Not that it would be an exchange. She hadn’t even been to his house yet. Logically, she knew it was probably because she got out of work first, but some part of her wondered if it was because it had been Mallory’s house. Because it was the house he dreamed of filling with children and he didn’t see her in it.
Which made no sense. He must think there was a chance she’d be that woman or he’d have moved on to a more likely candidate. It gave her a headache, trying to figure out where they stood.
He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head to face him. “Talk to me, Liz.”
“Just had a long day, that’s all.”
“Don’t lie to me. Please.” The look in his eyes made her want to wrap him in a hug. “No matter how bad it is, just say it. Don’t ever tell me what you think I want to hear.”
“We’re moving really fast,” she finally said. “It just makes me nervous.”
“Because I made a joke about breaking into your house?” He shook his head. “Or is it the uniform in your closet?”
“It’s a little bit of everything, I guess. I just want to keep spending time with you without worrying that you’re in the fast lane and I’m in the slow lane just trying to keep up.”
He tossed his WPD cap on the counter so he could run his hand over his hair. “It’s not a race. And I’m not trying to rush you. I know you’re still exploring your options and I just want to stay near the top of the list, I guess.”
“Why does it have to be a one or the other kind of list? I can’t have you and explore other options in my life, too?”
“The time will come, though, when I’ll ask you to commit to exploring those options in Whitford, though. This is my home and it’s where I want to spend the rest of my life and raise my kids.”
Liz turned and grabbed a jar of peanut butter to put in the cabinet. “See? Back to the kids.”
“You know that’s what I want in the future.” He took the jar out of her hand and set it back on the counter before turning her to face him. “The future, Liz. I’m not stupid. You’ve been back, what? A little over a month? But I’m also not going to pretend having children isn’t a big deal to me just because that’s what you want to hear.”
“That’s not what I want, either. I just want some reassurance you’re in this relationship for me.”
“I’m here because I like spending time with you. Because there’s nobody else I’d rather be with and nothing else I’d rather be doing. It’s that simple, Liz.” He looked at her, his jaw clenching for a few seconds. “If you want me to take my uniform home and give you some space, I’ll do that.”
“No.” She didn’t want that. “I like spending time with you, too. I want you to stay.”
“Good choice.” His expression cleared and he smiled at her. “Because I was going to fix that drip in your faucet while you made dinner.”
“Plumbing skills are a very sexy quality in a police chief.”
When he put his hands on her hips and hauled her in for a kiss, Liz sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Now that she wasn’t feeling pushed, she was free to enjoy Drew without the nagging doubts rattling around in her head.
And she intended to enjoy the hell out of him tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
Drew wanted to take the phone from his desk out to the parking lot, put it under the wheels of his truck and drive over it four or five times. Or quit. He could resign and go fishing until he ran out of money. Then he’d fish some more because he wouldn’t have a lawn to mow and he’d need food.
His body was still adjusting to going to bed a little earlier and getting up a lot earlier, and today everything that came across his desk was pretending to be an emergency.
“Chief,” Barbara’s voice came from the doorway. “I really need an answer from you about scheduling the school emergency response drills because it takes time to pull it together and it needs to happen before school’s in session again.”
“I’m not here. I went home sick.”
“That might work on the phone if you do the fake cough thing, but it doesn’t work when I’m standing right in front of you.”
He sighed and looked at the calendar hanging on the wall to his left, which Barbara filled out for him. “You know my schedule. Tell the fire department to pick three dates and then you pick the one with the least amount of things scheduled around it.”
“We’re trying to coordinate with the state, too, so...”
He looked her in the eye and used his stern police officer voice. “Pass this to the fire chief. Tell him to contact the state and pick three possible dates and then you pick the one that works best for me.”
“Yes, sir.” She tilted her head, giving him a good looking over. “You know, you really need a haircut before the parade. Maybe you should go do that now. And by the time you’re done with that, it’ll be late enough so there won’t be any sense in coming back.”
He got that message loud and clear. And she didn’t need to tell him twice. “I think you’re right, Barbara.”