Page 41 of Too Hot to Sleep
St. Michael's Church, ]anus-Baker wedding, 10:30 a.m. Alexander-Childers wedding, 3:30 p.m. Piper-Matthews wedding, 7:30 p.m. Two officers, two hours for each event.
Georgia would be at the Alexander-Childers wedding in the afternoon. Maybe if he could see Georgia and her boyfriend together, see the way she looked at Trainer, see how the man adored her, he could shake this compulsion to be around Georgia. It was the guilt, he told himself, which triggered a burning need to know how she drank her coffee in the morning, if she left the top off the toothpaste tube, if she painted her toenails.
Telling himself he would bow to Providence and write Georgia Adams out of his life if the jobs were already taken, he walked up to the clerk who assisted in linking off-duty cops with community needs.
"Is St. Michael's all filled up today?" he asked casually.
The young man ran his finger down a grid. "There's one slot left for the evening wedding, seven-thirty. Interested?"
Disappointed beyond words. Ken stood stock still. He'd promised to heed whatever the schedule dictated. He would eventually get Georgia out of his mind. It was just a simple physical attraction, albeit a strong one. Things had worked out for the best—he liked being a bachelor, and she was obviously looking for a more serious relationship.
I try to be an honest person... just as I expect the man I'm seeing to be honest with me.
His track record on honesty took him out of the running anyway, Ken noted wryly.
"Medlock?" the guy asked, waving a hand to recapture his attention. "You want it?"
Disgusted with himself for caring about a woman who'd made it abundantly clear she wasn't interested in him, he nodded. "Sure, I'll take the seven-thirty slot. Gratis, for the church."
The clerk pursed his mouth as he made a note. "Mighty nice of you." Then he grinned. "Penance to pay?"
Ken smirked, then grabbed a cup of coffee and returned to his desk, feeling somewhat better. The one upside of not dating Georgia—he would never have to confess he'd been the man who'd taken the sexual pleasures she'd intended for her boyfriend. He drank deeply of the coffee, still marveling over the week's events. Considering how quickly the situation had snowballed, he should be thanking his lucky stars to have escaped relatively unscathed.
He sat back in his chair with a resigned nod. Yes—lucky, lucky, lucky.
"Hey, Medlock."
Ken turned and jerked his chin up to acknowledge a colleague approaching his desk. "Yeah, Booker?"
"I'm in a bind. I signed up for the three-thirty wedding at St Michael's, and I just remembered I'm supposed to take my father-in-law golfing. Don't suppose you'd—"
"Absolutely."
Chapter 16
KEN STRUGGLEDto keep his mind on directing the traffic into the church parking lot from a busy street. He knew Georgia didn't have a car and she was planning to arrive early for the ceremony and was undoubtedly already inside. He did, however, keep his eyes peeled for a 1999 black Lexus with a tag number matching the one in his head.
But by the time the wedding was about to be underway, he still hadn't spotted the car belonging to her boyfriend. When the parking lot started to fill, he left the street traffic to the other officer and directed last-minute arrivals into the nearest empty spots. Not the most exciting job, but police work wasn't always exciting. His vital signs did accelerate, however, when he caught a flash of blue darting from the church through the parking lot. Georgia?
He smiled involuntarily.Georgia.In a long blue flowery dress that hugged her form, holding an adorable hat on her head so she wouldn't lose it in her haste. She skidded to a halt next to a white car, peered inside, then seemed to be trying every key on a ring. Ken jogged through the rows of cars. "Georgia."
She jerked her head around, and her eyes bugged. "What are you doing here?"
"Volunteer work for the church, ma'am," he said casually, belying the tattoo of his heart at the sight of her. God, she was beautiful—no,magnificentwith her shining hair falling around her shoulders. Just as he'd imagined. "Is there a problem?"
She pointed to the car. "The bride wrote her own vows, but left them lying on the front seat. See?"
He nodded.
"But none of these keys seem to work," she added.
"This is a Toyota," he said. "Those look like Ford keys to me."
She squinted. "Stacey gave me the wrong keys!"
He shook his head and retrieved a slim tool from his belt. "I'm not supposed to do this for just anybody, but since I know you and since this is an emergency, I'll make an exception."
Her grin when the door popped open was reward enough. "Thank you!" She leaned in to snatch the sheet of paper, giving him a breath-stealing view of her legs as the skirt kicked up. She relocked the door, then swung it shut. "Well... it was nice to see you again," she said.
