Gina ignored her cartwheeling stomach at the mere sight of those full lips and that chiseled chin. Not to mention the heat that pooled low in her belly every time he said her name. What the hell? She and her body needed to have a serious talk about who it was allowed to be attracted to. An anal-retentive cop was not supposed to be on the menu.
“I don’t see why I’m the one in trouble here. He’s the one who caused all this by parking illegally in a driveway in the first place,” she said, jabbing her finger in the direction of Mr. Red Convertible who was hastily making his getaway. “But he’s leaving now, we’ve exchanged insurance info, and everything’s good.”
Rick nodded, but kept writing. “Good. I’m glad. But I can’t let you off the hook here. Driving while on the phone is a hazard.”
Gina folded her arms across her chest. Not even the way Rick’s ass was molded to his uniform made up for this load of bull. “I understand that, Officer, but what was I supposed to do? Our driveway was blocked. I had to make a quick call to remedy the situation. Double-parking would have been worse, so I had to know if the coast was clear. And now it is. Problem solved.”
“I really am sorry, Miss,” he said, giving her tit for tat on the formal addresses. Touché. “But you can’t break the law whenever you want just because it’s more convenient for you.”
“Why the hell not? Everyone else does. I don’t see you throwing tickets at all of them.”
“Hang around him more,” his partner piped up. “He gets real happy with that pad of his. Hell, he gave his own sister a ticket for being on the phone in the car.”
“You gave your sister a ticket?” Gina asked him. “I bet you were fun to grow up with.”
Rick glared at his partner, who laughed and folded his arms, and then he turned his attention back to Gina. “All you had to do was circle the block again. It might have been inconvenient, but it wouldn’t have taken all that much time and this little fender bender wouldn’t have happened. Someone could have been seriously hurt.”
“Yeah, but no one was. So you’re punishing me for a hypothetical situation.”
“Noooo,” he said, drawing the word out and looking at her like she was a misbehaving child. “Laws are created to prevent the hypothetical situations from occurring. And you are getting a ticket because you broke the law. I don’t want to give it to you. I’m only doing my job.”
“Well, you could have fooled me. You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
He leaned in a little. “Maybe I’m just happy to see you.”
Gina blinked up at him, her mind momentarily stunned into speechlessness. Saying things like that was soooo not fair.
“I…you… Stop saying stuff like that. If you were so happy to see me, you wouldn’t be doing your best to piss me off. I can’t believe you’re seriously writing me a ticket. I mean, what’s the point of knowing a cop if you’re going to get shafted, anyway?”
“Yeah, everyone wants to be my friend because they think it’ll get them special treatment. That’s not how it works. I’m sorry if you thought that knowing me meant I’d look the other way while you break whatever law you want. But I’m not that kind of cop.”
“He’s not,” Joe chimed in again. “Now me, on the other hand, for that gorgeous smile of yours, I’d wipe your record clean in a heartbeat.”
Rick flashed his partner another irritated look that under normal circumstances Gina would have found funny. They had a very been-married-forever vibe going on. But since Gina could really not get another ticket for phone violations, the situation wasn’t remotely amusing. This was her third strike in that area. Which meant a huge fine. And possibly three points against her.
“I need to see your license and registration, please,” Rick said.
Gina glared at him, speechless for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “Of all the blowhard, hard-ass, rigid, by-the-book, arrogant, son-of-a-bitch cops I could have gotten strapped with, you seriously take the cake.”
“Of all the law-breaking, rule-bending, crazy, dangerous, risk-taking, breathtakingly beautiful would-be criminals I could get stuck with, you seriously take the cake.”
“Stop doing that!” Gina said, starting to get light-headed from the hot and cold he was blowing.
“Stop doing what?” he asked, that half smile on his lips again.
“You know what. You can’t fight and throw in compliments, too.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Huh. Why not? “Because…it’s weird.” She stepped closer so only he could hear her. “Because you can’t be pissed at me and attracted to me at the same time.”