Page 18 of Protected By West
And she might like it.
CHAPTER 4
WEST
The diner had a table in the corner when they walked in, and Weston had to keep his gaze above her waist as they walked through the rest of the crowd. It was tempting to take a quick look, but he needed to focus, even if last night he’d fallen asleep to dreams of his hands and mouth all over her body.
That had to take a backseat to the issue between them. Nothing else could happen until he figured out what he’d done to have her throw up a thick, invisible concrete wall.
She handed him a menu, but he set it aside with a smile.
Raising a brow at him she asked, “Not hungry?”
He smiled at the bit of tension he heard in her voice. “I’m hungry, but it’s a diner. I can name a few things that are safe to be on any menu. Like a burger. Or chili.”
Nodding, Tracy set her menu aside, too.
She let out another breath and smiled. “When you put it that way…”
“So, I want to skip the small talk.”
He saw her flinch, but she didn’t try to change the topic.
“What did I do? I need to figure that out before I can apologize for it.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s… nothing to apologize for. I just… I didn’t expect that you were law enforcement.”
He heard the hard edge of her voice as she said those last two words.
“Okay.”
“Hey. I’m Janine. What can I get you two?”
West looked up at the waitress and gestured at Tracy.
Startled, she looked down at her menu. “Uh. Diner food. Umm… BLT. Iced Tea. Sweet. Please.”
Janine nodded. “Is there any other kind?” Then she turned to look at him. “You?”
“Burger. Medium. Fries. Dr. Pepper.”
Janine nodded. “All right. Just give me a few minutes and you’ll have your orders.”
She turned and left, leaving them alone.
Weston saw how Tracy seemed to realize they were alone and her back straightened and her hands disappeared under the table.
Likely in her lap.
“I’ve made it a… survival instinct to stay away from police in a… personal capacity.”
“Those are nice words to say… you don’t date cops?”
Her nose scrunched a little. “You use the word ‘cops’?”
He frowned right back.
“Police? Law enforcement? We’ve been called worse.”
