I stroke my hand down the length of her hair, finding it just as soft as I thought it would be. Without thinking, I press my lips to the top of her head, breathing in the faint scent of rose and vanilla. “It’s okay,” I croon. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Her head pops up, nearly smacking me in the chin. “I know it’s okay. Because you did something crazy. You pissed him off. Made him point the gun at you. He could have?—”
“But he didn’t.”
And the unsaid part.Better me than you.
“Dave.”Hollis sighs. Her eyes close for a second. When they reopen, she looks at me with a depth of emotion. “I know we just met. But if anything had happened to you…”
“I know.” I hug her close to my chest. “I feel the same way.”
In the distance, blaring sirens approach. The waitress sniffs before announcing unnecessarily, “The police are on the way.”
I know in a matter of minutes, chaos is about to erupt again. The police will arrive with weapons drawn, and once Simmons is taken away, we’ll spend hours going over everything. The blissful moments of before—when it was just me and Hollis, exploring this intense connection between us—are over.
But.
Right now, there’s a weird sort of peace.
Hollis is safe in my arms. And holding her is even better than I could have imagined.
Though it’s probably the worst time to say it, I can’t seem to help myself. “Hollis. Will you go out with me?”
She blinks. “What?”
“Go on a date with me. I’ve got some vacation time coming, so I can stay in Utica for a few days longer. We could have dinner, see a movie, go hiking, whatever you want.”
As I wait for her answer, insecurity creeps in.
What if I’m so out of practice with relationships, I read this all wrong?
What if this connection is all one-sided?
What if I end up rejected again?
“Yes.” Hollis smiles at me, and my chest unclenches. “I would really like that. My boss told me to take a few days off, too. So we could—” A faint pink touches her cheeks. “Maybe we could go on a few dates? Instead of just one?”
I spare a quick glance at Simmons, who’s still hogtied and blessedly silent. A feat that might be helped by Carlo aiming the gun at him and intermittently growling, “You try to robmyrestaurant? Threatenmycustomers? Just try me. I’ll be glad for a reason to shoot you.”
“A few dates would be amazing,” I tell her. “And I?—”
But the police come swarming through the door, interrupting me.
In the flurry of activity that follows, I make sure to keep Hollis by my side. Not because I think anyone will hurt her—not once Simmons is securely cuffed and loaded into a patrol car—but because I can’t bear to be separated from her.
Is it crazy to feel this strongly about someone I just met?
Maybe.
Do I care?
Not in the least.
As the police approach us, notepads out and with questioning expressions, I catch the eye of Kyle, one of the few friendly faces I remember from my time on the force. “Just give us a minute,” I tell him with a lift of my chin. “I need to talk to Hollis for a second.”
He stares at me for a second, then gives me a quick nod. “Sure. We’ll start with the others.”
Once he moves on, I turn to Hollis. I take her hands in mine.
