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“I’m not good at girl stuff,” I explain instead. “And you’re no good at listenin’ to directions. Let me take the damn cuffs off.”

“Don’t give up on your chance now, Dodger.” Her tone dips, and I’m suddenly all ears while my body waits on something it doesn’t know it’s waiting for. “This is the time you’d be able to get me all by yourself. Handcuffed. Completely at your mercy.”

I can’t help the way my brain reacts because it’s instantly skeptical, while my body wants to show her what I can do when she’s bound and against my patrol car.

“Did you want me to drop you off at county lines?” I suggest it because it’s entered my mind before when she’s bugging the hell out of me, so why not just throw it out there? “That’s option one.”

She smiles faintly. “What’s two?”

“Givin’ you something to talk about with your girls while I lock you up for thirty minutes so I can eat.”

Adeline looks heavenward, but it doesn’t wipe the faint smile off her pretty pink lips. “And is there an option three?”

Why is she pushing me on this?

Because she’s open to seeing what you’ll do. If you’re finally going to just take what you want and not worry about the aftereffects.

Probably not.

Nonetheless, I’m on duty. Bowen is waiting for me because we’re about to swap shifts. Which means I can’t keep Adeline here while I go meet up with him, handcuffed and shit.

The town will have my damn head.

“If you want the third option, AK,” I say simply, passing the buck to her because she’d better be ready for what she’s about to do. If this is all bullshit and for meaningless teasing, I’m not here for it. “You’d best call me when I’m off duty to come over. I’ll bring the cuffs if you like them so much. Now…turn around.”

Adeline stares at me—probably in shock over my somewhat implication of what that could be—when she pushes off my fender and slowly turns around.

I make a pact with myself in this moment.

She calls me; she may need to call 911.

Because I plan on a lot of disorderly conduct in every inch of her house.

With her screaming my name.

4

ADELINE

“He said, what now?”

My best friend, Bobbie Jo, stops mid-snack because I couldn’t wait to tell her until tonight on our nightly calls.

Dodger Abbott is either messing with me or he’s serious. And I can’t read him because he’s so damn back and forth with me.

One minute, he looks at me like he can’t stand to be in my presence for another second longer.

The other, he appears like he’s ready to rip my clothes off and get down to it.

Today, he was in sheriff mode. He was assertive and on duty, clearly too busy to deal with me and my annoyance with Lucy Valor.

But she deserved it either way.

I don’t care how it looked; folks need to put her on neighborhood watch because she’s always pulling stunts like that and getting away with it.

It’s exhausting and rude.

Especially at a charity event for children of all things.