beauty, her fearlessness, or the depth of her dark eyes? Or was it because she reminded him of Naomi?
“Wasn’t her,” Dom announced.
They were fighting for nothing, getting on each other’s last nerve like teenagers waiting for a girl to call. “Forget this shit. Let’s go out for dinner.”
Grayson changed into Wranglers and a hockey jersey. They’d probably hit the wing place near the fire hall. He needed to clear his thoughts of Stephanie Vasquez. She was a virtual stranger. And he wouldn’t let a woman get under his skin.
They took Dom’s pickup truck. He had it pimped out with custom chrome and raised suspension. It was his baby, and even Grayson wasn’t allowed to drive it.
A night out after a long shift was just what the doctor ordered.
* * * *
“What are you doing tonight?” asked Stephanie.
“The guys are taking me to the movies.”
“On a Wednesday?”
Tammy giggled. She hated talking to her friend when she wasn’t alone. Her firefighter ménage was sickeningly sweet when she was sitting alone in her apartment with no prospects. “It’s the last day of their shift, and then I have them to myself for a week.”
“Right.” She sighed. “It’s too bad about those cops,” said Stephanie.
When Grayson Myers gave her his phone number, it was like receiving the golden ticket. She felt honored, thrilled, and ready to call after the customary twenty-four-hour wait. But when she’d mentioned her great fortune to Tammy, she was told stories which turned her off completely. Apparently, they were players and into some kind of heavy kink. She’d had her share of cheating boyfriends and couldn’t handle another one. Why did she think such eligible men in uniform would be relationship material? If they were, they’d already be taken, with a dog and 2.5 kids.
“You could do better,” said Tammy.
She’d tried. The jerks flocked to her and the decent guys were intimidated. “I guess. I’m taking a walk. Have fun at the movies.”
Stephanie slipped on a light jacket and grabbed her keys. She enjoyed walking in the early evenings when the birds were still chirping and the sky was close to shifting colors. There was a Tim Horton’s on nearly every corner, so she always brought her mini purse that she hooked across her chest.
Her spirits were in much better shape than earlier in the week. Nobody at work had asked her if she’d seen anything suspicious when taking pics of the car. They probably just assumed she’d mention something if she had. Her initial upset had passed, but she still didn’t want to relive it under an interrogation. It was best to let the police deal with it and do their job.
On her way home from her hour-and-a-half-long walk, she picked up a French vanilla cappuccino. She ran into Gabe and his dog about ten minutes from home. He was cute, and she would have tried to snare him a year ago, but he was gay and taken.
“Nice evening,” he said.
“Gorgeous.” She bent down to pet the hyper little Jack Russell. “So cute.” The dog braced its front paws on her knees, trying to lick her face.
“This guy bothering you?”
She turned her head to see where the deep voice resonated from. It took her a minute to place the two men. They looked like quarterbacks, out of place on her stomping grounds. Grayson and Dom waited for her answer . Idiots.
“No, he’s not bothering me.” She stood up. “He lives in my building.” Stephanie waved as Gabe continued up the street.
“Just double-checking,” said Dom.
“Why are you both out of uniform, and what are you doing in this area?” So, it wasn’t just the uniform that attracted her to them. It was the men.
“My truck is just up the street.” Dom pointed to an oversized pickup half a block away. “When we saw you walking this area alone, we thought it would be safest to keep an eye on you.”
“You mean you followed me?”
“It’s a bad area. A cute thing like you could get into a lot of
Lynn Vincent, Sarah Palin