Page 81 of Dining for Love

“Okay, Officer MacKinnon.”

“Don’t you dare look away from me, Willa. Watch me make you come.”

And once I’ve made her scream my name, I go back on shift.

Chapter 25

Willa

IWAKE UP to birds chirping outside, the morning sun slanting through the gauzy curtains and highlighting Reid’s sleeping form beside me. He’s so beautiful lying there. No worries to crease his brow, nothing to make him scowl thoughtfully as he looks at me or the rest of the world around him. He inhales deeply, and the movement brings my attention to the shiny pink wound on his shoulder.

I know it wasn’t a routine traffic stop. I know he’s hiding something from me. Maybe if he were mine, I’d have more to say about it. But I don’t get all his secrets. There’s always a part of him that stays hidden, something in the background that keeps him from opening up entirely to me.

None of it keeps me from loving him.

I know it’s foolish. I know it’s going to hurt like hell when he leaves, but it’d be even more foolish to let this experience pass me by.

I know I’m sheltered. God knows that it’s been proven time and time again. But I’m okay with that. It’s okay that my first real taste of the world was getting yelled at on a reality cooking showthat scarred me so badly I never went back. I’ve forgiven myself for my reaction, but it seems I need to make my parents understand that still.

Reid takes another deep inhale and rolls over, his eyes fluttering open as he smiles at me.

My heart melts. Yeah, I’m positive I’m in love with him. The words bubble up to my throat and nearly pop out of my mouth, but I manage to keep them swallowed.

“Good morning, gorgeous.” His voice is thick with sleep.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“How long have you been awake and staring at me?”

I shrug. “Not long.”

He grins and pulls me to him for a kiss. It’s sweet and gentle, and I sigh happily into it. Reid’s always like this in the mornings: light and unencumbered by whatever dark thoughts consume him throughout the rest of the day. It lasts for all of five minutes, and I cherish every second of it.

His beard rasps across my skin as we kiss, and he hums contentedly. When our make-out session is complete, we haul ourselves out of bed and cook breakfast together. It’s Sunday, and yoga’s in a couple of hours, so we prepare a simple feast of eggs over easy, layered on top of avocado, tomato, and buttery sourdough bread.

After that, we wash up and take quick showers. We’re heading to the car for yoga when Reid’s phone dings. He looks at it, then pales.

“What happened?”

“It’s Jack. He’s in the hospital.”

We head straight there. Reid puts Betty on speaker as he speeds to the hospital.

“He’s been shot at close range. He’s in surgery already.”

Reid curses, flying through an intersection after barely braking. “We’ll be there soon.”

Grabbing onto the handle above the window, I risk a glance at him. He looks like a ghost, his knuckles bleached white from the grip he has on the steering wheel.

“It’s going to be okay, Reid,” I whisper.

He releases a strangled sound. “You don’t know that.”

Nothing more is said until we get to the hospital, when I tell him to pull into the ER and offer to park the truck.

For once, he takes me up on the offer, throwing the engine into park and sprinting out, the door wide open in his wake.

My heart hurts for him as I send a plea to the universe.Please let Chief be okay.

---