As soon as she said it, she stilled, blinked, and watched him.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
Her eyes narrowed, as if reading his mind.
“So…you want any help with that?”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered, turned on her heel, and stalked away from him.
But Mack would swear he saw a grin on her face before she left.
Amused and granting himself permission to treat today as a victory, he rejoined his mom and brother, in the mood for a family breakfast after all.
***
Cass stomped back to her car, glad she’d had the foresight to bring a towel with her. At least she’d keep her car seat fairly clean while she drove home.
“Yo, you coming over later?” her partner asked.
She turned to see Jed standing by his car, his wife and the twins already inside and no doubt buckled up. “Who’s cooking? You or Shannon?”
Jed frowned. “Why the hell does that matter?”
She just looked at him.
He sighed. “Shannon’s cooking, okay?”
“I’ll be there.” She gave him a thumbs-up.
He glowered before entering his car and driving away.
Cass chuckled. Her amusement lingered on the drive home. Though she’d never admit it, she thoroughly enjoyed the competitive games she played as a Top Cops team member. Challenging—and usually beating—the other teams in their countywide sports league was so satisfying. Cass played to win. Why else bother playing?
The Burning Embers, those arrogant no-neck men and women firefighters, always gave as good as they got. She could respect that. Even though they’d both lost today, they’d put up a heck of a fight.
She particularly liked the very handsome, sarcastic, and frustrating Mackenzie Revere, though she’d deny it ’til her last breath. From the first time she’d seen the guy, she’d been dumbstruck.
Short, dark-brown hair framed an unforgettable face. He had amazing cheekbones, a straight nose, a square chin, and bright-blue eyes. And when he smiled…good night, but he could stop a girl in her tracks. He’d surely stopped hers. That was to say nothing of his perfectly proportioned, muscular, long-legged body. Or of his seasonal tan that said he liked the sun. She’d once seen him with his shirt off during softball season in the summer…Whoa, momma.
Even the fire department agreed. They’d used him as their poster boy for Station 44. She’d seen Mack on public service advertisements and in the paper and on TV, informing everyone about the new fire station that had opened earlier in the year.
Unfortunately, he was a Revere, one of the many cop families working for the city. His father, mother, and three brothers had all worked or continued to work in law enforcement. Heck, Xavier Revere worked in her precinct. Since Cass never mixed business with pleasure, she’d had to strike the sexy, firefighting Mack off her hottie list. She didn’t date friends of work friends—something she continually told her partner’s tenacious wife.
As much as Cass genuinely loved Shannon, Jed’s wife could be pushy. For some reason, a year ago, she’d decided to put her matchmaking skills to work finding Cass a boyfriend.
At first, Cass had wondered if Shannon might be jealous of all the time Cass spent with Jed on the job. But after a frank conversation with the woman, she’d learned that, no, Shannon trusted both Cass and her husband. She had every right to, but Cass had dealt with many spouses of fellow officers on the job, and none of them seemed to like her much. Just Shannon with her wacky sense of humor and adorable, troublemaking twins.
So why was Shannon so keen on setting Cass up for a love connection?
A question that still plagued her, but Cass knew better than to bring up the subject. Lately, Shannon had been laying off, so Cass said nothing about being dateless. Or about how she’d started to feel as if she might actually be missing out on a part of life. Loneliness could be a real bitch.
As Cass pulled into her driveway, she tried to forget about the path her dating life hadn’t taken and focused instead on what she needed to get done on her days off. She worked a four-on, two-off rotation with her partner. So she had one more day until she went back to work.
And that laundry wasn’t going to do itself.
***
Seven hours later, she arrived at Jed and Shannon’s wearing a nice pair of jeans, a warm navy sweater, and her favorite boots. She parked in the back, per Jed’s orders, and raised her hand to knock on the door, startled to hear several people inside, along with music and laughter.
