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“I’m a cop. We’re observant. Good morning. I’m glad you texted me. I hope this means your brother has agreed to bow out on this project.”
“Actually, I was hoping you would. As much as Parker would rather not help me with this event, he’d rather piss you off more. He’d sooner try to plan it himself then back down.”
“What would that look like, beer can castles and wet T-shirt contests?” Conner asked, leaning against the hood of his car.
Fighting a smile, she took a sip of her coffee, giving him time to appreciate the burnt gold hues in her hair highlighted by the morning sunshine. Her freckles were more faint today, and her lips were glossy. He suspected she’d put on makeup to accentuate her natural beauty. Was it to entice him?
“The only way forward is for you to find someone else to represent the police department,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
“I would if I could, Hannah, but my captain was clear: she expects me to not only participate but to make this event something special. It’s been a hard couple of years in law enforcement. All first responders have felt the fatigue and criticism lately. Our community outreach has suffered. It’s up to us to make these events fun for the officers and the community, a consolation prize for dealing with the darkness the job brings.”
Her eyes looked like sea glass sparkling in the morning sun, and her mouth was pursed as she studied him.
“Then I’ll just have to make sure to keep you both busy working on different aspects, and you have to agree to a sparring match with Parker. The more I thought about it, I realized maybe a real fight would give Parker some closure. And I bet it could raise a lot of funds for the new community center.”
“Maybe if he wins, but I’m not going to agree to throw the fight. Not even for you.”
“Too proud?”
“You and your brother can believe what you want, but I never slept with Mariah. I should have figured out why she lied back then.” He met her eyes head on. “But I was so disappointed in Parker, that he believed some chick he’d dated for a year over his best friend.”
“Just because you were too drunk to remember what you did the next day doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. You humiliated and betrayed Parker.”
He stood up straight. Her judgment was like a cold knife to his heart. She thought he was a complete dirtbag for sleeping with his best friend’s girl. Something he never did.
“I’ll agree to the fight and anything else you want me to do, but I’m not quitting this assignment.”
“Fine, then the first thing we need to do is get volunteers for the calendar and find a boxing ring willing to host the fundraiser. We’ll need vendors for food and drinks, and maybe we can get a few more volunteers to spar. We need to host at least one event each weekend leading up to the gala, which should be our biggest fundraiser.”
“I’ll handle the police volunteers, and Parker can rally some of the fire crew. I know a gym that will agree to host a fight. Can you find vendors?”
“Done,” she said.
Her voice was curt. Great. she was going to be distant to prove her loyalty to Parker.
“We’ll need a few more ideas for fundraisers, and the gala will be hosted here in six weeks so the invites need to go out.”
“What if I could prove I never slept with Mariah? Would you stop looking at me like I’m a monster?”
Her head whipped around to face him, and she stuttered, “How would you prove that?”
“I don’t know, but if it’ll get you to stop treating me like the enemy and convince Parker he was the bad guy, it’s worth a shot.”
“You can do whatever you want in your downtime, but I doubt you’ll ever convince Parker you weren’t at fault.”
He stepped closer, forcing her to look up at him. “Maybe, but when I do prove it, there will be no reason for you to pretend you can’t stand me. Then we can finally figure out what this thing is between us.”
Her breath hitched, and she licked her lips like she couldn’t bring herself to deny what they both knew was true.
He was relieved she didn’t try.
“I guess you won’t be posing for the calendar with that shiner,” she said, changing the subject as she walked toward the old wharf warehouse.
“Shows how observant you are. My face isn’t even my best asset,” he called out as he followed behind her.
“Your shamelessness must keep you in trouble.”
Once he caught up to her and she unlocked the chain on the barn-style doors, he helped her roll back both sides.
