Good Girls Don't (Donovan Brothers Brewery 1)

“It’s not just that guy. I, um, accidentally heard you and Simone talking. Tonight.”

“Okay.” He thought back, but he couldn’t figure out what she might have misunderstood about that.

“You swear you’re not the father?”

“I already made that very clear.”

She held up her hands. “I believe you. I do. It’s just that you seem so close. You’re so… I have this horrible feeling you’re in love with her, Luke.”

Pissed as he was, Luke couldn’t help but laugh at that. “If I am, I’ve sure got a funny way of showing it.”

“Yeah, well, remember that Madonna-whore complex? What if I’m the whore?”

“What?” he yelled.

“I’m just saying—”

“How many psych classes did you take in school? Stop pinning these weird diagnoses on me.”

“Fine! But you care about her a lot. A lot. And I don’t want to be the idiot caught in the middle of that.”

Luke threw his hands up in the air. “What am I supposed to say? I’m not in love with her. I care about her because we’ve spent the past two years working side by side together. We don’t have those kinds of feelings for each other. Why can’t you believe that?”

“I don’t know. It scares me.”

“Why?”

“Because…” When she swallowed, Luke finally registered that she was close to tears. “Because I don’t want to be that stupid girl who falls for someone awful!”

His anger didn’t leave him, exactly, but he felt it sink into his body until it was drowned by his rushing blood. “I’m not looking for a relationship,” he said quietly.

Tessa looked startled, and she put her hand to her mouth as if she’d just realized what she’d said. “I didn’t mean… I know this isn’t—”

“So let’s take it easy on each other, all right? We’ll be careful.”

Her hands paused in midair. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Careful about what?”

“Falling. If we’re going to fall, let’s be careful.”

She drew in a soft, steady breath. Luke held her gaze, hoping that she’d see he was feeling the same thing. The exhilaration and the fear. He’d never say it, but it was there.

She let out her breath so slowly that he could barely see her chest move, but her pulse beat madly in her throat.

“In case you can’t tell,” Luke said, “I don’t have the best track record. I might not be long-term material.”

Tessa shrugged. “We don’t have to talk about that now. As long as you promise you’re not lying to me.”

“That’s a promise. I’m not in love with Simone. It’s just that…I don’t know. I became a cop because I like to look out for people. And Simone…she’s like a sister. Plus…”

“What?”

“I guess kids kind of scare me.”

“Kids scare you?”

He knew it sounded ridiculous. It was hard to put into words. “They’re so fragile. The idea of her raising a baby on her own…”

“They’re not that fragile. Kids bounce back from almost everything.”