Page 75 of Saving Her Heart
"What happened?"
"She said I was emotionally unavailable. That I was comparing her to someone else." He looks at me. "She was right."
"I dated too. Mark, the accountant. David from the bank. A few others."
"Anyone special?"
"No. They were all nice, successful, appropriate. And boring. God, they were so boring." I laugh. "David collected stamps. Not even interesting stamps. Just regular stamps."
"My badges are looking better now, aren't they?" He smirks at me.
"Your badges have stories. David's stamps were just... sticky paper."
We both laugh, and it feels good. Natural. Like the decade between us is shrinking by the second.
"What else did I miss?" I ask.
"I bought a motorcycle in my second year on the force."
"You did not."
"Did too. Harley Davidson. Chrome everything. I was insufferable."
"What happened to it?"
"Sold it after I crashed into Mrs. Taylor’s garden gnome collection."
"You didn't!"
"I did. Destroyed six gnomes. She made me replace them and help her repaint them. Have you ever tried to paint ceramic gnome faces? It's surprisingly difficult."
"Is that why she calls you Officer Gnome Killer?"
"She swore she'd never let me forget." He shakes his head. "What about you? What did I miss?"
"I learned to kickbox. Turns out I had a lot of aggression to work through."
"That explains how you thought you could take down Morrison by yourself."
"That was particularly satisfying." I grin at the memory. "I also went through a phase where I was convinced I'd become a chef."
"You can't cook."
"I know that now. But for six months, I took classes, bought all the equipment, and nearly burned down my kitchen twice."
"Twice?"
"Flambé is harder than it looks."
"What made you stop?"
"Kate banned me from her kitchen after I somehow managed to burn water."
"How do you burn water?"
"Determination and a poor attention span, apparently."
He laughs, pulling me closer. "I missed this. Just talking. Being us."
