us to my place. Tacos are my specialty.”
Half an hour later, she’d warmed the cooked ground beef she’d prepped yesterday, opened a can of seasoned black beans and nuked them, and pulled out every taco topping from the fridge.
They ate, every once in a while pausing to talk about the boats or houses they’d seen today. She couldn’t help thinking about Neil and comparing him to Brady. Other than the looks department—where Neil fared the worst—her ex was rigid and took himself too seriously. Neil had a lot rules. They’d started out merely insulting—don’t eat on the new sofa—and had graduated to troubling—check with me before you schedule a hair appointment.
Brady definitely wasn’t rigid, and while he took his job seriously, he didn’t seem to take himself that way. He was both laidback and protective—perfect for his profession. He could comfort and look out for someone while remaining alert. He was likable and able to deescalate a situation. Like at the bar with that guy Patrick. Brady had taken the other man from belligerent to willingly leaving in a matter of minutes.
“This is good. Thank you,” he said after he polished off his last taco.
“You’re welcome. Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
She fiddled with the spoon sticking out of the sour cream, suddenly shy about her curiosity. “When did you know you wanted to be a cop—uh, a police officer?”
“When Ant and I were wrangled up at age sixteen for skipping school to smoke pot at Library Park.”
“Yikes,” she said on a laugh.
“It was the only time we were caught.” His smile was reminiscent. “Officer Dickens. He retired a few years ago. You’d think most kids would be resentful of being busted, but he was cool. He told Ant’s parents and my grandparents what we did.”
“He ratted you out, and you liked him?”
“I did. Ant and I ended up doing community service, and I watched how people interacted with Dickens. They loved and admired the guy. I’d been content to bad-boy my way through my teens, but at that moment I knew what I wanted.”
“To be loved and admired?”
“Sounds cheesy when you say it. But, yeah.”
“And now the town adores you.” He was so darn likable. How could anyone help themselves?
He lifted one eyebrow in argument. “I’m less revered than you might think.”
“Give me an example.”
He chuffed. “No way. I’m trying to win you over, not scare you off.”
“I told you about my thievery and my law-breaking.”
“Right. The scandalous magazine heist and you ducking the law for three years for a lethal parking ticket.” He grinned, and she grinned back. So. Damn. Likable. “I was an angry kid. I stole money from my grandfather when I was a teenager, ran around with a rougher crowd. That’s how I met Ant, actually. He was a lot like me and didn’t have the stomach to be a true delinquent. But we could have been if we weren’t caught young. That entire summer, we picked up trash together and talked about what we wanted to do with our lives.”
“And he said chainsaw artist, and you said a cop?”
“Hell, no. At the time, I wanted to be a rock star, and he wanted to be a firefighter. Things change. What about you? Did you want to be an Elli Bean when you grew up?”
“I never knew.” She pulled in a deep breath. “I attained a degree in business…after several changes of my major. I think I just wanted to be…important. Seen. You know?” She felt foolish admitting that, until he nodded.
“Yeah. I know.” He watched her mouth for a second before those deep-green eyes trickled up to hers. Then he cupped her jaw lightly, swiped her bottom lip with his thumb once, and pressed his lips to hers.
Heat engulfed her.
When he started to pull away, it was Elliott who lingered, holding his wrist and deepening the kiss. Their tongues touched, and she was lost. He gripped the stool she was sitting on and jerked her closer, his full mouth gently sipping at hers.
Her skin sizzled. Her nipples peaked. Thankfully, she’d pulled a T-shirt over her bikini top, or else he’d see exactly what he did to her. Just how crazy he made her. They’d connected on a deeper level today. She refused to let opportunity pass her by.
He sifted his fingers into her hair, and familiar warmth pooled in her belly before trickling lower. When he paused, she regained enough common sense to pull away, her chest heaving. Meanwhile, her hormones were throwing a Welcome