Page 90 of This Memory
I laughed. “Go to bed. I’ll be up shortly.”
“You don’t need anything?” he asked before kissing me.
“Just my meatballs and black cherry cookies.”
Frowning, he pointed to the food and asked, “Should I worry about this?”
I patted his hand. “Nope, I’ll always preferyourballs overtheseballs.”
“Yep, I’m going to bed.”
Gavin
It wasn’t often I worked weekends anymore, not since Declan had come on board at the police department and we’d hired another full-time officer, Jeremy Stein.
The sounds of someone approaching my desk had me lifting my head. “Hey, Jeremy, how’s it going? Settling in?”
Jeremy was fresh out of the police academy, and I swore if I didn’t know better, I’d think the guy was nineteen and not twenty-nine. He was originally from Dallas, Texas, and his short brown hair and blue eyes instantly made him popular among the single ladies in Moose Village.
With a smile, he nodded, pulled out the extra chair, and sat down. “I’m loving Moose Village. I worked the Festival of Lights the other weekend, and that was fun. I grew up Jewish, so when I told my mother about it, she was pretty happy.”
I leaned back in my chair and asked, “What brought you to New York? Pretty far from your family back in Texas.”
He nodded. “It was hard leaving them, but it was the best thing for me. My mom’s very traditional, and she’s been pressuring me for a number of years to get married. I justneeded some breathing room. I thought I’d end up in New York City, but when I saw the posting for Moose Village, I knew this was the place for me. I’ve lived in a big city my entire life, so this is a breath of fresh air.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it here.”
He fidgeted in his seat some before clearing his throat. “I met Tina Browning the other day at the coffee shop. She works there and lives above it?”
I nodded. “She does. She’s Harper’s youngest sister. And, I might add, Mayor Browning’s baby girl.”
He grinned. “Declan already gave me the whole talk about that. I like Tina. She’s fun to be around.”
“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in there?”
“There is. I really want to date her…but…as you pointed out, she’s the mayor’s daughter.”
I shrugged. “So what? Declan is marrying Harper, and she’s the mayor’s daughter too.”
“That’s true.”
“Officer Quinn?”
I looked over to see Ami, our receptionist. “Yes?”
“There’s a gentleman here to see you. His name is Denny McCain.”
“Thanks, Ami.” Standing, I said, “Sorry, Jeremy. Gotta go. Denny’s my best friend and the father of the baby my girlfriend’s carrying.”
His eyes flew open wide.
“Oh, no, wait. She’s asurrogatefor Denny and his wife. The baby is one hundred percent theirs.”
“She’s just carrying it for them?” Jeremy asked.
I nodded and let out a humorless laugh. “It’s complicated.”
“I’d say,” he said, as he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
