Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
He shoots me a grin before he turns and heads toward the bar. I watch for a few seconds longer than I otherwise might have if his rearview wasn’t so drool-worthy. The way he carries himself is stupid hot. By that, I mean it shouldn’t even be something I find attractive, but I can’t help it. Ergo, stupid hot.
I almost jump right out of my skin when someone sets a hand on my shoulder. “Are you coming back to hang with us or will you be staring longingly after the chief all night?” Jana asks.
Fortunately, she does this right next to my ear so no one else could hear her over the music and talking. Otherwise, I’d be melting into a shame puddle on the floor.
Schooling my expression, I turn and give her a who, me look. “What? I was looking at the bar.”
The way she throws her head back and laughs makes it clear she’s not buying what I’m trying to sell. Turning her attention back to me, she grins and points to herself. “You know the saying, don’t bullshit a bullshitter?”
I nod. “Of course.”
“Take that and add on that I’m a cop. If this were an interrogation, I’d know you were guilty. Besides, why bother denying it? The chief is hot. I’ve checked out his ass a time or two myself.”
“Jana!” I laugh.
“What? It’s a really good ass. I’d probably still be checking him out if I saw him as anything other than a mentor slash bruncle.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Bruncle?”
“A mix between a brother and an uncle. He’s cool enough to be a brother, but he’s my boss, so there’s a lot of uncle thrown in. It’s a shame though.”
“What is?”
“That spending fifty percent of my days with two men who do nothing for me is throwing my ratio of hot-guy-to-single-girl way, way off.”
I raise a brow. “There’s a ratio?”
She looks at me like I’m whacked. “Um, yeah. Of course there is. Every girl has a certain amount of hot guys that’ll come across her path throughout her life. Tyler and Ben are on the hot list, but I’d never put either one of them on the board.”
“Is that because you’re in the friend zone with them or because it’s against department policy for co-workers to date?”
“Oh, there’s not a department policy against co-workers dating,” she answers.
Too fast though. Either Jana is the type to read manuals in her spare time, or she went looking for that specific policy. It’s a little suspect that she had that piece of information so readily available.
“So if another officer were to ask you out, you could accept without any problem?” I ask, trying to look innocent.
She gets a faraway look on her face, which is very enlightening. I see the very moment she realizes where I’m trying to go with that question. “Shit, you’re sneaky,” she admits with a laugh.
Before I can ask her which officer she likes, Tyler is back.
“You ladies planning to post up here all night?” he jokes.
As he asks, he holds out a red Solo cup to me. Jana and I assure him that no, we’re not going to stand in the middle of the large opening to the game area all night. We then make our way to the table Ben and the other two men are at.
As we walk, I think back to the lie I told myself earlier about looking for a hot guy at this bar. I’m freaking looking at three of them right now and I couldn’t be less interested if I tried. Tyler is the only man here who has my attention, and I don’t think that will change.
Arriving at the table, I say hi to Ben before Tyler gestures to the two men I don’t know.
First up is the one I’m positive I’ve never seen before. “This is Reese Elliott. He owns Elliott’s Engines over on Third Street. Great mechanic, terrible dart player. Reese, say hello to Ashley. She’s the new office manager at the precinct.”
Reese is sexy as all get out, but he gives off a vibe like he’s not to be messed with. One side of his mouth hitches up in a quasi smile as he shakes my hand. “For the record, I’m a great dart player,” he says dryly.
And that quickly, he turns away. He’s not rude, but his version of polite is done at top speed. My hand just barely has time to slide into his before he’s letting go. I can tell he doesn’t enjoy being the focus of attention, so I turn toward the other man at the table. Tipping my head to the side, I try to narrow down why he seems familiar to me.
“Ashley, this is Will.”
As soon as the name comes out of Tyler’s mouth, I put it together.
“Will Carter!”
The guy looks at me for half a second before his expression becomes one of recognition. “Ashley Colton,” he says as he leans in to give me a hug. “Holy shit.” He pulls back. “I haven’t seen you since probably the summer before college. How have you been?”