at nine in the morning, just so she could go back to sleep. She scanned her chicken scratching and prepared herself for what she’d agreed to.
Okay, not too bad. Interview for Just Between Us. The Atlanta afternoon talk show she usually watched while eating her breakfast.
Hmm, if this interview worked out, it could be better for business. That profile of her in the newspaper had already provided a nice spike in her income. More weeks like those, and she might be able to pay off the night scope and bullet camera.
Some women bought shoes.
Others liked purses.
Jessie couldn’t resist spy gadgets, and she’d been eyeing the Espion Digi-Cam Pen. Illegal in all fifty states, and with a price tag of over two grand, it was enough to make any gal squeal.
She rubbed the muscles of her neck. Sitting in the car always did hellish things to that area of her body. Then she saw the name she’d written underneath the time of her preinterview.
Cole Crawford.
Jessie blamed the fact that she’d fallen into bed way past four for not instantly recognizing it when she’d heard it. She was totally aware now. Her heartbeat quickened and her palms grew moist.
Hell, she was surprised she hadn’t written the O in the shape of a heart, as she had when she was sixteen. Over and over again in her history notebook she’d also doodled, “Jessie Crawford.”
What her sleep-deprived body hadn’t experienced this morning, she felt now. Full force. Her mouth went dry. The butterflies in her stomach decided to reemerge.
Maybe it was a good thing Cole Crawford had never kissed her. She probably would have dropped on the spot. Although dropped happy.
He’d been tall and lanky, and her idea of what a boy should look like.
What the hell? Her palms were tingling, for crying out loud. His name alone had her reverting to age sixteen. Without even trying. But then, that was always the way. Cole Crawford had never tried anything with her. Not once.
After dropping the envelope on the bed, she stomped into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her heated cheeks. She didn’t want to see Cole Crawford again. He was her ideal fantasy man, placed high atop his pedestal before she’d realized men could be jerks. He was all that a boy of her dreams should have been. Handsome. Smart. Big shoulders. Why would she ruin it by seeing him now?
Surely what she thought was hot in high school would not be what looked good today. Maybe those “big shoulders” had only appeared muscular and strong, because he was two years older. Maybe he was actually quite scrawny. What if he had grown a unibrow? A mullet? A person could change a lot in nine years.
Stop. Why was she doing this to herself?
Jessie had learned the truth long ago that Santa didn’t exist and neither did the tooth fairy. But for some reason she just didn’t want to destroy her faith that Cole Crawford was somewhere out there being perfect.
Almost every other illusion she had about life, like soul mates and fidelity, had been stomped into the ground. Couldn’t fate allow her to keep this one?
Unfortunately, she’d agreed to a fantasy-snatching appointment when she wasn’t thinking straight.
After a quick shower, she padded into her bedroom to peruse her closet. Her wardrobe didn’t elicit a lot of “oohs” and “ahhs.” She’d never needed much of one to begin with. Until she’d left the force, Jessie had worn her Atlanta PD uniform with pride. Home was casual—jeans and a T-shirt.
Maybe she should have tossed a few bucks toward adding another skirt or shirt in something other than black. But then, black was the only sensible choice on a stakeout.
Wait. There in the back. Something her mother had sent as a desperate attempt to make her girlie. Okay, it was lavender. Not her color of choice, but the blouse was at least professional looking. She paired that with a straight black skirt, her black high-heeled, steel-toed black boots, and her outfit was complete.
What would Cole think of her now?
And why would she care?
After pulling her long, straight blond hair into a ponytail, she brushed out her bangs. Jessie was ready to face the annihilation of her sole remaining castle-in-the-sky, whimsical delusion, which would make Cole Crawford just another guy.
And in case he wasn’t, she’d remind herself what kept him off-limits. Cole Crawford was married. With kids.
COLE LEFT HIS OFFICE and walked toward the studio’s break room. Jessie Huell should already be in the conference room, but he wanted to buy her a can of Coke before he joined her. He found that he was smiling, anticipating seeing her again.
Maybe they could have a laugh over it. He used to buy her a pop while she conjugated his Latin verbs. His dad had ridden his ass hard back then, and she’d been helping him out. After attending school all day and then working at Mr. Martin’s garage all afternoon, he could barely keep his eyes open for homework. Him bringing home a failing grade would have set his old man off.
Cole had probably escaped quite a few smacks due to Jessie’s talent with the future perfect tense. Man, at that time, with his day-to-day survival, he couldn’t even wrap his brain around the idea of the future. Let alone anything being perfect.
He hadn’t allowed himself to think of her. Not in years. What would have been the point? Now, he couldn’t wait to see Jessie, to note the changes time had made. Okay, she probably didn’t still wear her hair in those long braids, but he doubted her sweet smile had altered.
After buying her Coke, Cole rounded the corner and stopped. His skin grew hot. The bold woman with her back to him, reading one of the Just Between Us promo posters, was the kind that should be appreciated. Slowly.
He could spend a lot of time admiring this woman’s butt, so nicely packaged in the short black skirt she wore. Or that sexy stretch of skin between where her skirt ended and her boots began.
Did women know just how damn inviting that length of leg was? And those boots…feminine enough to show off an uninhibited sex appeal, but worn with an attitude that said she’d kick the backside of any man stupid enough to act like a jerk.
His kind of woman. A million carnal fantasies flashed in his mind.
He swallowed, feeling good. This was the first time in a long time he’d responded so physically to someone. But who was she?
The chill of the cold aluminum can finally jerked him back to reality. He needed to find Jessie. Cole looked down the hallway to see if maybe she’d wandered off. She was always curious. It was a trait that often got her into trouble. And had once saved his skin.
Then the woman turned and he forgot the cold.
Cole had been right. He’d never fail to recognize Jessie’s smile. It was still the same, but everything else had changed. She’d grown a little taller, and those shapely legs of hers invited serious appreciation. Her breasts, round and full, drew a man’s eyes. And that mouth, sensual and carnal, promised a lot of wicked things. The woman in front of him could never be called sweet.
Her brown eyes tipped
