Page 14 of Tangled Up In You

"You have sisters in town?"

"Two. Lizzie owns the Firefly Inn and Chelsea is a singer. They're both married now. In fact, Chelsea is married to a fellow police officer, Brodie McGuire; they're expecting a baby."

"It's nice that you have family here. What about your parents?"

"They're in Denver. I have a brother there as well. Another one is traveling the world."

"Five kids. That's a big family."

"I suppose. What about you?"

"It has been my mom and me for my entire life, with some assorted men moving in and out of our lives. I always wished for a sibling or a dad. A few men seemed like they might be stepfather material, but it never happened."

"Where is your mother now?"

"New York." She didn't want to talk about her complicated relationship with her mother, especially not with a man who seemed to have grown up in an idyllic family. "Anyway, thanks again for coming by and for saving me from what might have been a nasty fall. You really are the hero type, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "Right place, right time."

"For me, anyway. Maybe not so much for you."

"Well, I have to admit, I am wondering how we'll run into each other the next time."

Her pulse leapt at his words. "There might not be a next time. You clearly have no interest in health and wellness products."

"Oh, I think there will be a next time."

"Why?"

"Whisper Lake isn't that big, and you and I…I don't think we're done, Molly."

She looked into his eyes, thinking she didn't want to be done. On the other hand, he was a complication she didn't need. "Maybe we should be done. I have a lot to do, and I'm not really interested in getting involved with anyone."

"You should have thought about that before you kissed me." He moved toward the door. "Lock this behind me."

"I will," she promised, thinking the person she really needed to keep on the other side of that door was him.

After leaving the wellness store, Adam got into his car and let out a breath. He rarely felt unsettled. In fact, he was known for being cool under pressure, an expert at compartmentalizing, at keeping his emotions away from his decisions, from his actions. But one beautiful brunette had knocked him off-balance, both literally and figuratively.

He hadn't expected her to fall into his arms.

And the kiss…

Well, that had been surprising, too. It had also been good, really good, better-than-he'd-had- in-a-long-time kind of good.

Which was why he should stay away from Molly.

She was a whirlwind of energy—impulsive and reckless. He'd seen firsthand the downside of spontaneity. It could be exciting, and hot as hell, but it could also lead to danger, to pain, to the hurt he never wanted to feel again. Molly was a threat to the calm and the predictability he'd worked so hard to build into his life. He needed to keep his distance.

A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot for Micky's Bar and Grill. It was happy hour, and the bar was crowded, but Brodie had a table in front of a wall of television screens, one of which was playing a baseball game between Miami and Houston.

Brodie had brown hair and eyes, and wore jeans and a button-down shirt. He had a pitcher of beer in front of him along with two glasses, one of which was half full.

"Is Dante pitching?" he asked as he sat down at the table.

"He has a no-hitter going. Miami is up by two in the seventh inning. Maybe they'll let him go the distance."

"That's great." He watched as Dante DeAngelis went into his pitching motion, landing the perfect slider for a strike-out. "His shoulder is back to normal."

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