Two of the women exchanged glances. "You and Ms. Appleton are acquainted then?" A leading question if there ever was one.
He gave her his best smile. "Oh, we're more than that. Bogart and Shay are in love. Have a nice evening, ladies."
As they moved on Shay came slowly to her feet. James looked good, better than her memories of him. Tall and solid, he was devastatingly virile in ways that models often aren't. Still, he was the very last person she expected to see.
She tried not to sound breathless as she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Bogart and I have been sent over to a place east of Raleigh to get some training next week. Seems all your spoiling has ruined him for police work."
He was surprised to see the look of stark dismay that came into her expression. "Joke, maybe?"
"Oh." She smiled but it didn't have much energy. It pained him to think she had been so battered by life that she couldn't take a joke.
Still, James wasn't about to apologize. There'd been too damn much of that already in this relationship.
He handed her Bogart's leash. "I need a burger. You coming?" He turned on his heel and started walking back down the street to where he'd parked his cruiser.
It was a daring move, but he didn't know how else to engage her without starting an argument on a public street.
He was halfway to the corner before Bogart came bounding to his side. A second later Shay was there, too, looking straight ahead. He glanced sideways at her and smiled. So far, so-so.
They paused when the light changed.
"How did you find me?" Shay tried to keep the strain of the last minutes of her day out of her voice but it vibrated there anyway.
First I ran a background check on you and came up empty so I put a professional on it. That didn't sound like the way to start the evening.
He settled for a version of the truth. "I looked you up. Found out you work for Logital Solutions. So I went by there this afternoon."
"I see." Shay ran a mental list of who might have told him what. "You spoke with my boss?"
"No. After I was politely told by your company's HR person that they don't give out information about their employees, a lady named Angie came over and put a note in my hand. It was this bank's address. I hope you don't mind."
Shay shrugged.
"She added her cell number, and said if things didn't work out to give her a call."
That forced a laugh from Shay. That was so Angie.
Conversation met a lull as they waited for the light to change. But it was a strangely comfortable silence.
Shay had almost convinced herself that she had overreacted to the crank call. More than likely the stupid jerk was someone who had been in the bank this week, noticed her nameplate, and was unhappy with his service. Disgruntled customers often chose anonymous ways to get back at institutions. He must have decided he'd get a live person to dump on if he called IT customer service.
That was a comforting theory, except for one thing. He threatened her very specifically. Keep your fucking mouth shut around the cops. Did he mean James?
Out on the street now at twilight, she couldn't shake the feeling of being exposed and vulnerable. That thought chilled her more than the nip of the cold front filtering through the evening air.
When the light changed, she reached out and took James's arm, needing to feel the solid assurance of his presence. He didn't say a word. She was grateful.
"Oh wait."
James turned as Shay dragged him to a halt.
"My car." She pointed in the direction opposite the one they were walking.
James thought about it only a second and then he said. "Right. I'll follow you and you can drop it off at your place before you come with us."
"I'd rather drive myself." Shay held her breath, waiting for his disapproval.
His expression didn't change. "Okay. But first." He caught her about the waist, lifted her chin with his finger and kissed her.
It was such a quick kiss she didn't have time to prepare or respond before he released her.
She stared him. "Why did you do that?"
He stared back. "Seriously?"
She nodded and turned around, not wanting him to see her smile.
She wasn't going to drag James into her problems. But if she went to dinner with him then, for a few hours, she would have protection. Her decision to be with him had nothing to do with the kiss. Absolutely nothing. Except, it had everything to do with it.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"I know." Shay mouthed the words and smiled at the pedestrian who had tapped on her passenger-side window while she waited for the traffic light to change. He was pointing behind her with eyes wide.
She glanced in her rearview mirror, no longer startled every time she saw James's cruiser filling up the view. It must appear to other drivers and pedestrians that she was being tailed because he made every turn and pause she did.
James didn't know Raleigh so he suggested she choose where they went. She decided on a place over on Morgan Street. By the time they'd made their way through rush-hour traffic, street parking was taken for blocks in all directions. They ended up in a multitier parking garage several blocks away.
When James came around his cruiser toward her with an easy smile, it reminded her she'd spent the entire drive trying not to think about the fact that he had kissed her. Which led to thinking about their night together. That made her body melt yet tighten with the reminder of what it was like to be under him, over him, with him inside.
Don't go there.
She looked past him. "Aren't you bringing Bogart?"
"No. It's standard procedure to leave K-9s in their crates unless being called upon to work. K-9 vehicles are equipped with a special engine-driven, temperature-controlled environment."
Shay looked in the rear window where Bogart stared back through the glass, ears pricked forward and head slightly to one side. "You be good and we'll bring you a treat."
He answered with a bright bark, as if he understood her.
James took her by the elbow and turned her toward the exit. "Why don't you think about you for a change? It's Friday night. You're out with a pretty decent guy who drove two hours to take you out to dinner."
When put like that, Shay could only nod. Actually, that sounded like heaven.
When he slipped his hand down her arm to take her hand as they walked, she had to resist the temptation to lean in against his arm. This time her reaction had nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with the most female part of her reacting to the male essence of him.
"Cold?"
He was looking down at her. That's when she realized she was shivering. But it wasn't cold sending little shock waves through her. These were pure sexual vibrations.
She shook her head, afraid if she spoke lust would coat her words with too much meaning.
When he put his arm around her anyway and pulled her in against him, a hurricane couldn't have forced her to move even one inch away from his muscular warmth.
Pushing through the door of the restaurant, they were met by the lights, noise, and crowded warmth of Raleigh TGIFers in full happy-hour mode. Surprisingly, a waitress with menus in hand waved them right in. She led them through the long, narrow establishment with a bar running the full length of the right wall and tables and booths filling the left. The aisle was clogged with patrons who, having spent the day at desks or in cubicles, preferred standing at the bar to sitting, while a thumping bassline filled the air with a heartbeat rhythm. The back room was less crowded only because the bar didn't reach that far.
"What'll it be, folks?"
Shay pointed to the beer menu for James's benefit. "This place carries beer from practically every brewery in North Carolina. Should be something there you'll like."
He shook his head. "Sorry, I'm driving a government vehicle. But you go ahead."
Shay looked up at the waitress. "Two O'Doul's, please." She didn't glance at James for fear of what she might see in his expression, perhaps gratitude she'd chosen to share a nonbeer with him. She wasn't certain she could handle any more positive vibes from him without embarrassing them both in public.
Her phone rang. It was Angie.
"Did he find you?"
"Hi. Yeah. Thanks."
"You sneak. He's gorgeous! Is he really a policeman?"
"That's right." Shay didn't look James's way because she didn't want him to know she was talking about him.
"Where are you? I hear music. And people. Is he taking you out?"
"I'm grabbing a burger."
"Is that safe, taking him out in public? Half the single female population of Raleigh will be on the prowl tonight. You are dressed to impress, right?"