Page 2 of Just for Him
My heart stuttered for a moment. They were some fine male lips. They conspired with other fine features: an aquiline nose, dark eyes, and sinfully long lashes to create a beautifully sculpted masculine face. The rest of him was pretty nice, too. I’d always had a thing for a man in uniform, but Officer Vinnie raised the bar to new heights.
The heat in my cheeks intensified as my awkwardness continued to bubble up to the surface. “You know, the big house. The joint. The cooler.”
His grin grew, and at that point, I realized I would gladly continue to make a fool of myself if it got him to smile like that.
I leaned forward and dropped my voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “House of corrections.”
“He can haul me in anytime,” Wanda said, appearing next to me. She held out her hands. “Cuff me, big boy. I’ve been a bad, bad girl.”
An irrational surge of jealousy reared up inside me. Wanda was a natural flirt, but I didn’t like her flirting withhim. I wanted to slap her hands away and place myself between them. The twinkle in her eye told me she knew it, too. She was baiting me. She often teased me about having a thing for the hot cop who came in every night, though I repeatedly denied it. I was just an appreciative citizen, that was all.
Vinnie flashed me a look from those gorgeous eyes and sipped his coffee. “Sorry, Wanda. I’m off duty. But I think Hank’s working tonight.”
Her eyes lit up. Hank was the six-four, Vin Diesel lookalike who gave Wanda, and probably half the women in the city, an instant case of the hot and sweaties. He was featured in every charity calendar of local heroes put out each year. He didn’t do it for me, though. Mr. October, the one who I had privately dubbed my ownMr. O,was my favorite, and he was sitting right in front of me.
“Forget it,” I told him. “It would only encourage more bad behavior.”
“Some friend you are,” Wanda muttered. “And after all I do foryou.” She lifted her nose in a playful snub then went to clear one of the tables.
I turned my attention back to Officer Vinnie, glad to see he was amused by our antics. “What are you feeling tonight?”
I could have sworn I saw a flash of heat in those luscious pools of dark, dark brown, but that was probably just my overactive imagination. There was no time for actual dating in my life, so I settled for the occasional romantic fantasy.
“How about the special?”
“You got it.” I wrote down the order—a three-egg country omelet, hash browns, sausage, and pancakes—then passed it back through the window to Cal, our night cook and the diner’s owner.
“Rough night?” I asked as I wiped down the salt and pepper shakers. He was still as handsome as always, but I sensed a weariness about him that wasn’t usually there.
“A long one,” he replied.
“More robberies?” There had been a string of holdups in the area recently, and it was keeping local law enforcement busy. In just the past week alone, the mom and pop store on the corner had been hit, as well as the liquor store and the gas station a block over.
He nodded.
The bell rang behind me, signaling that his order was ready. I grabbed the piping hot plate and a wrapped bundle of silverware before placing it in front of him. “Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll catch a break soon.”
“Yeah, we will. You’re being safe, right?”
It was my turn to nod. “Cal just upgraded the security system.”
“Good.”
I left Vinnie to enjoy his meal in peace, finding things to occupy myself until he was finished. The diner was slow at this time of night, catering mostly to the second-shift singles crowd. When the bars closed at two, we might get a couple more.
Vinnie was taking out his wallet when I returned. “You know your money’s no good here,” I chastised. Cal, like many of the local business people, didn’t believe in charging police, firefighters, or servicemen and women for meals.
Vinnie shook his head and dropped the money into the tip jar instead.
“Can I see your phone for a minute?”
Bemused, I pulled the phone out of my apron and handed it to him.
He thumbed a couple of buttons, then handed it back to me. “I put my number in there. Don’t be afraid to use it if you see anything suspicious, or even if you need to walk somewhere and would like an escort. Oh, and I uninstalled the dating app. No more unsolicited pics for you.”
“Uninstalled the app?” I echoed. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
He grinned. “Take care, Haven.”
