Page 9 of Then Came You

She flapped her hand at him while averting her eyes. Then it struck him. She’d been much more receptive toward him when he’d been dressed in regular clothes. The uniform must have served as a bad reminder of what had happened to Owen. If only he’d thought of that before…

“Are you sure you want me to wear this?”

She nodded. “If you let them peek inside your cruiser, they’d probably like that too.”

Since he’d offered to do her a favor, he could hardly say no. Besides, it would probably benefit the store, and he liked to support local businesses. If she wouldn’t let him pay for his coffee, this was the next best thing.

“Okay, then. When do you want me?”

She narrowed her eyes, and he realized his mistake. “I meant, when is story time?”

“Saturday morning at eleven, but if you can’t make it this Saturday, we’ll schedule it for a later date.”

“Let me talk to my boss. I’m working this weekend, but I might be able to finagle it.”

She nodded like she were familiar with a policeman’s schedule, which, of course, she was. He could have taken the opportunity to bring up Owen, but he hesitated. Now that she was finally communicating with him, he hated to ruin it. Maybe it was selfish, but he just couldn’t go there, not yet.

He picked up his coffee and cookie. “Should I call you?”

She eyed him quizzically.

“After I talk to my boss, I mean.”

“Oh. Well, won’t you be coming in for your coffee?”

“Not for a couple of days. I’m off Tuesday and Wednesday since I have to work this weekend.”

“You can just call the store. I’ll let Lauren and Savannah know in case I’m not here.”

He didn’t want to talk to Lauren or Savannah, but he couldn’t very well tell her that. “Okay. I’ll see you later, then.”

He turned and was almost at the door when she surprised him again.

“Officer? I mean, Sam?”

He tried to hide his shock as he turned back to face her. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He raised his coffee cup in salute and then sauntered out the door.

You’d think she’d just awarded him a medal of honor based on how pumped up he was the rest of the day. Not only had she asked him a favor, but she’d called him by his name and thanked him. Maybe now, when he came into the coffee shop, things would be easier between them. He couldn’t believe how important that had become, but it had.

If only they could have more interactions when he was out of uniform. Not naked, of course, but dressed in his everyday clothes. Wait a minute. Why had he even thought about being naked with her? He couldn’t go there, no matter how close they might become as friends.

She’d been engaged to a fellow officer, which meant she knew a lot of guys on the force and vice versa. He couldn’t see her wanting to date any of them, not after what had happened. She’d probably think it was disrespectful to Owen, and most of the guys would agree.

Yet he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her. Hell, he’d thought she was pretty back when Owen had shown him a picture of her. But there was more to it than that. He was also attracted to her spirit, feistiness, and stubbornness, if one wanted to call it that. Despite what she’d gone through, she was powering through. Managing a successful business and taking care of a dog weren’t easy tasks even with help. Now she was doing it all without the support of the man she’d loved and planned to marry.

True, she had her friends Lauren and Savannah, and probably others, but she still must feel the void. He knew he would have if he’d ever been that close to someone. He had been once, but he didn’t want to think about that now.

Instead, he thought about what he’d say to his boss to get him to agree to the story time idea. His buddies would probably rib him about it, but so what? It was important for cops to foster good relationships in the community, and reading to kids would help with that.

Nobody needed to know his ulterior motive for wanting to do it, or about his attraction to the pretty brunette who owned A Latte Books. And nobody could know, especially not Gillian.

Chapter 5

Two days later, Gillian still hadn’t heard from Sam, and she wondered if he’d changed his mind. When she’d told Lauren and Savannah that he’d agreed to be a guest reader, they’d been fully onboard with the idea and a bit surprised that she’d asked him.