Instead of being tucked up in bed, I paced the waiting room of Monroe Police Department wearing soggy clothes, stringy hair, and ruined heels. As I was eating my body weight in cookie dough ice cream after the dinner from hell, I’d received a call notifying me that the alarm at Sass had been triggered. I called the police as I drove to my store. The PD was five minutes from Sass, and I was ten minutes away, so I assumed that when I pulled up I would be met by an officer. That assumption was my first mistake. My second was having a hissy fit in the waiting room of Monroe Police Department and unknowingly getting the attention of every member of the staff.

Captain Santora appeared from the office that David had disappeared into and made his way to the counter.

“Sasha?” he queried as he took in my dishevelled appearance.

“The alarm at Sass was triggered and I called, but when I arrived no one was there. I’d go in myself, but—”

His eyes flashed when I mentioned going on my own. “We had a situation tonight and there have been fatalities, so the department is a bit backed up.”

I sucked in a breath. “Oh, my god.”

“Yeah, honey. David has been manning the phones and counter on his own,” he said with a long sigh. He looked tired, and here I was ranting like a total lunatic. “We’ll get someone to Sass. It might take a little time though.”

Regret immediately flooded me. Here I was ranting like a total lunatic and unleashing not just bitchy Sasha, but also hissy fit Sasha onto an unsuspecting David who was just doing his job. My gaze darted to the office, and I decided that there was no time like the present to apologize.

“David, I’m sorry for being a total, over-the-top bitch,” I said loudly. “Come to Sass and you can get something for your girl to compensate for dealing with bitchy Sasha. Totally on the house, whatever you want.”

David stepped out of the office and made his way to the counter while shaking his head and fighting a smile. “No need to apologize, Sasha.”

“I’m serious, come and see me on your next day off and you can choose something for your girlfriend, because most of the stuff there is pretty girly. It’s the least I can do for making you deal with all of this.” I waved my hands wildy around my face and body to emphasize my point.

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t have a girlfriend, and girly shit wouldn’t suit my apartment.”

“What?” I screeched, slapping my hand hard onto the counter and leaning toward him. “How do you not have a girlfriend? You are a hottie. Captain, tell him he’s a hottie. Look at those cheekbones, that stubble, those lips. David, let me tell you, girls like all those things, and you’re ticking all the boxes.”

“Christ,” Captain mumbled and didn’t answer my question. “How about we get back on topic?”

Oh right, yes, the fact that my store’s alarm went off.

“I got the call when I got home tonight. I got in my car, called the PD, and drove to Sass thinking someone would meet me there.” I met his eyes and dropped my voice. “I don’t have anyone to call, so I came here.”

“How are you doing?” he asked quietly, clearly sensing that my mood had shifted from feisty to solemn in the space of a couple seconds. Living in a small town meant your business wasn’t your own for very long, so most people of Monroe knew the history of the Hamilton’s. Being asked if I was okay wasn’t unusual, but as usual, I gave them a smile and went about my life the best way I could, and that was with my head held high, a smile on my face, and fierce determination in everything I did.

“I’m good,” I lied through a smile. “I’m just tired and worried about Sass. I’ll call Missy’s dad and see if he can meet me. There’s too much going on here to worry about sending someone down there.”

Concern flooded his face as he observed me, and I had no clue what to say, so I stood there and kept my mouth shut.

“We need to find you a man,” he stated matter-of-factly, shocking me to the core.

“Uh, I’m happy living the bachelorette lifestyle,” I declared with a girly snort. “And anyway, do you really think there is a man out there that could put up with me?”

The smile he shot my way told me he understood what I meant. His wife, Rose, loved my store and dragged him there every Sunday. While she charged things to the credit card, he chatted with me, and we got on like a house on fire.

“You ever need Rose or me, you come find us. I don’t like thinking of you living alone in that house by yourself. Since your Daddy died and your mother—” He hesitated, and his eyes grew soft as I felt my face freeze. “Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to bring her up.”

Every time someone mentioned her, a chill crawled up my spine and I froze. These days she wasn’t brought up often, but when she was, I was tossed back to being a fifteen-year-old girl whose world completely imploded. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since she left. There were no calls, no birthday cards, no congratulations on graduating college—nothing. Having to experience all of my firsts without the advice of my mother hurt the most. A girl should never have to experience her first boyfriend, her first broken heart, and her first kiss and awkward thoughts of intimacy without her mother. The moment she left, the life I knew changed forever.

I became distant, and super protective of what remained of my innocence. But as the years passed and I became an adult, my innocence died along with any hope that she’d return. That one moment molded the life I now lived, and it fueled my decision to depend on no one but myself. If my mother, my own blood, could choose to leave me, why would anyone else want to stick around? I, Sasha Hamilton, was a walking example of what abandonment issues looked like.

“I'll take her.”

The voice guilty of sending pleasurable shivers down my spine sounded behind me, and my eyes slammed shut. Sucking in a deep breath and pulling back my shoulders, I opened my eyes and slowly spun around to confirm who I knew was there.

And boy, was he there.

Ben Hunt leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his broad chest, his body covered in black jeans and a black shirt that was like a delectable second skin. His hair was crazy, his chin covered with light stubble, and those eyes locking me in place.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered with a sigh. Why was this man everywhere I went these days? “Are you stalking me? Like seriously? What are you doing here?”

“Sasha, this is Detective Ben Hunt,” Captain Santora introduced, and Ben’s eyes never left mine, though his lips did twitch.

Detective Ben Hunt.

Well. Shit.

“Is there someone else that can take me?” I asked quickly, tearing my eyes from Ben’s and looking back at Captain. “How about David? There’s nothing like the present to repay him for being bitchy. I’ll take him for coffee. I’ll bring everyone coffee.”

“You got a problem with me, sweetheart?” Ben asked in a low tone that conflicted my emotions.

I was drawn back to him and watched as he pushed off the doorframe and stepped toward me. Why did hearing him call me sweetheart cause me to flounder between wanting to record him so I could always hear it, to begging him to never call me that again?

I scoffed and put my hand on my hip. “I already owe you for lunch, so this would mean I am indebted to you for something else.”

With that, his eyes flashed and he smirked. “There are worse things than having you in debt to me. Now let’s go, or is there something else you’ve gotta say?”

I shot a desperate look to Captain Santora, but he showed me no reason to believe he was going to be any help. My next hope was David, but when I turned to him, he was flat out smiling.

“Honey, you are in good hands,” Captain Santora acknowledged, and his eyes bounced between Ben and me. “Ben will take good care of you.”

I didn’t want anyone to take care of me.