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“She took me home. Patched me up.” The clock on the wall ticked the seconds of dead silence in the room.
“That it?”
“Pretty much.” Mike wasn’t about to give details.
“She a one-night stand?”
Anger filled his chest so fast it caught him by surprise. He flexed his hands to calm his pulse, wondering at his quick reaction. Cassie was too good for a one-night stand. Too good for him. He scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Didn’t think so,” Shep said with a shake of his head. “What’s the problem?”
Mike glared. He hated talking about the problem. Forcing his uneasiness down, he settled back and crossed one booted foot over the opposite knee. Grasping his ankle gave him something to steady his hand.
Several moments passed before he glanced up. Shep had the patience of a saint.
“She’s great,” Mike said in a gruff voice, barely controlling his emotion. “She’s perfect. But a one-night stand is all it can be.”
“Why?”
“I don’t do relationships. She’s the type to want one. You’ve never married. You won’t take the risk either.”
Shadows filled Shep’s eyes. “I’m not single for the reason you believe. Maybe I haven’t found the right woman. I haven’t rejected the idea of marriage completely.”
“You’re pushing forty. You can’t tell me this job has nothing to do with it.”
“I’m not there yet. And this job has everything to do with it. Not all women can handle being the wife of a firefighter.”
“Which I know all too well.” He’d confided his own personal skeleton to Shep a long time back.
“I said not all women.”
“She would still leave.”
Shep’s feet hit the floor with a thud. “That was your mother. You can’t judge all women by the actions of one. The balance is finding the right woman at the right time. You’ll never find out if you don’t give someone the chance.”
Give someone the chance to rip his heart out the way his mom had? No thanks.
“Hell, Shep. You’re not that much older than me. These days, guys don’t get married until they’re fifty.”
More than one emotion had flashed over Shep’s face during his little speech. He may have hinted on the thing that had weighed on his mind earlier. Could it be a female?
“Have you found someone?” Mike cautiously asked.
Shep’s eyes narrowed and he clammed up.
Who? Where? When? The guy never went out. He arrived at the office early and stayed late. Most of his time, he spent alone.
“No.” Shep stood, which was usually a sign of dismissal.
He had the gall to get Mike to spill his guts, but when the conversation turned to him, the damn guy got tight-lipped.
“No?” Mike echoed.
“Don’t turn this around on me. You have a classy lady at your fingertips.”
Classy, sexy. The woman sure knew how to kiss. And those delicate fingers did some pretty naughty things. He wanted them caressing and stroking him again. Heat filled his belly at the image of Cassie’s body spread open for him. He squeezed his legs together and willed his growing erection down. He cleared his throat and stood.
A hard knock on the door saved him from saying anything. The door opened and Cooper stuck his head in.
