgirl, he had trouble sleeping knowing he’d get to see her again so soon. At the strike of 7:00, a pickup truck pulled up in front of his freshly-waxed cruiser, and he spotted Hannah behind the tinted glass. She had to jump down to exit—did she need a step stool to get inside the truck? A bumper sticker on the back readMy Other Ride Is a Mustang,with a picture of a horse.
“This is your truck?” he said by way of greeting.
“Yes. Why?” she said, stopping in front of him and crossing her arms over her chest.
“It’s just a little big. I thought you drove something else?”
“I can haul more donations in the truck, and my car died.”
He held out a coffee to her, and she pulled down her shades to look at him like it was a snake.
“Cinnamon latte, your favorite.”
Her eyes went from squinting to wide in surprise.
“How would you know that?” she said, taking her sunglasses off and grabbing the cup from him before stepping several feet back again.
