“It’s lovely to meet you, Skye.”
“You, too, Elliot.”
He grinned in a way that had his dimple showing again, and she was pretty sure her ovaries spontaneously combusted. Holy freaking cow, was he hot. And nice. And, oh...not to mention brave as hell, going up against that guy the way he’d done. It was like he hadn’t even cared that the junkie had been pointing a gun at him. He’d only seemed to be worried about her, and that little fact was dangerously close to melting her into such a huge, embarrassing puddle of I’m crushing on him so bad and seriously want to have his babies it wasn’t even funny.
When she heard the sirens in the distance, she cleared her throat a little, just in case her voice came out all rough with lust, and told him, “I called the cops as soon as I got away from him. That’s what I was doing in the kitchen.”
She could have sworn she heard him mutter “Shit” under his breath, but when she looked up from his broad chest to his face again, he didn’t look angry or upset. She honestly didn’t know what to make of him, her emotions all in a jumble where he was concerned. Desire, gratitude, awe and no small amount of disbelief. The guy could have any freaking woman he wanted, and yet, he was looking at her as if he wanted to pull her into his powerful arms and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her.
“Come on,” he said, jerking his chin toward the door. “Let’s go outside and talk to them where it won’t be so loud.”
Skye went and grabbed her purse and coat from the break room, then had a quick chat with her manager. When she came back and joined Elliot near the booth where he’d been sitting before all the madness had started, she saw that he’d pulled on a black jacket that looked incredibly good on him. He gestured for her to take the lead, and she purposefully didn’t look at the jerk-off that was still passed out on the floor, a couple of the younger male customers keeping watch over him until the cops arrived. Elliot opened the door for her, then followed her outside, the chilly December air making her huddle deeper into her coat. They stood together on the sidewalk in front of one of the diner’s massive windows, and she was about to ask him what he was doing in town, curious about what had brought him to a place like Charity, his accent making it clear he wasn’t a local, when the first cop car pulled up in front of them, parking at the curb on the far side of the road.
This time, she was the one who muttered “Shit” when she caught sight of the stocky, good-looking policeman climbing out the passenger-side door. She blinked as he made his way toward them with an arrogant stride, hoping her vision might clear and the guy would suddenly morph into someone she didn’t want to kick in the balls every time she ran into him. But no such luck.
This cocky jerk wasn’t just a cop. No, coming straight toward them was one Officer Derek Carlton—her freaking ex-boyfriend from hell!
At that moment, Skye kind of wished there was a hole in the ground that could just conveniently swallow her up. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was talk to Derek, and especially not in front of Elliot.
Please, God, don’t let him be an ass. If he embarrasses me, I’m going to kill him. Or castrate him.
Seriously, what next tonight? Maybe it would start raining a little fire and brimstone. Or a tornado would sweep through the center of town. Who knew? They might even be attacked by a deranged, ax-wielding Santa. That certainly seemed to be where her luck was headed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Elliot asked in a low voice, shifting a little closer to her side.
She gave a tired sigh. “The cop headed toward us—he’s my ex.”
“You were married to that guy?” His deep voice was all rough with shock, and she could feel the heat of his stare burning hot against the side of her face.
“God, no.” She shook her head, and shot him a look that no doubt said I’d rather be anywhere but here right now. “Ex-boyfriend. We went out together back in our senior year of high school.”
He grunted in response, and a heartbeat later, Derek reached them, looking as smug and as full of himself as he always did. Before he could get a word out, Skye said, “Elliot, this is Officer Carlton. Derek, this is Elliot. He’s a customer at the diner.”
Neither man said anything, since they seemed to be too busy staring each other down, and she ended up just rambling on. “Elliot is the one who saved the day. He disarmed the robber and made sure no one got hurt.”
Derek slowly brought his gaze to hers, and she could tell by his tone that he was going to be a dick. “How do you know him, Skye?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she spoke through her gritted teeth. “I just told you, he’s a customer.”
Derek cocked one pale brow. “A regular?”
Skye rolled her eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? You should be thanking him for doing your job for you, not asking stupid questions.”
Derek glared, and she drew in a deep breath to keep going, only to stop short when she felt Elliot place his big, strong, deliciously warm hand on her shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze, letting her know in a supportive way that she needed to calm down.
Right, she thought. Okay, I can do this. She could be calm...and civil. It just meant burying the hurt she felt every time she came into contact with this jerk.
It seemed so bizarre now to think that there’d been a time when she’d thought Derek was the hunkiest, greatest, most awesome guy she’d ever known. She’d secretly crushed on him for months her senior year of high school, and had nearly died from excitement the day he’d come up to her after math class and asked if she wanted to go out with him on Friday night. It’d been like a dream, the star running back of the football team asking out the poor, chubby girl who only had Vivian for a friend. And he’d been so sweet and persistent, she’d found him impossible to resist. So much so that she’d ended up giving him her virginity when they hit their four-month mark, only to find out the next week that he’d been banging five cheerleaders from three other schools the entire time they’d been together.
She’d learned a hard lesson from the experience, and it wasn’t one she ever planned on forgetting.
Stepping a little closer to her, Derek lowered his voice. “I’d like to talk to you alone for a minute.”
She shuddered, and knew that Elliot must have felt it, because he moved his hand off her shoulder and pulled her into his side instead. And, oh geez, did it feel good to have this gorgeous hunk’s arm wrapped around her waist. She’d have preferred to stay right where she was, but from the look on Derek’s face, it was clear he was going to cause a scene if he didn’t get his way. And Skye had already had enough drama for one night. So with a muffled curse, she pulled away from Elliot, giving him an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t argue with her—but he sure as hell didn’t look happy about it, either. “You sure?”
She nodded, and couldn’t help but smile at him. “Will you wait for me? I don’t want to miss being able to say goodbye.”
Something warm and delicious began to smolder in the depths of his dark, hooded gaze. “I’ll be right here. I won’t take my eyes off you.”
She caught her lower lip in
