Page 202 of Hot Cops

“From what I gather, you work your ass off at that bar. When was the last time you took a night off?”

“I took tonight off,” she joked.

He narrowed his eyes. “Before tonight?”

She bit her lip, refusing to answer his question.

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

“What I’m trying to say is, in my mother’s eyes, I’m a failure. Having a bartender for a daughter isn’t exactly something she can brag about to her friends at the country club.”

Jarod frowned. “You’re a hell of a lot more than just a bartender, Steph. You’re a successful entrepreneur, a creative businesswoman, a good friend and the best lover I’ve ever had.”

She smiled at his vehement defense, laughing at the last. Then she made her point. “Not sure I can brag about that lover part to Mom, but thanks. And, for the record, you’re a lot more than just a cop.”

He nodded, looking pleased that she got it.

“I guess now that Elias has been cleared as a hardened criminal, you don’t have any reason to hang out at Books and Brew anymore.”

He snorted. “Are you kidding me? I have every reason to hang out. You’re there.”

She fell silent. Compliments seemed to come so naturally to him and she never doubted his sincerity. He made her feel warm and tingly inside.

The waitress came over and offered to fill their coffee cups. Stephanie glanced at her cell phone. It was well after midnight. She waved the waitress off. “No thanks. Any more of that and I’ll be up all night.”

Jarod agreed and asked for the bill. A small part of Stephanie was sorry to see the night end.

“Did you finish your homework?” she asked, hoping that Jarod hadn’t had a chance to finish reading the romance novel. If he bailed on the group discussion, she could too.

“Yep. I even highlighted a few parts to talk about.”

“You’re joking.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m totally serious. Did you read it? Because a deal’s a deal—I’m only doing the discussion if you do.”

“I read the damn thing. Talk about a waste of time.”

Jarod studied her face seriously. “You really are missing that romance gene.”

She started to reach for the bill when the waitress put it on the table, but Jarod beat her to it. “I’ll pay.”

She pulled her wallet out of her purse. “You treated for dinner and the movies.”

“My date, my tab.”

“Christ. You know, you have a tendency to throw in a lot of last-minute rules.”

He tossed a few bills on the table. “Just part of my appeal.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

They rose and walked to the parking lot together. Jarod opened her door. It was an old-fashioned, gentlemanly thing to do, but she liked it. She wondered when guys had stopped doing that. None of her dates in the past had ever opened her door for her.

Soon they were on the road, heading back to her place. They were both quiet for a few minutes, but the silence didn’t feel awkward.

Finally, she said, “My mom’s been married four times.”

“Four times. Wow. That’s quite a track record.”

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