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"No, I was letting Mable win."
"Sure, you were," Teagan teased.
"Here you go." The waitress put the paid bill and the food on the table.
"How?" Teagan's mouth dropped open. Luca walked around and pulled her chair out for her. Grabbing the takeout, they headed outside.
"I held the bill out to her when I leaned in to tell you exactly what would happen when you are mine. You were so focused on what I was saying that you didn't see."
"God. You are so high handed."
"I am. You will see quite how high I can raise it when I am spanking your behind."
"When?" Teagan said. "I think you are getting ahead of yourself."
"Oh, no, darlin'. You are just lagging behind. Let me show you how high handed I can be." Luca stepped even closer to Teagan. Lifting her chin, he dipped his head and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss, a sweet kiss. It left Teagan wanting more. Sparks flew between them; there was no shortage of physical chemistry.
"Speaking of behind, I need to get to work," Teagan said nervously, turning away from Luca.
"I'll let you run away this one last time," Luca said. "Thanks for having lunch with me, darlin'. Let's do it again soon."
* * *
Teagan typed furiously away at her report, trying to focus on work and not on the sexy, rancher turned Navy SEAL, turned private security guru who had her heart pitter-pattering like she had downed several espressos. She had thought he was ridiculously handsome the first time she had seen him. She'd used her badge and credentials to sneak into the campaign headquarters on election night. It had been merely by chance that she had come across Evelyn, having only caught a glimpse of her at an event. Montgomery had come by the department for a promo shoot and had brought Evelyn with him. Teagan had been on her way out to a call, but seeing her own face on another woman had stopped her in her tracks.
It had been easy finding her after, on paper anyway. Finding her in person had been something else altogether. It was as if Montgomery was hiding her up in a tower somewhere. Getting her alone was impossible. So, she did the next sensible thing; she hacked her emails. Teagan knew it could get her fired and thrown into jail, but her curiosity, as it often did, took over and she did what she had to in order to meet her sister. When the email came through from Rowena, her heart had stopped. Rowena had been easy to track down. Seeing her, a second woman with the same face, was surreal. In fact, it had been such an emotional hit, Teagan had taken her first sick day in four years.
Meeting them at the café was something else altogether. It hadn't been all rainbows and sunshine since they had met. In fact, there had been some very real drama, like the night Evie slapped Ro or the car accident. But, they had developed a friendship of sorts, and now, even after such a short period, Teagan couldn't imagine not having them in her life. Even if she wanted to strangle Ro for setting her up with Luca today. Speaking of her interfering sister, she should text her.
I hope you can't sit for a month of Sundays,Teagan texted Ro. She put her phone next to her keyboard, continuing to write her report until a vibrating noise clued her into her sister's response.
You would wish that on your poor sister? Not nice, Teagan Ann. Besides, it couldn't have been that bad. Luca walked in here smiling like a loon.
Teagan found herself smiling at that. Luca was smiling. What did that mean, exactly? She was starting to fall for Luca, a feeling she needed to squash. Yet, she couldn't help but dig a bit deeper.
He's smiling?
Like the cat that got the canary… You didn't give him the canary, did you? I mean, I knew I was good, but not that good.
Probably because he knows you're going to get your ass beat.Teagan laughed when the tongue sticking out emoji came through. A loud knock on her door startled her. Dropping her phone on her desk, she turned to see Lt. Downy standing there.
"Hey, can you do an escort?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"I have an emergency placement who needs to head to the Rosenblooms'. We have uniforms out to pick up Dad, but we don't have him in custody yet."
"Absolutely. How old is the kid?"
"Eleven, she's in one of the interview rooms with her CPS caseworker."
"I'll go now; give me five minutes to save my report."
Teagan followed the caseworker's car to the familiar home of the Rosenblooms. Before finding out they were her sister Ro's adoptive parents, Teagan had dropped several kids off to their care. The normal routine was to follow the caseworker up the driveway and sit in her car while the caseworker dropped off the child. That was before she met Jean. She knew if she didn't get out of the car and give the older woman a hug, she would hear about it later.
Jean had the eleven-year-old girl embraced tightly in her arms before Teagan had joined them on the porch. "Let me show her to her room, and then I'll be down to talk with you," Jean said over her shoulder as she walked the girl into the house.
"Come on in. Want a cup of tea?" Mark motioned Teagan and the caseworker through the door. While Mark signed the papers and spoke with the caseworker, Teagan walked aimlessly around the living room. She looked at the family photos hanging on the walls. They were everywhere. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason for how they were hung, driving Teagan nuts.
