She glared at him, then shifted her gaze to Kevin. Her eyes and the corners of her mouth softened. “Maybe you could come back after you’re done with work.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “There’s a mandatory briefing after our shift is over and it’s going to run really late.”
If Tim hadn’t been watching so closely, he might have missed the almost imperceptible twitch in the corner of her left eye.
“Tomorrow then.” Her voice dripped with annoyance.
“Look, while I’m in training, I don’t know how much free time I’m going to have. This really isn’t a good time for me.” Their radios crackled, followed by a call from dispatch. “We need to go. Have a good evening.”
He turned, glanced at Tim, then headed to the patrol car with purpose while talking into the radio mouthpiece on his shoulder.
“Ma’am,” Tim said. She slammed the door in his face. He waited until he’d turned his back to the door and couldn’t see his face before he smiled.
He slid into the driver side and pulled his seatbelt across his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell her you weren’t interested?”
Kevin didn’t look up from the department laptop. “I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I just don’t want her to keep calling me.”
“Hate to say it, but I don’t think you’ve heard the last from her. She seems to have taken a liking to you.”
“Yeah…well…she’s going to have to find someone else to like.” He finished typing. “Store owner reported some vandalism on the back of their building on Market Street.”
That was just down from Elba’s cafe. His sweet tooth kicked in thinking about the delicious napoleon pastries he’d had the other day at lunch. “Tell you what—after we’re done with this call, I’ll treat you to a coffee and a pastry.”
Kevin rested his elbows on the window ledge and grabbed the oh-shit handle. “Is that a euphemism for a donut?”
“Absolutely not. I never euphemism my pastries.”
