“Great,” Matt says with a grin. “Fighting fires and saving lives, you know. Piece of cake.”
“Have you been promoted to squad yet?”
“Soon,” he says, taking a swig of his beer. “It’s overdue.”
“You’re good at what you do,” I say, spotting Jake back by the grill. “You deserve the position.” Standing next to Jake is Ely, the officer from the precinct, and when my eyes fall on him, my limbs suddenly stop working, and I’m hyper-aware of the pair of ratty sweats and hoodie I have so thoughtfully picked out for tonight.
“Thanks, James.”
“Is Renee inside?” I ask, trying as hard as possible to ignore the thrill of anticipation that crawls up my spine.
“Yes, working on appetizers. You should tell her you’re here,” says Matt, and I make a beeline for the kitchen, passing directly by Jake and Ely, who both glance up as I approach. I smile at Ely, whose eyes are pinned hungrily on me, and the distinguished smile he wears makes my knees tremble.
“Hi,” I say awkwardly, and Ely’s grin only grows.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“‘Sup,” says Jake, shattering the moment, and I roll my eyes as I open the back screen door to the kitchen to find Renee. I shut the sliding door behind me and turn as Renee pops her head out of the fridge to look at me.
“Hi, cute thing,” she says, handing me a cold soda pop she’s just taken from the fridge. “It’s about damn time you got here.”
“Ren,” I say between clenched teeth. “Why is Ely here? I thought it was just going to be us?”
“Jake invited him,” Renee says with a shrug. She takes a drink from her own soda can and grabs a baby carrot from a tray of veggies. She pokes one into her mouth and looks at me. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Why would it be a problem?” I murmur, barely realizing that my eyes are still pinned on the handsome detective standing outside near the grill. “I just don’t want any of you treating this like some blind date hookup.”
“It’s not exactly a blind date,” she points out. “You met him once, didn’t you?”
“You know what I mean. Besides,” I sigh, shaking my head. “I’m not in the position to fall for another guy right now. You know that. The last one pretty much did me in.” I smile to show her I’m joking, but I know my best friend knows better. My last relationship shattered me. “What if it's bound to be the same thing all over again?”
“You’re assuming this is intentional at all,” says Renee. “Ely happens to be Jake’s boss and friend. He’s allowed to come, you know. Consider the possibility that you weren’t even at the forefront of Jake’s mind when he invited Ely over. Shit, girl, I didn’t even know you had a thing for the guy.”
I guess she’s trying to make me feel better, but it’s not really working.
“I don’t have a thing for him,” I insist. “I only met him once, for like thirty seconds. It’s impossible to have a thing for someone after thirty seconds. Besides, for all I know, he’s a total douchebag.”
“I don’t know, James. I don’t really get that vibe from Ely,” Renee says. “But I also know what the last guy did to you, so I’m not going to be the one to push this on you. I want you to be happy, that’s all, and you don’t need a man to make you happy.”
“Says the girl who has three of them,” I tease. “I’ll be content with just one good one.”
Renee grins and winks, her eyes following mine through the window where Ely is still chatting with Jake near the grill.
“He’s certainly nice to look at,” she murmurs, and I ball up a napkin to throw it at her.
“Back off. You have plenty.”
Renee smiles, but just as quickly as she’d been joking around and teasing me, the smile falls from her face, and her eyes darken with something that looks insanely similar to … fear?
“Jami,” she says softly, and something in her voice makes me take notice. I tear my attention away from Ely and look at my friend.
“Yeah?”
Renee sits down at the small table across from me, wringing her hands anxiously. “I’m worried,” she says, biting the inside of her cheek. “I’m worried about Jake getting into this business with Kasper Hill. He’s very passionate about it, and I think it’s dangerous.”
“Jake told me flat out not to get involved with Kasper,” I tell her. “I didn’t think he had any reason to.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Renee says softly. “He’s been obsessed with this guy’s business since he started at the precinct. I’m worried about him because I’ve heard about Kasper Hill. And now I’ve heard that you’re involved with all of this, too, and it’s just egging him on.”
