Women always seemed to swoon over a man in uniform. Especially when that man fought fires and rescued kittens from trees. But women firefighters? Yeah, they didn’t quite have the same effect on men.
“I don’t have a lot of time to date.”
“You don’ttakethe time to date,” Cindy corrected. She wasn’t wrong. “He’s interested in you. Just promise me you’ll think about it, okay? You guys both get the crazy hours and the inherent danger that comes with what you do. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
“Yeah. There is.” She suppressed a sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe once this case is over and things go back to normal. I promise I’ll think about it.”
They talked for another ten minutes before Izzy woke up and Cindy needed to go.
Even though Leslie tried to focus on the book she was reading, she couldn’t get what her sister said out of her head.
Was Cindy right when she said Clint was interested in her? The possibility caused her pulse to pick up speed because, if she were honest with herself, she was attracted to him, too.
Doubt clouded in, though, when she reminded herself of their current situation. She didn’t want to confuse his possible innate need to protect her with an interest that was anything more than that of a kind police officer who was looking out for her.
Leslie sighed, and she tried to focus on the morning ahead. No matter what she did, flashes of last night’s dream kept coming to mind. She wasn’t one to have anxiety attacks, but what if she got to the warehouse and couldn’t make herself go back in again?
She unleashed a groan of frustration. “Please, Lord, calm my mind. Help me focus on something Icancontrol.”
Her phone rang, and when she saw Clint’s name on the screen, the anticipation of talking to him displaced her nerves just a little. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. I, uh… I don’t want to overstep here, but I was wondering if you’d eaten breakfast yet.”
Her gaze fell on the unopened protein bar, and she almost laughed. “No, I haven’t.”
“How would you feel if I brought some donuts over? We could eat, then maybe drive over to the warehouse together.”
Having Clint here would make it a lot easier to forget about the dream. Maybe she could focus on something else besides the memories that kept swirling inside her head. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks for the distraction. “Are you kidding? That sounds great.”
“Oh, good.” He sounded relieved. “Because I already bought them, and I’m parked out front.”
Leslie laughed as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. He ended the call, and she slipped her phone into her pocket.
He approached the door with a large box of donuts inhis hands and a sheepish grin on his face. Once inside, he set the box on the table. “Hey.”
“Hey. So, what would you have done with all these donuts if I’d already eaten breakfast?”
Clint shrugged. “I guess the guys at the precinct would’ve been happy. Of course, you would’ve missed out on some chocolate donuts that look pretty amazing if I do say so myself.” He lifted the lid to reveal a dozen pastries, and at least half of them were either chocolate, had chocolate frosting on top, or both.
Her stomach growled loudly in response.
“You know me well, sir.”
“I try to pay attention to the things that matter.”
Was he referring to her love of chocolate or to her in general?
Her heart sped up in response to the possibility. He was watching her, a soft look in his eyes that had her frozen in place. Was it possible that Cindy was right, and that the attraction Leslie felt went both ways?
“I have chocolate milk,” she blurted out, breaking the silence. “Oh, and orange juice. Do you have a preference?”
That wasn’t awkward at all.
He chuckled. “Orange juice sounds great.”
She nodded. She filled two glasses of orange juice and retrieved a couple of plates. They chose their donuts and moved the box to a kitchen counter so they’d have enough space to eat at the table.
Leslie took a bite of her chocolate donut with chocolate frosting and was immediately glad she’d abandoned her protein bar.So. Good.
