Page 18 of Callahan

“It’s not like you’re hooking up with Brian.Thatmight be weird; we all used to hang out together. But you just met Adam today. That’s totally different.”

I wrinkled my nose.

“Mmm, is it though?”

“Yes. Not the same at all. You never spent any time with him while you were with Shawn.”

I think I wanted to agree with her, so I didn’t argue the point.

“I don’t need people gossiping about me.”

“They’re already gossiping. Adam’s not staying in town, so people can speculate all they want. But if he’s not around to take you on dates and confirm their suspicions, that’s all it would be—conjecture. And it’ll blow over when the next rumor gets started.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“I mean, how would I even go about seeing if he’s really interested without making a fool of myself?”

“Come on. It hasn’t been that long since you were single. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to flirt.”

I winced.

“I think maybe I have.”

Chapter Nine

Adam

The sun was still up when I left the bakery, and I strolled in the direction my GPS said Pizza and More was.

I hadn’t made it a block when Brian pulled up alongside me in his cop car and rolled down the window.

Before he could even say anything, I teased, “You weren’t lying to Granny O’Brien. You do work all the time!”

I saw his shoulders sag at my observation, as if he wished it weren’t true.

“We’re down three officers, so I’m trying to pick up the slack.”

“I’ll bet the overtime money’s good, though.”

“Yeah, but at some point, I’d like to have some time off to spend it.”

“I get that.”

“You probably more than most people.” He lifted his chin at me. “Where are you headed?”

“To the pizza place. I told Lainey I’d buy her dinner tonight.”

He nodded absent-mindedly while he watched me closely, like he was trying to figure something out.

Finally, he asked, “Was she surprised about the ring?”

“I thought I’d give it to her after we ate.”

He studied me for another minute, then drew his next words out. “I guess that makes sense.”

I felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny and tried to change the subject.

“How’d your domestic violence call go?”

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