Goddamn, she had him on edge. She’d laid down the law: he wasn’t getting too far tonight. He knew and he accepted it, but she sure had a way of letting him know that when their time came, it was going to be well worth the wait.

“So what special dessert do you have for me tonight?”

“Nothing fancy. Just some fruit and whipped topping. I figured we had a rich dinner, why not a light dessert? You seem to have a sweet tooth, but this is a good kind of sugar.”

He grinned and reached for the little bowl of fruit she’d put in front of him, then added a generous amount of whipped topping. “I never had a sweet tooth before. Too many sweets cause cavities, and I’m not really fond of going to the dentist.”

She stopped and stared at him before she sat down in front of her own dish of fruit. “I might just have to change your mind about your dentist.”

“My mind has been changing pretty rapidly, it seems.”

“Enough to let me pull those other three wisdom teeth?”

“Hell no,” he said, digging in to his dessert. She’d have to do more than smile sweetly at him and cook him dinner for that to happen.

“It was worth a try,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

He needed to take his mind off of her flirtatious ways right now. “So what are your plans for this weekend? Lots of family time?”

“Some. My parents are driving up and will be here by midafternoon. They’re staying with Max for the week. We’ll have a family dinner on Sunday. Otherwise, nothing major. Most of their time will be spent with the kids. I’m sure my father will want to come in and check out my practice. He’ll also stop in and see Max. Maybe scrub in with him if he has a chance.”

“Can he do that?” Trevor asked.

“Max is still listed as a doctor for my father’s practice, so whenever he visits he can perform there. He’s been known to make special appearances for some of his past patients. It depends on the procedure. Some need or want something that he doesn’t have the resources for here. My father is also listed on Max’s practice, but that is just a formality more than anything. There isn’t too much being done here that my father would be interested in. It’s more so if he’s bored when he visits. Though I get the feeling he is taking less on at work.”

“Getting ready to retire?”

“Could be. He’s sixty-eight and in great health, but he’s been spending more time with us in the past few years. What about your parents?”

They hadn’t really talked much about his family. She knew the basics but that was it. “My father retired at fifty-five and started to collect his pension. My mother is a nurse and easily got a job when they moved. I say they’re retired, but they really aren’t. She works part time, my father works on motorcycles. He’s always had a love for them. Rebuilt a few Harleys when I was growing up. Now it’s a hobby he gets paid for. Nothing major. Just something to keep him busy.”

“That’s nice. Do you see them often?”

“A few times a year. We talk a lot. More about local gossip. They moved, but they can’t seem to disconnect themselves from what is going on here.”

“And that annoys you,” she said, smiling at him.

“What gave it away? My frown or the eye roll?”

“Both.”

She got up and grabbed their empty dishes and he followed her. He wasn’t going to let her do all the work. “I’ll help you clean up. That is if you’ll let me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked.

“Most people who have a fear of germs have to make sure food and dirty dishes are cleaned up to their standards.”

“You aren’t going to let me live that down, are you?”

She was smiling, so she took it as the gentle teasing he intended. “Nope.”

“Well, the dishwasher does all the work. I trust you to rinse every bit of food off the dishes before you put them in, though.”

He laughed. She might have been grinning when she said it, but he knew she was dead serious.

Once dinner was cleaned up and everything wiped down to her standards—the white countertops gleaming bright—they went to her living room. She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto her couch, then sat next to him and put her legs on his lap.

The move surprised him, but felt cozy and comfortable. Relaxing. Like a night an old married couple would have after everything was done for the day and they wanted to watch TV.

Having her legs over his lap wasn’t enough though, it was actually more like a tease, so he picked her up and put her rear right on his thighs, wrapped his arms around her, and brought his lips to hers. He couldn’t remember the last time he spent so much time thinking about kissing a woman.

She was sweet, she was intoxicating, and she was sucking him into her world.

“Trevor,” she said, nibbling on his lips. “You do know we aren’t going upstairs, right?”

“You were loud and clear earlier,” he said, kissing her again. “But this couch is nice and comfy and you did put your body on mine first.”

She laughed a little. “I did. I like how you feel. I like how strong you are. How you hold me, and hold me tight. I’ve never been a fan of aggression before, but it seems right with you.”

“This wasn’t aggressive,” he said, leaning back. “Was it? Did you think it was?” What had he missed now?

