Chapter Two
Over the past few months, Jeremy Mercer couldn’t explain the unrest coiling in his gut. It was dammed annoying. He loved being a cop and in the guard, so why was he so damn restless?
The instant he entered Gabe’s and laid eyes on Elle Hudson again, the answer became clear. She was the reason for his unrest. It sucked because he didn’t like her. She was too bossy, too difficult, too beautiful.
Damn, even now, with her reddish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, no makeup on her face, and a blue and white checkered apron covering her clothes, she still managed to interrupt his pulse.
The apron should’ve made her look silly, but instead, it emphasized her mouth-watering curves. The woman’s lack of makeup did nothing to lessen the mesmerizing effect of her gorgeous green eyes.
The longer he held her gaze, the stronger that unrest surged through his body.
Was it just her face sporting a small smattering of freckles, or were the sexy marks sprinkled on other parts of her body?
“Hi, Elle,” Scott Holden said, snapping Jeremy’s mind out of dangerous territory. He could always count on his EMT buddy for help, even unknowingly. “I’ll have the special and a glass of water.”
Her gaze left his to focus on his friend, and her expression instantly softened into a smile. “You got it, Scott.”
“Make mine the special, too, Elle, and a coffee,” Nico Martelli said, dropping into a chair at a table across from their friends, Ethan and Ryder, and their women.
“If you decide you like this serving gig, we could use someone good like you at Martelli’s Pizza Bar and Grille…
when you’re not working here, of course. ”
Not only was Nico a firefighter and a guardsman, he also worked at his family’s restaurant. Jeremy didn’t know how the guy managed to keep it all straight.
“Aww, thanks Nico. I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with the same friendly smile she’d given Scott.
It wasn’t lost on Jeremy that the woman had never sent one his way, ever. And they’d spent a lot of time in his police car last year when she’d been in her research phase for her books.
Thank God that was over.
Cooped up in the car with the enigmatic woman had nearly driven him crazy. There were many times he’d wanted to throttle the obstinate woman, and even more times he’d wanted to crush her close and kiss her. Sometimes both. The chaos was too much for his organized, regimented mind.
Then why do you miss it?
He blinked as the thought flittered through his head. That was bullshit. He didn’t miss it or her. He’d screwed around with a woman like her once, and it had nearly cost him much more than his heart. It’d nearly cost him his badge.
Jeremy had always known he wanted to be a police officer, even before his father had died in the line of duty on the streets of NYC. And although his mother had moved him and his younger sister to the Poconos afterward, that dream had never dimmed. In fact, it had morphed into a deep-seated goal.
Utilizing the knowledge his father had told him about the department, Jeremy joined the National Guard and used bonuses and tuition assistance for college and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice before applying for the police academy.
With a degree under his belt, he could aim higher in the department, one promotion at a time.
Thankfully, the debacle with his ex hadn’t derailed those plans, but he wasn’t about to let his guard down and chance it ever again. Not even with a auburn-haired, green-eyed beauty and her sexy freckles.
Granted, Naomi had been a journalist, not a novelist, but she’d used him and his job to better her career, then sent him a Dear John email while he’d been deployed and accepted a position at a big newspaper in New York. He’d heard she was a news anchor in New Jersey now.
Whatever.
She’d taught him a lesson, and he’d avoided that trap ever since. Never get involved with a woman whose job was directly related to his, and since Elle was writing—who the hell knew what—about him and the force in her books, she was overly qualified as another Naomi.
Elle’s attention switched to him. “What about you?”
Her gaze matched the coolness of her tone.
“Make it three specials,” he replied and waited for her to move so he could take the vacant seat across from Nico.
His asshat friends had occupied the two spots that wouldn’t have required him to make contact with the woman.
She remained in his way and arched a brow. “And to drink? Iced tea or coffee?”
Jeremy had to admit, he was a little surprised she’d remembered his favorites, especially since he hadn’t eaten here during her shift for almost seven months now.
On purpose.
If he spotted her car in the parking lot next door, he drove away. Gabe’s food was amazing, but there were other places to eat that didn’t include a side of attitude with his order.
If he wanted attitude, he’d visit his sister.
Remorse rippled through his chest. That wasn’t fair.
