Page 45 of Naughty by Nature

“I think our ruse worked. Wade just pulled in.”

Cheyenne paled and would have jerked her hands away if she could have, but he held her strong. “Look at me.”

It took her a moment, but she did.

“I want you to remember how strong you are. You are the one in the position of power. Not him. At any point, you can file a protection order, okay?”

Blinking rapidly, she nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Now, smile and show him how much you enjoyed my company today.”

She grinned and he was taken aback at her enthusiasm.

“I am enjoying myself today, Sheridan, more than I ever could have imagined.”

A ripple of unease rolled through the crowd, and Sheridan could almost feel the collective inhale as Sophia’s door opened. The bell on the door jangled harshly, as if it had been jerked open.

They were perpendicular to the door, and several rows back. Sheridan didn’t even glance at the opening. He knew Patterson had an eyeball on Wade.

Wade surprised him, though, and headed to the counter over near the kitchen. And when he sat at the stool, he gave them his back.

Cheyenne’s eyes were wide with fright, but she’d allowed her hair to fall forward, shielding her expression. Sheridan gave her props for thinking smart as he watched her gain control of her emotions. She’d seen him in court, but that had been when he’d been in jailhouse orange and shackles. Now he sat less than twenty feet away from her.

“Look at me babe.”

Her eyes flitted up to his. “You’re doing great. Remember you’re doing this for your kids. And you. You can’t keep living like this.”

She panted and nodded, visibly reining her anxiety in.

“What did Grace do today to get in trouble? She came up and apologized for making a mess in my kitchen but I didn’t see anything.”

Redirecting Cheyenne’s focus worked. A smile crossed her lips. “She, uh, pranked her sister with Mentos in a Coke bottle. It spewed everywhere.”

Reaching for her phone, she showed him the picture of his kitchen. Sheridan winced and laughed. Damn…

Sophia came over and offered dessert. Sheridan looked at Cheyenne, brows raised.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “I want a piece of the white chocolate raspberry cake.”

“Two please, Sophia. Thank you.”

Sophia turned away, heading for the sweets case. In just a few minutes, she was back, setting the plates and forks in front of them. “If you all need anything at all, you just give a holler.”

“Maybe you can take Paul a piece of something.”

Sophia blinked and abruptly colored, her olive skin going pink before darting a glance at the Captain against the back wall. “Yes, Sheriff.”

Cheyenne’s mouth was hanging open as she watched Sophia leave. “Well, that was interesting.”

Sheridan grinned. “I wondered if they didn’t have something going on for a while. He was in here almost every meal for a while.”

She grinned, Wade completely forgotten for the moment. “I think they would be cute together. He’s really good looking and she is too.”

Forking up a huge bite of cake, Sheridan shrugged. “Maybe.”

Sighing in bliss, Cheyenne took her own bite of cake. “I don’t know how Alison gets this cake so light.”

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