Page 19 of Cop-Off

“Okay, McBride, you got a night off this week?”

He felt a smile stretch out for the first time since he’d walked in. “Yeah, I do. Wednesday.”

“Cool. Shall we say dinner? I hear Casalingo is nice.” Amusement danced in her eyes, making his pulse quicken. “Not that I could tell you that for sure. Some neanderthal carried me out of there before I even had a chance to nibble on my breadstick.”

“What an asshole.” He tsked. “I’m sure I can find you a breadstick to nibble on, kitten.” A single eyebrow quirked up at that. “How ‘bout I pick you up at eight? And you can wear that pretty black dress of yours.”

“Eight works for me. Sadly, that pretty black dress is no longer in service, though.”

“No?” That was a real shame.

“No. That neanderthal I told you about? Well, turns out the zipper didn’t go down far enough for his liking...so he ripped it clear off.”

Damn. He really had been a wild animal. Flashes from that night made an appearance and all of a sudden, the air became electric.

“I can relate. One of my favorite shirts had the buttons ripped right off, too.”

“And how did that happen, officer?” she asked, not-so-innocently. He loved it when she called himofficer. A bit too much.

“Cat attack. Vicious little thing.”

A full-blown smile hit him square in the chest. God, she was beautiful. He wanted to tell her just how much. But he stopped himself. Even he knew that would come off too strong and maybe even scare her away.

“You know you smell of fish, right?” Her face was still lit up, but now she had a devilish glint in her eye.

“That doing it for you, kitten?” His own grin widened as he threw her a cheeky wink.

That musical giggle he hadn’t heard nearly enough escaped her pretty pink lips as her head tipped back. “You’re such a dork.”

It was a good thing she’d already noticed that.Andhad still agreed to go on a date with him. Because he was a bit of a dork. And the more she got to know him, the dorkier he got.

“Plenty more where that came from, sweetheart. You’re in for a real show on Wednesday.”

“Don’t I know it.”

He could practically hear the crackle of the current sizzling between them. Eyes locked, he couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. He wanted to drown in them. Drown in her.

Burger Factory had other ideas though, as a perky teenager strolled up beside them, looking at them expectantly. “You guys ready to order?”

Just as he was about to brush the girl off and ask for more time, Cat jumped in. “We sure are. I’ll have the trucker burger and fries.” She then turned her attention back to Cody. “What about you and Dylan?”

Damn. Zach and Libby would be going hungry. You sure as hell didn’t want to be on this chick’s bad side.

Who was he kidding? He’d only ever been on her bad side. Until now.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Watching Cody and Dylan’s rapport during lunch actually made Cat’s ovaries hurt. It also made her realize she had no idea who this guy really was, or what he’d been through. He was a single dad. A widower from what Libby had said. And here he was, killing the whole parenting thing and looking damn fine while doing it.

Guilt started to churn in her belly. She’d been a massive bitch to him. Repeatedly. He wasn’t exactly innocent, but she was woman enough to admit she’d never really given him a chance. Not until now. Mind-blowing sex can really force a girl to self-reflect.

“Cat?” Dylan excitedly jumped in his seat opposite her. “Mrs Tucker said I can stop by after school to see Snowcone whenever I want.” The name Snowcone still made her laugh. Poor cat. “You can come with me, if you want.”

Cat had to blink a few times. Was that an invite? She had so many questions. Was it okay to hang out with the child of the man you’d slept with? Especially when you weren’t even dating said man or had even been on a date with him.

And let’s not forget, a week ago you were ready to stab him in the eye.

The silence around the table reminded her that she needed to speak.

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