“I didn’t mean it that way,” she said. “I meant the way you hold me. I never liked being trapped in before, or held that tightly. I do with you. It doesn’t bother me like I always thought it would.”

More information he stored away. Her words weren’t always in line with her actions. But she wasn’t showing any restraint, so he wasn’t going to worry right now. “I’m glad it doesn’t bother you. I’d stop if it did.”

“I don’t want you to stop. I want you to be you. I want you to just act the way you want to, not to be worried about if I’d like it or not.”

“That’s an odd statement,” he said. “Of course I’d want to know if what I did or said bothered you.”

“I’m not being very clear tonight. Must be your lips are a big distraction.”

That was very promising to hear. “Really? I can put them to use in other ways.”

“I’m sure you could,” she said, smirking at him. “What I’m trying to say is, too many times in my life, people have tried to impress me by not being themselves. I want you to be you. I want you to just act like you. If I don’t like that person, then I don’t. But I want to know I’m making a judgment based on someone you really are, not someone you think I want you to be.”

“I’m being me. One hundred percent. You’ll learn one thing about me—I’m not out to impress people often. What you see is what you get. I’ll take their feelings into consideration, but I’ll never pretend to be someone I’m not just for the sake of impressing people.”

“I’m glad. I felt deep down what I’ve seen of you so far is real. It helps to hear you say that.”

 

***

 

Riley knew she was saying more than she intended to. She could only blame it on her hormones. On the fact that this strong sexy guy relaxed her enough to feel like she could just open up and be herself. That she didn’t have to look for hidden agendas and she didn’t have to worry about someone trying to win her over then changing afterward…or trying to change her.

Though she’d said all along she wasn’t bringing him upstairs tonight, she was slowly starting to change her mind. She was close to voicing that when his phone rang.

“Sorry. I need to get this,” he said once he looked at it. “It’s the dispatch office.”

He answered the phone, listened on the other end, gave a quick affirmation, then hung up. “I really hate to cut this night short, but I’ve got to deal with something.”

“Anything serious?” she asked, getting off his lap, her body cooling instantly with a ton of regret.

“Not anything that I really need to deal with, but it’s one of those things that’s better if I do.”

“Meaning what?”

“Two of my neighbors, well, two people on my street, have been going at it for twenty years. Things quiet down for a while and then they start back up. They’re always accusing the other of breaking their fences, or stealing flowerpots, even stealing food out of the gardens. Petty shit that drives me and the rest of the street insane, but someone has to keep them in line, and everyone looks to me to do it to keep the peace.”

“You’re getting called away for that?” she asked, grinning.

“Hey, the life of a small town chief of police. Don’t knock it,” he said, kissing her quickly. She was glad it wasn’t something she had to worry about him getting hurt doing.

“So what is it this time?” she asked as she followed him to her front door and watched as he slid his sneakers on. If she looked at his thighs flexing over the motion, she wasn’t saying.

“This time the Jacksons’ grandson was riding his skateboard in the shared driveway and scratched the Parkers’ old Buick.”

She felt her lips twitch. “I’m sorry.”

“Go on, you can laugh. I’ll go there and play peacemaker. Tell them it was an accident and the old Buick isn’t even worth as much as the kid’s skateboard.”

She burst out laughing. “You wouldn’t say that.”

“No, but I’ll be thinking it. I’ll come up with a more tactful way to phrase it before I get there.”

“I like that tact that you’ve got. Might be a nice thing to learn.”

“I think you’ve got more than you want to give yourself credit for.”

She grinned at him, then tilted her head, and said, “My door is open if you want to come back, but I’m sure since it’s on your street, you’ll just want to go home.”

“I’d love to come back. The problem is, you’re being wishy washy again and I don’t want you to regret that in the morning.”

She felt her jaw drop, then closed it. He was right. So very right. She said she wouldn’t do that, and she was. Worse, he’d figured it out. “How about Sunday night?”

“You’re having a family dinner on Sunday,” he reminded her.

“I am. It’s an early dinner. But I’ll make sure I’m home early enough for you.”

He gave her one more kiss, and said, “If you get home on Sunday and still feel that way, then give me a call. I’ll get here as fast as I can.”

“Don’t go breaking any speed limits.”

“I’m the chief of police. No one will stop me,” he said, tweaking her hair, then walking out the door.