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“He’s not much of a runner, either, I’m afraid.” There’s a shadow of regret in the Chief’s voice.
Curiosity gets the better of me again. “What actually happened to his leg?”
“According to the shelter, he was rescued from a farm where he’d broken his leg. His owners just ignored it. By the time the shelter got him, the leg couldn’t be saved.”
I’m horrified that anyone could let any dog, let alone a sweet little thing like Jackie, suffer, and I momentarily forget that I dislike the Chief. “That’s awful!”
He gives me a big smile. “Hey, check it out. We agree on something!”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say, We do not!—but who can’t agree that people shouldn’t be assholes to their dogs? I clamp my lips shut and fume silently.
We round the corner that takes us into the downtown area and I see my chance to get away from him. I turn to cross the street over to Flying Saucer. “I’m going to go grab a coffee.”
But the Chief, instead of heading straight toward the fire station, turns with me. “Hey, great idea. I love this place.” He glances over at the building and I see a look of pride in his eyes. I wonder if firefighters get attached to the buildings they save.
“You’re getting awfully stalker-y,” I grumble.
He pulls a faux-innocent face. “What? I’m just walking to work and supporting a local business.” His expression grows more serious. “You don’t really think I’m stalking you, do you? I honestly didn’t know you were living next door when I signed the lease, Blaze.”
And here’s the thing: I know he’s trying to get under my skin, and he’s succeeding. I find him very, very aggravating. But I don’t really think that he’s deliberately stalking me, and deep down, I think that if I told him to leave me alone, he would.
Which makes it just a little bit harder to hate him.
By this time, we’ve crossed the street. He pulls open the door of the cafe and bows—literally bows!—as he gestures me in. I roll my eyes as I pass and march up to the counter where Lucky is taking orders.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“And good morning to you,” she replies pointedly, but her gaze goes straight to the Chief before coming back to me. “Mariah couldn’t make it in today, and Joyce asked if I could fill in for a couple of hours. Don’t worry, I’m still planning to swing by the library at eleven.”
“Shh!” I make a Shut up now! face at her because I don’t want the Chief to know that she’s going to help me plan a social media campaign to promote us getting the Addison.
Lucky makes a quizzical face right back at me. “You want your regular?”
“Yes, please, and an iced mocha for Gigi.” I begin digging through my purse for my wallet.
“You two together?” Lucky says.
I look up to find the Chief standing right next to me. “Yes,” he says at the same time I say, “No.”
Lucky’s eyes dart between us, and I can tell she’s enjoying this way too much.
The Chief turns to me. “It’s on me. Least I can do after Jackie scared you so badly last week.”
“I told you, I wasn’t scared—” I begin, but the Chief has already stretched his hand out across the counter toward Lucky. “Jeremy Wainwright. Fire chief.”
“Lucky Castellano. Troublemaker.” Lucky takes his hand and is not at all subtle about looking him up and down. “Who’s Jackie?”
“My Jack Russell terrier,” the Chief explains. “Little guy, about this big—” he gestures with his hands. “Three legs. Scared the daylights out of poor Blaze here.” He pats me condescendingly on the shoulder.
“Aw!” Lucky’s expression turns sympathetic. “I didn’t know you were afraid of dogs.”
“I’m not afraid of dogs!” I look at the Chief. “You are a jerk.”
“Okay, then!” Lucky gives us a big, bright barista smile.“What would you like to drink?”
“Large Americano. Black,” he replies because of course he’s too manly for things like cream or sugar. He produces some cash out of thin air and hands her a bill. “For both of us.”
I try to hand Lucky a credit card but the Chief waves me off. Lucky takes the cash and rings up the order. Traitor.
