Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
“Jim,” she said, her lips poised on the tip of a question.
“Officer Harlowe,” a female voice said from the doorway, stopping whatever Anne had been about to say. I took a casual step away from Anne, facing one of the new hires. “Is there anywhere in particular we need to sit?”
I shook my head, gesturing to the tables in the room. “Sit wherever you’d like.”
Another four new hires filed in behind the first one, all spreading out throughout the room since it wasn’t packed. Sweet Water was a small town, so it wasn’t like we’d hired twenty or more officers like some bigger cities did.
Either way, the room felt about ten times smaller with Anne directly behind me. Her presence filled the room in a way nothing else ever did, and I swear I could feel her gaze on my skin as I started the first lecture.
After a full day, separated only by a small lunch break, we finally reached the end of the first class.
“That was impressive,” Anne said after the new hires had left the room.
I blew out a breath. “You think?”
“Absolutely,” she said, hooking her bag over her shoulder. “You had them captivated.”
I smiled, pride swelling in my chest the way it always did whenever she complimented me. Damn, my body responded to her in exactly the same way as it had ten years ago, how was that possible?
“You did great too,” I said, giving her credit where it was due. “We would’ve lost two hours if you hadn’t saved the day with the tech-savviness.”
She laughed, equal parts warm and wild and fuck me it was one of the best sounds in the world. I wanted to kiss that smile, wanted to drag other sounds from her lips like moans and whimpers and listen to her say my name in that breathy, blissful way only she was capable of.
“I’ve managed to keep up on the trends,” she said. “New software and apps have always been easy for me to figure out.”
Thankfully too, because I didn’t have a clue when it came to the presentation app I had to show to the new hires earlier.
“Well,” she said, glancing around the empty room. “Have a good night.” She headed toward the door.
Have a good night.
See you tomorrow.
Take it easy.
“Are you hungry?”
That’s what came out of my mouth instead of any of the other appropriate responses.
She turned around, surprise flashing over her features. “Starved.”
Well, that settled that.
“Let me change, then we’ll head out.”
She stopped me in the doorway, her hand on my chest. “I thought you said this was a bad idea?”
I said that two nights ago when she invited me for coffee, but that was before I saw her again today. Before I spent an entire day with her, trapped in a room and feeling more alive than I had in years just from being around her.
“It is a bad idea,” I said, and she dropped her hand, her eyes falling to study her stilettos. I tipped her chin up, cursing myself for the contact but relishing it all the same. “But don’t we always have fun doing bad things?”
Her lips parted, and I had to physically stop myself from dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. I managed to head past her, hurrying to change, and had us at a two-top table at Lyla’s Place within fifteen minutes.
The silence between us wasn’t unbearable, but there was a tension to it that made me ache.
“Anne,” Lyla, the owner of the best restaurant in town, said as she walked past our table. “Aren’t you in here enough?” she asked. “What brings you in on your night off?”
I snapped my head to Anne, shock radiating all over me. She worked here? When she said she had a job, I figured it was at one of her father’s many corporations or connections.
“This is the best place to eat in town,” Anne said.
Lyla smiled at her but shook her head. “I’ll cook up something special for you two.”
“Thanks,” Anne called to Lyla’s back, which was covered in a white chef’s jacket as she hurried back to the kitchen.
The restaurant was half full, with more people coming in by the minute.
“I didn’t know you worked here,” I said after the waitress brought our iced teas.
“You didn’t ask,” she said.
Fair.
“Speaking of things we didn’t ask,” she continued. “Are you married?”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you think I’d be here with you if I was?”
Heat churned in her eyes. “No,” she said. “But this isn’t a date, is it?”
“You said you were hungry,” I said instead of addressing the question. I didn’t know what this was other than me being incapable of staying away from her now that she was back in town.
She pursed her lips. “So you’re not in a relationship?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head.