Jenna was actually really sweet and had only recently started to grow a backbone.
If she was going to succeed in business and on her own, then she needed one.
Far be it for him to give her shit over it.
Jenna could use more attitude and determination.
Unlike a certain auburn-haired beauty.
It wasn’t her attitude you avoided, his mind insisted.
He ignored it and the annoyance seeping into her gaze. “Iced tea…please,” he added, and hit her with a smile.
She blinked and her brow dropped back into place. “I’ll get right on it,” she said, then hurried away.
But not before he’d noted color washing into her cheeks.
The smile was still on his face as he took his seat.
“Nothing’s changed between you two, I see,” Ryder commented from the booth across the aisle.
“The battle continues.” Ethan grinned from the same booth.
Both men had been in the guard for several years before Jeremy joined right out of high school with Scott and Nico, and even though the two guys had since left the military, they’d all formed an unbreakable bond, forged by war.
They were good, solid friends. Ethan was part owner of a local resort with his three brothers, and Ryder was a whiz at construction.
The man had recently finished building Jeremy’s sister’s flower shop down the street.
He glanced at them, but he wasn’t biting. He did, however, say hello to everyone in the booth after Elle dropped off the foursome’s food.
“Has your father had any more issues with his back door?” he asked, changing the subject and keeping his gaze off the retreating beauty.
Four days ago, Ryder’s father, Mr. Gablonski, had arrived at the restaurant to discover a series of scratches and gauges around the handle of the door in the kitchen that led outside. The place hadn’t been broken into and nothing was missing, but Ryder had wisely called him over to report it.
Unfortunately, Gabe’s security camera had been broken for almost a year and he’d never fixed it. Ryder had immediately remedied the issue by installing a state-of-the-art security system the same day.
Wise move.
Mr. Gablonski was old-school. It was a wonder the restaurant even had security, given that his servers still used a pad and pen to take orders. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but faulty security was a different story.
“Nope. No issues,” Ryder replied. “Anymore break-ins?”
There’d been two over the last three weeks. A sporting goods store and consignment shop had been hit, and Gabe’s, no doubt, would’ve been the third. Jeremy could only assume someone had spooked the perp before he or she could gain unlawful access to the restaurant.
“No.” Jeremy shook his head and remained quiet while Elle brought their drinks.
“Your specials will be right out.” She smiled but her gaze never found his before she rushed to greet customers filling the first booth along the wall.
He tried not to track her movements but failed. The way her tan pants showcased her sweet curves should be illegal.
“Your sister hasn’t had any trouble, has she?” Ryder asked, regaining his attention.
Scott stiffened then frowned. “Is someone harassing Jenna?”
Jeremy shook his head. “No. She’s fine,” he told Scott, then transferred his gaze to Ryder. “So is her shop. That’s why I pushed for her to get the better security system.”
“You didn’t just push, you paid for it,” Sophia said, shifting to peer at him from around Ryder. “You’re a good big brother.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Ethan’s wife, Phoebe said.
Not really something he knew about. Jeremy just wanted Jenna to be safe, and he wasn’t going to let lack of money be the reason she could become a victim.
He would always look out for her and his mother, no matter how much they insisted they were capable of taking care of themselves. If there was something he could do for them, he did it. End of story.
Another thing his father had taught him was that family came first, and family took care of family. A month later, Daniel Mercer had died and that lesson held a special meaning. At ten years old, Jeremy became the man of the house and had taken that role seriously ever since.
“Don’t you think that’s sweet, Elle?” Sophia asked.
The woman’s face was a pretty shade of pink as she set their specials in front of them, signaling that she’d overheard some of the conversation.
“Yes,” she replied, leveling him with her green gaze.
A zap shot through him, a jolt of something he didn’t care to name or acknowledge.
Her gaze was still locked with his when she straightened. “I guess miracles do exist.”
All four of his buddies snickered around him.
He lifted a brow. “I can be sweet.”
She snickered then laughed. “Good one. I didn’t know you were funny.”
This only upped his friends’ enjoyment, and the fact she hurried away to take care of her tables before he could reply didn’t help his situation.
Damn woman.
His gut was knotted and shoulders pricked with a swirling amount of annoyance, which seemed to be his perpetual state whenever she was around.