Page 55 of Mike

Mike’s brows went up. “How did you find out that last thing?”

“Kyle told me,” she snickered. “Now, what am I missing? Why didn’t you follow through on the Olympics?”

Mike’s face soured. “Because of Melanie.”

“Your ex-wife torpedoed your chances?” Joe gaped.

“Not exactly. But we’d been together since high school, and married for a year at that point. She didn’t actually tell me I couldn’t go, but she was already upset that I traveled so much for competitions. When talk of the Olympics came up, she made me feel guilty that I’d be leaving her for an extended period of time to pursue a passion that wasn’t her.”

“She was jealous,” Joelle speculated.

“That, and she was sure I’d cheat on her with half the well-honed athletic women I’d be meeting.”

“Only half?” Joe teased.

“Well, I’m not superman,” Mike threw back.

Joe let her eyes wander over the man’s massive chest which sported muscles on muscles, and sighed.

Not superman, but damned close.

“So you didn’t go,” she concluded.

“I didn’t. Which was okay in the end. We settled in the Boston area where I’d gone to college, and I used my skill set to become a police officer in the city, then joined the SWAT team there.”

“What made you leave for Bangor?” Joelle asked and Mike shrugged.

“When Mellie became pregnant, she lamented that she wanted to raise our kids where we grew up, and I agreed. So we moved back here, near our parents and all our old friends.”

Joe spoke softly now. “It seems like you lived a lot of your life around what your ex-wife wanted. So tell me Mike. What is it you want for yourself now?”

His eyes smoldered as he stared back at Joe.

“You.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mike closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he’d said that out loud. He wanted to drop his head to the table and whack it on the hard surface a bunch of times, but that would make him look even stupider. He dared peek out from between his lashes at Joe, and instead of seeing confusion or disgust, Joe was beaming from ear to ear.

Say what?

“You, um, didn’t find that offensive?” Mike asked.

“Seriously? A man I think is absolutely adorable, has his eyes on me like he wants to eat me for breakfast,” she responded, leaning forward. “Heel, no.”

Dammit.

She was still talking physical, while Mike was already angling for something deeper.

“Okay. It’s just that…”

Should he go for it a second time? Say what was on his mind?

Joelle wasn’t one to hold things back, especially now that she’d asked him and his team for help, so maybe he should lay his thoughts on the line. He drew in a fortifying breath. “…I think I might be entertaining more than a carnal attraction to you.”

There. He’d said it. The ball was in her court.

Mike held his breath, but fuck, the server arrived at that very inopportune moment to clear their plates and asked about dessert.

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