Page 7 of Playing for Keeps
Twelve years, and he still wasn’t over her. He wouldn’t ever be. Caroline was the one. Period. No one expects to meet the love of their life at twenty, but he hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter. From the moment she walked up to him, he was a goner.
Then everything crashed and burned. Now, he was a pathetic wash-up who hadn’t dated anyone since her. Every time someone used the nicknameHeartbreaker, he wanted to hurl. The stupid media made a big deal about his lack of love life, almost making it a game to see if any woman out there could get him to commit.
But one could. Caroline was the only woman he wanted and the one woman he couldn’t have.
Now he was back in his hometown, where she still lived, and he spent all of his time hiding from her. Most officers sat with their backs to the wall to keep an eye out for any danger. He did too, but for adifferent reason. Things hadn’t exactly ended on the best of terms with Caroline, and it was all his fault.
Garrett rolled his eyes. “You are pathetic. Please tell me why you’re not jumping to find a date for all these Christmas events. It’s super romantic, and women love that.”
“I’m sure they do, but I’m not interested. I’m just trying to figure out my new job and keep my head down.”
Garrett shoved the bag toward Justin. “Eat another donut. It’ll make you feel better.”
“I don’t feel bad.”
Garrett tore into the bag and handed Justin another glazed donut before taking one for himself. “Donuts make everything better.”
Donuts did not have the special ability to make him get over Caroline. Nothing did.
Honestly, Justin had already been thinking way too much about the Christmas activities. After seeing his work schedule, he’d put an unnatural amount of thought into how he was going to hide in plain sight at the events.
Thankfully, the Redemption Ridge Ranch barn dance wasn’t on his schedule. The Reynolds’ usually hired private security, despite the size of the event. There was no way he could stomach that event. The last barn dance Justin had attended, he’d met Caroline. He wouldn’t ever be ready to revisit that pivotal moment.
“Are you on the schedule for the Tree Lighting Ceremony?” Justin asked.
Garrett pocketed his phone and shoved the last bite of donut into his mouth. “Usually. Odds of getting that are fifty-fifty.”
“Well, I’m in the same half as you. I was hoping I could trade for the Christmas parade.”
“Oh, we’ll both be working the parade too. You can write that in stone. You only get off for that one if you have kids. Cindy’s going with some of the girls, so she’s not too upset I’ll be working.”
Great. Justin would probably be running into familiar faces sooner than he’d hoped.
Garrett’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out. Smiling, he slid it back into his pocket. He wiggled his eyebrows and tucked the phone away again. “You’re welcome.”
Justin grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the sticky glaze off his fingers. “Next time is on me.”
The special ding Justin assigned to his Google alert chimed from his chest pocket. He pulled it out and opened the daily email.
Hello, Honey Buns! It’s Sweet Caroline here with your daily sugar rush.
The familiar ache knotted in his chest. Reading Caroline’s blog every day was his own form of self-punishment, but he couldn’t resist. They were her words, and it was the closest he’d been to her in years.
“Why don’t you just talk to her?” Garrett asked.
Justin looked up. “Is it that obvious?”
“Every day at two thirty? Yeah. It’s obvious.”
The radio on Justin’s shoulder chirped to life at the same moment as Garrett’s. The dispatcher rattled off about a multi-vehicle incident on Fifth Avenue—just a few blocks away—with injuries reported.
Garrett crumbled up the empty donut bag and stood at the same time as Justin. “Let’s do this.”
The call was enough to take Justin’s mind off Caroline for a little bit, but later in the evening, he’d be right back to reading her words and trying to figure out how to get her back in his life.
2
CAROLINE
