Page 31 of Lethal Seduction

She taps her chin with her finger a few times, feigning ignorance. “Okay fine. Full disclosure. I saw the number and called it from my phone. I wanted to protect you in case it was a telemarketer or something.”

“You spoke to him?”

“No, silly. When the receptionist answered, I hung up like any completely normal, rational, and well-adjusted person would have.”

“Well-adjusted?” I quirk a brow.

We share a hearty laugh at the description.

“I’m going to get up and take a shower so you can call Mister Policeman. I just have one question. Why would Jake be calling you? Especially after you left things like that last night?”

“I’m not entirely sure. Maybe he wants to make sure I haven’t told anyone about what happened between us? Or maybe he woke up and realized how he couldn’t possibly live without me?”

Tina laughs. “Now you’re being silly.” She gets up from the bed and looks herself in the mirror above the dresser, mussing with her hair. “If you don’t want to pursue things with Jake… would it be okay if I do?”

Whatever happened to bros before hoes? Or chicks before dicks? Not sure which one actually applies best in this situation.

“Is that what you really want?” I ask.

She nods. There’s a sadness in her eyes that tugs at my heart. She could do so much better than him, but there isn’t a chance in hell she’d believe me if I told her as much.

“Go for it,” I say. “He’d be lucky to have you.”

“Aww, really?” She twirls on her toes, stopping in time to face the mirror and blow herself a kiss. “Should we go get some breakfast?”

“That sounds wonderful, but let me find out what Michael wants first. If he needs me to do something for him, I’ll have to do it. He is the police after all.” I want to retract my choice of words, but they’re already being misconstrued by her.

As she steps into the bathroom and dramatically turns, holding onto the door, she smiles. “Oh, yeah. You’ll do something for him all right.”

I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Touché.”

Tina cackles and closes the door. The clunk of the water pipes as she turns on the shower gives me the go-ahead to make the call. I click the missed call notification and connect it. The butterflies in my belly flutter with each passing ring.

“Los Angeles Police Department, how can I direct your call?”

“Detective Michael Borne, please.”

“Please hold.” Jazz music fills the line. I close my eyes and wonder what Michael wants from me.

“This is Detective Borne. Who’s calling?”

Fighting the surging need to hang up the phone, my voice squeaks.

“Hello? This is Borne… who’s calling?”

“Patrick,” I manage to say.

“From the coffee shop? Hi, Patrick.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry to have called you so early… and from my work number, force of habit sometimes.” He chuckles. “I wanted to confirm our date and see if you wanted to go out to dinner before or after the concert?”

“Sounds great,” I say. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but maybe we should eat afterwards?” This way I wouldn’t risk feeling bloated and weird during the concert of the year.

“Perfect,” he says.

“Michael?”

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