Meagan’s smile faded as she bit down on her lip and looked away. “Um, I have to stop by my office. Maybe another day?”
I had no idea why she kept me at arm’s length all the time, but today I was bound and determined to show her exactly how I felt about her. After all, the chase would be worth it in the end.
“I’ll swing you by work. Do what you have to do and then you’re mine for the rest of the day.”
With a smirk, Meagan asked, “As friends?”
I held up my hands and nodded. “Friends.”
Meagan stood there and watched me intently before sighing. “Fine. I’ll spend the day with you, but I seriously doubt you can stay in the friend zone.”
“Is that a challenge, Ms. Atwood?”
With a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, Meagan gathered up her things and looked at me. “I call it like I see it, Mr. Bennett.”
Ah hell. This is going to be a fun day.
Meagan
GRAYSON GAVE ME that damn sexy smile of his as he motioned for me to start walking across the street. “I’m parked in the lot around the corner.”
My heart fluttered at the revelation he knew exactly where I would be this morning. Then again, he was a cop. Finding people was his job.
Risking a peek over my shoulder, I took him in again.
Good lord.
No one should look that good in a pair of damn khaki pants. Of course, with the blue button down shirt tucked into his pants it really showed how fit he was. Then there was the badge hanging from his belt.
Did the Earth just spin faster or something? Fuck.
Grayson walked to the passenger side of his silver Toyota Tundra. Opening the door, he motioned for me to get in. Normally he would take my hand or my elbow and help me in. I looked at him for a second before realizing what he was doing. With a smile, I handed him my stuff. “Will you hold this please?” I asked as I climbed up into the truck. The black leather seats were cold, even through my jeans. I sucked in a breath. The weather outside was beautiful for it being the middle of January, but it was still pretty chilly. This winter had been mild with hardly any snow so far.
“Here’s your stuff,” Gray said as he plopped it down on my lap. Okay, so he was totally taking this whole friends thing seriously. As he shut the door, I smiled and decided if he even tried to make a play on me I would totally cut it off.
Oh yeah. I have this one in the bag.
Grayson headed toward where I worked as he made small talk.
“So how are things going with work?”
“Good I guess. I have one kid who I’m really worried about.”
Even I could hear the worry in my voice. Mitchell was a smart kid and had everything going for him. Unfortunately, he had become the subject of bullying. It was tearing him apart.
“What’s going on with him?”
With a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. “He’s had some bullying going on. They don’t do it to him at school very often, mostly online.”
“Really? Who’s doing it?”
“Another teammate. He plays football and just got accepted to Stanford to play.”
I could see Grayson look over at me. “That’s amazing. Why in the hell is someone bullying him?”
With a shrug, I looked at him while he was sitting at a red light. “Why does anyone bully?”
A look of compassion moved across Grayson’s face. My heart melted a bit with that small gesture from him. “That’s true. Hurt people tend to hurt other people.”
“Yeah,” I barely said as I looked away.
Grayson pulled into the parking lot of Helping Hands and parked as I quickly opened the truck door and jumped out. Rounding the front of his truck, Grayson winked and laughed. “I promise not to treat any part of today like a date, but I am still a gentleman, Meg. Getting the door for you doesn’t mean I want in your panties.”
With a tilt of my head, I decided to test Mr. Bennett. “You don’t want in my panties, Gray?”
Without so much as a flinch, Grayson shook his head. “Nope.”
Huh. He’s holding out strong. Impressive.
Grayson pulled the door open and motioned for me to lead the way. Jennifer, the receptionist, was sitting at the desk with a bright smile. The moment she saw Grayson her mouth dropped open.
“Hey . . . um . . . Meg.”
Jennifer worked part time for us. Three days a week and Saturdays. She brought such a lightness to the office with her amazing sense of humor. Something we needed now and then with the type of work we did. “Hey, Jennifer. This is my friend, Grayson.”
I couldn’t believe how fast she jumped up and reached her hand out for Grayson’s. “Hi there,” she said with a purr.
Turning back to me, she asked, “Friend?”
My eyes darted between Grayson and Jennifer. “Yep. Just friends.”
That was her signal to flirt mindlessly with him. “Well hello there, handsome. Please tell me you’re single.”
Grayson laughed as he took Jennifer in. She was about five-six with flaming red hair. She gave me hell for two weeks when I dyed my auburn hair brown, along with my father who questioned why I wasn’t happy with my original color. I loved my new color though and planned on keeping it.