She looked at Alex. “You don’t need to do that.”
His eyes softened. “It’s not a problem. Mac’s just as happy here as he is at the house, probably more since he’s with his buddies. I’d rather Chewie be as comfortable as possible, especially since he’s training.”
She bit her lower lip. “I hope this doesn’t screw everything up.”
“Hey.” Alex leaned in closer.How could he possibly smell this good after a day of training dogs?But the clean scents of fresh air and pine and salt lifted from his skin and filled her senses and she fought not to bite her lower lip. “There is no doubt in my mind that you’re gonna make it onto the K9 unit.”
“Frank’s really good, too.”
“He is, no question. But I think you want it more.” His eyes darted to her lips for the briefest moment, sending a shiver through her.
Alex abruptly stood, depriving her of his warmth, touch, and good scent. Then, he offered her his hand and helped her up. He let go too quickly for her taste.
Whoa. Keep it professional, Madden.
“I know Chewie’s in the best of hands here. I’m more afraid of howI’mgoing to do tonight without him.”
She’d intended to be humorous, but Alex studied her, his eyes serious and intense.
“I get it,” he said, and she knew he really understood. His intensity heightened her arousal.
He motioned for her to go ahead of him and they headed for the parking lot. They decided to drive separately in case she got a call. “Guess you don’t want to ride in the back seat of my car anyway, huh?” she asked as she opened the door to her police cruiser.God, why am I being so lame?
But at least he laughed good-naturedly. “Not if that’s your only car.”
“Actually, it isn’t.Mybaby’s a beauty.”
He stopped dead before stepping into the black Watchdog SUV. “You like cars, huh?”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
He gave her a quick once over that made her spine tingle despite the heat. “Now I know what else we’re going to talk about over dinner.”
And they did. Over a platter of loaded nachos, they discussed the merits of various muscle cars versus trucks until Sylvie’s radio crackled all too soon, breaking the spell. Ironically, it was a call about trouble at the bar they’d joked about going to earlier.
“Damn. That’ll teach me to order an appetizeranda main,” she said as she pulled out her wallet.
“No way am I letting you pay.” Alex fixed her with the same intense stare she’d been enjoying for the last painfully brief twenty minutes. She couldn’t decide if his eyes were closer to the color of dark, wet river stones or the grey storm clouds that tumbled over each other on their way over the foothills on late summer afternoons.
“But that’s not fair to you. I’m not even staying for dinner.” She stood up and he rose from his chair as well.
“Doesn’t matter. You have tomorrow off, right?” he asked as he walked with her to the front of the restaurant.
“Right. My partner’s been on vacation, and between that and training Chewie, my shifts are thrown off at the moment. Anyway, I’m bringing Chewie’s things up first thing.”
“New plan. I’ll meet you at your place tomorrow morning with leftovers you can throw in the fridge and I’ll drive you up to Watchdog to take care of Chewie. And then we’ll…just see where the day takes us from there.”
She stopped at the door, turned, and looked at him. “Nope.”
His face fell, much to her joy.
“No?” he asked.
“No.I’mdrivingyou.”
“Uh-uh. No way. You’re not driving me.”
She braved a wink. “You won’t say that when you see my baby.”
