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as quickly as she could.
    Back at home, she called Liv and begged for her help to get ready for her big date.
    Liv showed up breathless and eager less than five minutes later. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me immediately! Let’s go and get you an outfit while you tell me every last detail.” Liv pushed Maggie upstairs and made all the right noises as Maggie told her about the afternoon coffee with Shane as she got dressed.
    With her usually curly hair blown out straight and captured in a headband, the pleated skirt and sweater made Maggie feel vibrant and sexy too.
    “Very collegiate and sassy. Damn I’m good.” Liv looked her work over with a critical eye.
    “I know, without this I wouldn’t be going out with a man like Shane Chase at all.”
    -37-

    Lauren Dane
    “Maggie, you need to stop this. You’re still you. I told you before, it’s not like I turned you into something you weren’t. So I added a bit of sparkle. Shane Chase has been mooning after you since that night at The Pumphouse. A night you were covered in chili cheese fries and had your hair in a bun.”
    Ducking her head, Maggie hid her blush. She knew it was true but it was hard to overcome what she’d been told all her life. But she was too old to let her mother still make her feel inadequate. Taking a deep breath she stood up straight and held her head up. “You’re right. Thank you.
    He’s going to be here any minute. I’d better go downstairs. You going out with Shaun tonight?”
    “No, I’m going out with Tom Maddox, he’s picking me up in an hour. I should get home now. Speaking of Shaun, what’s up with Alex? What crawled up his ass last night?”
    “Oh my god! I forgot that I hadn’t told you about this yet.” Maggie related the whole story of how Alex had acted the evening before as they went downstairs.
    “Major red flags are waving with this guy, Liv. He’s seriously creeping me out. He called me eight times today! This guy is seriously not right.”
    “No shit. Why didn’t you tell me? You shouldn’t have even let him bring you home last night. You could have slept at my place.”
    “I know. It just kept getting worse and worse and it wasn’t until I was sitting here in the dark, wondering if all my locks were working that I realized how truly freaked out I was. Anyway, the little voice said get away and so I am.”
    “Well, that’s a good idea, Maggie.” Liv frowned. “Never ignore the little voice. Be extra careful around him, okay? You call 911 and then me if he comes around. You know you can come over any time if you’re feeling scared, too. You have a key for a reason.” Liv kissed Maggie’s cheek. “But for now, have a good time and I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow. I expect a full report!”
    -38-

    Giving Chase
    Grinning as she watched Liv jog down the block that separated their two houses, Maggie saw Shane’s truck pull onto her street. She ducked back into the house to check her hair and lipstick and grab her coat.
    She opened the door as he walked up onto the porch and she wasn’t quite sure where her breath went. He seemed to steal all the oxygen from the area where he stood.
    While she tried not to gawk, he looked her up and down and smiled.
    “Wow. You look beautiful.” He reached out to touch her hair. “I like the curls but this is nice, too. You can see all of the different colors of red better this way.”
    She blushed. “You’re really good at that. Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself, Sheriff.” Dark denim jeans hugged his long muscled legs. A black and gray sweater brought out the blue in his eyes and contrasted the color of his hair. Man, he looked so good she wanted to grab him and jump on him.
    One corner of his mouth rose. “Thank you, Maggie. Shall we then?” He indicated his truck with a tip of his head and she nodded. He helped her into his ridiculously large truck and they drove to Vincent’s. They shared small talk on the way over. Maggie was surprised by