“Well, I’ve lived with Crazy One and Crazy Two for twenty-five years, I’m an expert on it.”
“True,” I huffed softly. “We just . . . had these moments. We couldn’t look away from each other, couldn’t speak to each other . . .”
“This is all my fault for letting you read trashy romance novels growing up,” she mumbled, and I laughed.
“I’m being serious! I swear I distinctly remember the way he smelled, and I can still feel where his hands were.” I looked down to see goose bumps spreading on my arms at the same time I heard the aforementioned cooking utensil hit the counter.
“He had his hands on you and he is married? He is bad news, Kamryn! You stay away from him!”
“No, Jesus, Barb! He caught me. I literally ran into him and almost fell over. He just caught and steadied me.”
“Oh. Well. Still. You need to remember the man is married, and there are some lines you just don’t cross. And don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain around me again, young lady.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why don’t you tell me more about this other guy . . . Aiden, right? Let’s talk about him until Kinlee gets there. I’m assuming she’s running late again?”
“Of course, she is.” I sighed and rolled my eyes as I looked up at the door to see if it was her who just walked in. “Oh . . . my . . . word. He’s a cop,” I whispered.
“Who is?” she whispered back at me.
“Brody. He just walked into the coffee shop.”
“Kamryn, don’t you dare—”
“Barbara,” I hissed as I forced my eyes away from Brody in his uniform and looked around to see if there was anything I could hide behind. There wasn’t. “He’s married!”
“Baby girl, you are not too big for me to give your behind a good swat! Don’t you use that tone with me! I’ll fly to Oregon just to remind you of your manners.”
“Yes, ma’am, but I need to hide, and there’s nothing to hide behind. Maybe he won’t—”
“KC?”
Son of a bitch! “He found me,” I whispered, before turning to look at Brody. “Hi,” I said through gritted teeth. Oh, Christ, he looked better than I remembered . . . and with that uniform on, this was not about to go over well.
Brody gave me a strange glance before looking to the side and back to me. “You don’t remember me, do you? I’m Brody—”
“No, of course, I do. You’re Jace’s brother.” How am I supposed to forget you? I can’t sleep because of you! “Barb, I have to go, call me later.” She was spouting off warnings as I tapped the END button and laid my phone on the table.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were on the phone. You didn’t have to get off.”
“It’s fine.” I wanted to ask how he was, or if he’d been able to get any sleep since this weekend. But we hadn’t even said anything to each other at Kinlee’s house. I wasn’t some old friend who could ask how the family was. Wife, Kamryn. He has a wife. Like a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown on me, my mind cleared and I straightened in my chair. “So, police officer, huh?”
That crooked smile crossed his face, and his eyes bore into mine. “Yeah.”
“Y’all’s family is really covering all the bases. Jace is a firefighter, you’re a cop. Do you have another sibling who’s an EMT?”
He huffed softly, and I tried to focus on anything other than his face. “No, no other siblings, but my parents really should have thought about that one when they were having kids. Would have rounded it out well.”
“Right?” I said with a laugh. His eyes were locked on mine, and I felt myself wanting to get lost in them. Clearing my throat, I broke the connection for a moment and shot him a grin. “So you left kinda quick the other day. Everything okay? Or do you just not like slumming it with the firefighters?” I instantly regretted teasing him when a wave of some indescribable emotion passed over his face. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“I’d just forgotten I had somewhere to be.” He looked around the shop quickly before his eyes landed back on me, but that crooked smile was gone. What did I say? “Are you meeting someone here?”
“Um, just Kinlee, but she’s—”
“Late? Figures.” He shook his head, and that perfectly imperfect smile was back. “Well, I need to get back on patrol. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Oh, no, that’s fine. You have a good night.”