Kayla really shouldn’t have liked spending the rest of the morning with Bryce. She really shouldn’t have. She really shouldn’t like eating an entire chocolate layer cake by herself either, but that hadn’t stopped her from doing that when he-who-should-not-be named left her high and dry.

Come to think of it, she only wanted things she shouldn’t when Big Life Events happened. Attempted robbery, even at fake gunpoint, was a pretty darn big life event.

So, it stood to reason that she was entirely within her rights to eat Bryce if she wanted to. Or lick him...maybe start at his forearms, trace the veins that stood out with her tongue. She bit down on the tip of her finger and stared at him while he mopped the floor.

“Oh yeah, baby, wash those hardwoods down,” she whispered. Nothing like a man who saw cleaning All. The. Way. Through. It had to be a pretty good indication of his stamina in bed, or his attention to detail. Either way, she couldn’t stop staring.

Crap, she had to stop staring. No good would come of her staring.

He glanced up at her. She snatched her finger out of her mouth and looked at it, as if examining a nail.

“Anything else before I go?” he asked.

“I think that does it,” she said with a smile. She shoved her hands into her pockets and moved closer to him. “Listen, about tonight—”

“You’re not getting out of it,” he insisted, handing her the mop. “Because I refuse to eat alone when there is a beautiful woman who’s already agreed to accompany me.”

She rolled her eyes as she hauled the mop and bucket to the back. “What if I show up like this?” she called out, shoving them into the cleaning closet.

“Cute.”

“No, seriously. What if I showed up for our date looking like this?” she asked, approaching him cautiously.

He shrugged, and then held up his hands. “I’m not going to make you have dinner with me.”

I’d like to see you try, buster. “Good to know.”

“Buuut. I really think you should reward me.”

The nerve. She glared at him. “For doing your job, Detective?”

He laughed. “I’m not on duty here. In fact, I could have kept right on eating,” he tilted his head to one side, “once I figured out the gun was fake. Just like Joe Stancil.”

She crossed her arms. “For your information, Joe Stancil had already called the cops.”

“The same cop who took twenty minutes to get here...hardly a fact I’d bet my case on.”

“I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t a case.”

“Thank God for that,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Seriously. Dinner. You. Me. Food. Again, it’s the very least you can do for the guy who saved you.”

“You saved me so you can blackmail me into dinner?”

“No. I’d never break the law like that.” His silver gaze roamed her body. “Though I wouldn’t be opposed to using my handcuff on you.”

Just get it over with and he’ll leave you alone, she told herself. It wasn’t like she’d never been propositioned before by an out-of-towner. Most men who came in here asked her out because they were looking for a good time, and thought she must be, too. By what logic, she didn’t know. Only, she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to leave her alone.

Besides the obvious attraction she had for him, and vice versa, she actually enjoyed flirting with him. He didn’t get all huffy or pissed, resorting to calling her names when she refused. Honey and baby inevitably turned into cocktease and bitch with all the others.

Bryce watched the play of emotions on her face while he waited, and he was going to wait until the sun went down if he had to. Normally, he wouldn’t have pursued a woman this hard, or cleaned for her, but there was something about Kayla.

Something sweet, sassy, and vulnerable. He hadn’t been lying when he praised her for being so calm when Tommy burst in. That was a real point in her favor. He dealt with hysterical (justifiably so) all the time in his line of work, so tended to avoid people who had that as their default setting during a crisis.

Besides, she’d had a traumatic experience, and he didn’t see what good would have come from leaving her alone. No friends or family showed up, beyond the deputy who was trying to set her up on a date. She hadn’t called anyone while he cleaned.

It was odd, and maybe a little sad. He had a big family, mostly an extended family of cousins, aunts, and uncles, but still, it was a family he could count on.

“Pick me up at seven,” she said finally, though they had already agreed to a time. But if this made her feel in control, then she could rattle off any number she wanted.

“I don’t know if I can get ready in time. My hair requires a lot of product. Maybe seven-ten?” he deadpanned.

She giggled, her hand covering her mouth. He wanted to take that hand, move it out the way, and tell her that no one should cover lips as full as hers because they were entirely kissable.

When her laughter subsided, she glanced at his head and asked, “Sure that’s late enough for your hair?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He stepped closer to Kayla, her breasts nearly brushing his chest. “See you tonight.”

She nodded and crept to one side, just a little, but it was enough that he noticed. Then again, he noticed everything about her, more than he should.

Leaving the café, he whistled for no other reason than he had a date with a hot woman. It was childish, really. But it felt good. And he hadn’t felt good in a long damn time.

Being a detective was, at times, a thankless job. One with pitfalls and burnout rates that would scare off most of the population. Hell, it did scare off most of the population.

Which meant they were the sane ones, and he needed to be locked up.

***  ***  ***

That evening, Bryce drove to Kayla’s house and arrived promptly at seven, flowers in hand. Maybe he was laying it on a little thick—again—since this date was supposed to be about her thanking him, but the sweet-smelling bouquet he’d purchased from the farmer’s market on the opposite side of the village couldn’t hurt.

