Page 4 of Wine and Research
Over the past few months, Jeremy Mercer couldn’t explain the unrest coiling in his gut. It was dammed annoying. He loved being a cop and in the guard, so why was he so damn restless?
The instant he entered Gabe’s and laid eyes on Elle Hudson again, the answer became clear.Shewas the reason for his unrest. It sucked because he didn’t like her. She was too bossy, too difficult, too beautiful.
Damn, even now, with her reddish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, no makeup on her face, and a blue and white checkered apron covering her clothes, she still managed to interrupt his pulse.
The apron should’ve made her look silly, but instead, it emphasized her mouth-watering curves. The woman’s lack of makeup did nothing to lessen the mesmerizing effect of her gorgeous green eyes.
The longer he held her gaze, the stronger that unrest surged through his body.
Was it just her face sporting a small smattering of freckles, or were the sexy marks sprinkled on other parts of her body?
“Hi, Elle,” Scott Holden said, snapping Jeremy’s mind out of dangerous territory. He could always count on his EMT buddy for help, even unknowingly. “I’ll have the special and a glass of water.”
Her gaze left his to focus on his friend, and her expression instantly softened into a smile. “You got it, Scott.”
“Make mine the special, too, Elle, and a coffee,” Nico Martelli said, dropping into a chair at a table across from their friends, Ethan and Ryder, and their women. “If you decide you like this serving gig, we could use someone good like you atMartelli’s Pizza Bar and Grille…when you’re not working here, of course.”
Not only was Nico a firefighter and a guardsman, he also worked at his family’s restaurant. Jeremy didn’t know how the guy managed to keep it all straight.
“Aww, thanks Nico. I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with the same friendly smile she’d given Scott.
It wasn’t lost on Jeremy that the woman had never sent one his way, ever. And they’d spent a lot of time in his police car last year when she’d been in her research phase for her books.
Thank God that was over.
Cooped up in the car with the enigmatic woman had nearly driven him crazy. There were many times he’d wanted to throttle the obstinate woman, and even more times he’d wanted to crush her close and kiss her. Sometimes both. The chaos was too much for his organized, regimented mind.
Then why do you miss it?
He blinked as the thought flittered through his head. That was bullshit. He didn’t miss it or her. He’d screwed around with a woman like her once, and it had nearly cost him much more than his heart. It’d nearly cost him his badge.
Jeremy had always known he wanted to be a police officer, even before his father had died in the line of duty on the streets of NYC. And although his mother had moved him and his younger sister to the Poconos afterward, that dream had never dimmed. In fact, it had morphed into a deep-seated goal.
Utilizing the knowledge his father had told him about the department, Jeremy joined the National Guard and used bonuses and tuition assistance for college and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice before applying for the police academy. With a degree under his belt, he could aim higher in the department, one promotion at a time.
Thankfully, the debacle with his ex hadn’t derailed those plans, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down and chance it ever again. Not even with a auburn-haired, green-eyed beauty and her sexy freckles.
Granted, Naomi had been a journalist, not a novelist, but she’d used him and his job to better her career, then sent him aDear Johnemail while he’d been deployed and accepted a position at a big newspaper in New York. He’d heard she was a news anchor in New Jersey now.
Whatever.
She’d taught him a lesson, and he’d avoided that trap ever since. Never get involved with a woman whose job was directly related to his, and since Elle was writing—who the hell knew what—about himandthe force in her books, she was overly qualified as another Naomi.
Elle’s attention switched to him. “What about you?”
Her gaze matched the coolness of her tone.
“Make it three specials,” he replied and waited for her to move so he could take the vacant seat across from Nico.
His asshat friends had occupied the two spots that wouldn’t have required him to make contact with the woman.
She remained in his way and arched a brow. “And to drink? Iced tea or coffee?”
Jeremy had to admit, he was a little surprised she’d remembered his favorites, especially since he hadn’t eaten here during her shift for almost seven months now.
On purpose.
If he spotted her car in the parking lot next door, he drove away. Gabe’s food was amazing, but there were other places to eat that didn’t include a side of attitude with his order.
