Page 7 of Scotch & Shortbread

He strode past the women to his barking dog in the truck and put his arm up in a precise well-practiced move. “Enough,” he commanded, and the dog instantly calmed turning from a feral beast to a docile pup. It was like watching the transformation of a Marvel film character.

All three women stared in awe and fascination. The cop turned to them, with an apologetic look on his too-handsome face. “I hope Bear didnae scare ye. He takes his job very seriously when he is on duty,” he explained in his deeply accented voice.

Much like his owner, Quinn thought.

“’Tis fine now if ye’d like to see him closer. He willna hurt ye.”

To her chagrin, her friends had also transformed, but into tittering girls. They were all flirty smiles as they stared up cow-eyed at the cop. Unbelievable. Her best friends were charmed by the brute.

“He’s so cute,” Belle cooed, moving closer to the window again.

“Och, Lass, you’ll hurt his ego with words like that. He’s a trained killing machine,” the cop teased with a grin that could break hearts.

Quinn’s mouth almost hit the ground. Who the heck was this guy? Mean Cop actually had a sense of humour? Mean Cop could actually be nice? It was like a total 180 from what she’d experienced with him. And that smile! She’d known it would be good, but God, her legs felt boneless even as her mind was irritated by the whole scenario playing out in front of her.

This switch in him frustrated her. Why had he been such a royal ass to her earlier? It grated, and she felt the need to say something bubbling up inside her. Without thinking she blurted, “By the way, that ticket you gave me is defunct.”

The words flew out of her mouth like she was a prize fighter taunting a challenger to a match. His cool gaze fell on her, and she instantly regretted saying anything at all.

Like his police dog, his demeanour changed in an instant. Suddenly, he seemed taller and broader if that was even possible. And intimidating, God, he was intimidating. Quinn stepped back, feeling a wave of tingly nerves, but as she stepped back, he stepped towards her, closing the distance between them. His hulking muscular form all dressed in black with his eyes glowering on her. Quinn’s pulse beat furiously as fear infused her veins.

“Say it again, I dinnae think I quite heard ye.” Mean Hot Cop looked down upon her with danger emanating off him. Their bodies were only inches apart.

Quinn swallowed feeling her body tremble. “You forgot to put a date. On the ticket. So it doesn’t count,” she said with more bravado than she felt.

A slow menacing smile curved his lips. “Aye, but I can easily arrange a replacement fer ye, Ms. West.” His stormy blue eyes were icy cold on her as they glared at each other in a stand-off. Quinn was about to retort when she felt her best friend’s arm wrap through hers and yank her away. Quinn almost stumbled as Belle practically dragged her down the cobbled street.

“What the heck Belle?” Quinn grunted.

“No need to write any more tickets, Officer. We’ll keep her out of trouble. Have a nice evening,” Meg called back to him as she looped her arm around Quinn’s on the other side.

The two girls hauled their friend away not wanting her to get herself in any more trouble. Fortunately, Quinn had the good sense to go with her friends and not open her mouth again. But she wanted to. She wanted to turn right back around and give him a piece of her mind.

Even as her friends led her away, she glanced back over her shoulder, and he stood, watching them leave with a cool arrogance about him.

“What a total ass!” Quinn huffed as they rounded the corner. “Like, who does he think he is?” She was infuriated as adrenaline coursed through her. Obviously, he was trying to intimidate her. Well, she wasn’t going to let him. If she saw him again she would tell him exactly what she thought. “Seriously, girls, just because he’s a cop, doesn’t give him the right to be such a jerk!” Her girls had dropped arms with her now and were suspiciously quiet.

Quinn stopped walking and looked at Meg and Belle. “Okay, what’s going on?” They looked at her as if neither wanted to speak. “What?” She looked back and forth between the two.

“Honestly, Quinn, I think he was actually really nice,” Belle said quietly.

“What?” Quinn was incredulous. “Didn’t you hear him threaten me with another ticket? And all that bravado, he was trying to intimidate me!”

“If he’d wanted to give you a ticket, he totally could have. And you asked for that, Quinn. He was being completely lovely, and it was you who brought up the ticket.” Meg shrugged.

“Pfft.” Quinn blew out an exasperated breath. “He’s not lovely.” She sniffed in conclusion.

“Oh yes, he is.” Belle smiled dreamily. “Did you see that smile?”

“The one that could make a nun stray?” Meg grinned, completely ignoring Quinn’s exacerbation.

“Right?” Belle quipped.

“He is a beautiful, beautiful man,” Meg announced as if she’d never encountered a more perfect specimen.

Belle was nodding heartily in agreement.

“Ugh! Girls, you are supposed to be on my side!” What was wrong with them? Sure, he was good-looking, but seriously, he wasn’t a flipping god.

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