He surveyed the cottage. It was a coastal style like many of the others with a low roofline, cedar-shake siding, and a tiny front yard. As he strolled to her front door, he could make out the multiple piers that jetted off the backyards into the sound. Boats were tied off at the ends. Here the streets were quieter, less traveled unlike the main thoroughfare of the village. He could tell that this side of the beach was where the locals made their homes.

All in all, a pretty nice set up.

One he wouldn’t mind visiting.

Not that he would be visiting Holland Springs any time in the foreseeable future.

The front door swung open and Kayla appeared, damn near taking his breath away. She wore her hair down in loose curls that flowed over her shoulders. Her dress was something out of a do-me-now fifties housewife style, with a fluffy skirt and a belted top.

But he could be persuaded to change his mind.

He dropped his gaze to her shoes. Flats.

Well, shit.  

Even if he’d allowed the barest hope to convince the tiniest portion of his brain that he could get lucky tonight, those shoes said ‘keep it in your pants, buddy’.

“You look stunning.” He wasn’t lying. She really did.

She gave him a sunny smile, one that rivaled the view of the sun setting behind her. “You clean up very nicely yourself.” Reaching up, she lightly patted the top of his head. She smelled...delicious, all feminine and floral—his favorite combination. “Hmmm. Not as hard as I thought it would be.”

That was because she had her hand in the wrong place. “I really could have used that extra ten minutes.”

Those beautiful lips of her widened. She laughed. “Your hair will survive.”

“These are for you.” He held the flowers to her and she took them, holding the bouquet close.

Burying her nose in them, her eyes closed in obvious bliss for a moment. “Bryce, these are gorgeous and smell divine. I really should put them in a vase of water...”

“But since you ran out of your house before I could buzz you, I’ll take that as a sign you don’t want to invite me in.”

She blushed. “I—ugh...Bryce—”

“It’s a pretty smart thing to do,” he assured her. “You don’t know me from Adam—detective or not. The shield doesn’t automatically make me a saint. I’m still a sinner.”

“What do they call you?”

“Depends on who’s doing the talking.” He couldn’t help himself. Teasing Kayla like this was already second nature.

“I’ll stick with calling you Bryce.” She skirted past him. “I’m starving. These can ride with me in the front seat.”

“Smooth, Fitzpatrick. Real smooth,” he mumbled to himself as he followed her down the tiny sidewalk that led to her driveway. His manners kicked into gear and in no time, his long gait caught up to her shorter one. He opened the passenger side door and held out his hand.

“At least let me help you inside,” he offered.

She glided by him, neatly jumping into his Jeep. “Flats make it easy to get in and out while wearing a dress.”

Smiling grimly, his jaw worked. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”

“You blackmailed me into going out with you.”

“So you’re telling me that all I needed to do, or rather should have done, is simply asked you out?” he said. “And you would have said yes?”

Her mouth opened and closed before she let out a long-suffering sigh. “No. I wouldn’t have said yes.”

If that wasn’t a kick in the gut...“Feel free to end this right now.” Over before it started, but at this moment, he preferred to have good beer and good food without her bad attitude.

Kayla’s gaze dropped to her lap. “It’s not you. It’s—” She slowly raised her head, her chocolate gaze meeting his. There was a vulnerability there that made his heart pinch. Strange since he was pretty hard when it came to people and their perceived problems.

“Go on. I’m listening,” he said gruffly.

She began to tear the petals on the biggest flower of the bunch. “I just got out of a bad relationship.”

“That makes two of us,” he said tightly. “However, I don’t make women jump through hoops because of it.”

Her lashes lowered, sweeping to her cheeks. “He broke my heart and cleaned out my checking and savings account.”

Shit. “Has he been caught? You’re pressing charges, right?”

“No,” she all but shouted, and then lowered her voice. “No one knows what Tate did, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“But he stole from you,” Bryce pointed out.

“I know, but everyone said he was bad news and I didn’t listen to them. Yet, for some reason, I have to tell you all about it so your feelings don’t get hurt.”

She had her pride and her self-respect. Both had been taken from her. Sympathy flowed through him. Not to mention that she cared about hurting his feelings. That was...nice, for lack of a better word.

“For what it’s worth, he was a sorry fucker for leaving you. Hell, if it were up to me, I’d track him down and make the bastard sweat a little before I persuaded him pay you back. Plus interest.”

“Thanks for offering to break the law for me,” she said with a little smile.

“Every now and then, I get a wild hair. Maybe one day, the right person will dare me to do something really bad.” He winked.

“All it takes is one good one,” she said sadly, like that was exactly what she had done with her ex.

“How about we start over? This time on the right foot.” He took the flowers from her, shaking the shredded petals to the ground before smiling at her. “You look beautiful, Kayla. These are for you, but they’ll keep until we get back.”

She bit her bottom lip and gazed up at him with a shy smile on her face. “Thank you,” she replied softly.

“Anytime, sweetheart.” He meant it.