Page 68 of Then Came You

Yet despite all that, he still wanted to be with her. Stella was right. From here on out, Gillian was going to embrace the second chance she’d been given. And maybe, just maybe, Owen wanted that for her too.

Chapter 22

Gillian’s front door swung open before Sam had even knocked. She and Cocoa were standing there, the dog’s tail thumping loudly against the wood floor and Gillian with a welcoming smile.

“I got here as soon as I could.”

“I believe you.”

His gaze swept over her. She was wearing a silky pajama set with vertical pink stripes against a soft gray background. The top had buttons down the middle and a pocket over one breast. The pants flowed out from her waist and touched the tops of her pretty feet. He noticed she’d polished her fingernails and toenails, and he wondered if she’d done it for him.

He’d changed from his uniform into his casual clothes before he’d left the station, and he’d also tucked a couple of condoms in his back pocket just in case.

“Are you hungry or thirsty?”

He shook his head while he petted Cocoa.

“Come in and sit down,” she said as if she’d just realized they were still standing in the entranceway.

They sat on the couch, and she shifted sideways to face him while Cocoa settled at his feet. I wouldn’t mind coming home to this every night, he thought, recalling what he and Dax had talked about earlier.

“How was the rest of your shift?”

“Well, let’s see. I issued a couple of tickets, one for speeding and one for a suspended license, broke up a domestic dispute between two brothers, and rescued an old lady who was locked out of her car. The usual.”

“A policeman’s job isn’t as glamorous as people make it out to be.”

“True. We spend more time doing paperwork than anything else. High-speed chases and drug busts are few and far between, although TV and movies make it seem otherwise.”

“I learned that from…”

He squeezed her knee. “It’s okay. You can say his name.”

“Owen,” she finished with a grateful smile.

“I figured.” He reached out and picked up her hand, which felt particularly soft and smooth against his calloused one.

“How was the rest of your day?”

“Let’s see. I sold a few copies of Harry Potter, served up a lot of coffee, and watched Savannah flirt with the male customers. The usual.”

He laughed. “Does Savannah ever not flirt?”

Gillian shook her head. “It’s very rare and usually means that something’s wrong.”

“I take it she won’t be settling down any time soon?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. She likes to play the field, or in her case, the whole stadium! On another note, Stella stopped by tonight.”

He sat up straighter. “Why? Did she see someone hanging around here again?”

“No. Apparently, they caught a guy trying to break into one of our neighbor’s houses. It might be the same one who tried to break in here.”

“Awesome. Score one for law enforcement!”

“I thought you might have heard about it at the station.”

“I wasn’t there that long. I was out on patrol.”