I Want You (Wilder #3)

Prologue

Four Years Ago

I pulled my mass of curls into a tight ponytail and straightened my shoulders. Nerves were bouncing around in my belly, but I was determined to not let it show on my face. It was my first day as the dispatcher for the Calla Bay Police Department, and I wanted to make a good impression.

I’d graduated from college last summer, but for the last twelve months, I had bounced around as a temp law clerk, waiting for an opportunity to go full-time.

When I finally realized that wasn’t going to happen, I started applying for other jobs.

I didn’t even remember applying for the police dispatcher position in the small town of Calla Bay on the other side of the state until they called me to schedule the interview.

Now that I was standing in front of the small brick building that housed the police department, fire department, and EMT service, I was nervous but excited to start my first grown-up job.

“You need help with something?”

A tall man with neat brown hair and deep green eyes was looking at me with concern.

My heart skipped a beat, my already overstimulated nervous system short-circuiting as I looked at him.

He wasn’t much older than me, but he carried himself with an air of confidence, although that uniform that he filled out so perfectly may have helped with that.

I blinked myself out of my stupor and found my voice.

“Sorry. It’s my first day. I was just hyping myself up,” I told him honestly.

A dimple puckered his left cheek when he smiled at me. He strode over to me, standing shoulder to shoulder as we both looked at the building.

“Okay, new girl…”

“Scarlett,” I told him, my gaze bouncing to his quickly before turning back to the front of the police department.

“Okay, Scarlett. How’s this? You are smart. You are capable. You are going to kick ass today and every other day. Everyone is going to love you, and you are going to be the best damn… officer?”

“Dispatcher.”

“The best damn dispatcher this place has ever seen.” He shifted his head toward me slightly, a small smile on his full lips. “How was that for hyping you up? You ready for this?”

“I feel like I can take on the world after that speech.” I smiled back at him. Did my eyelashes just bat? God, I hope my eyelashes didn’t just bat.

He chuckled quietly, the sun making his green eyes sparkle.

“Come on. I’ll show you around and help you get settled. I’m Luke, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Luke. Let’s go kick ass today as the best damn dispatcher and the best damn… officer?” He grinned, nodding at my correct assumption. “This town has ever seen.”

Luke escorted me into the building, swiping his key card to gain entry to the space behind the front vestibule .

“Morning, Wilder.” A man dipped his head at Luke, his gaze doing a full sweep of my body. His blue uniform was as neatly pressed as Luke’s, but he didn’t fill it out the same.

“Morning, Souza. Is Amy in? I’ve got a new hire here.”

“Oh, good. So you’re not a friend of Luke’s?” Officer Souza said, his eyes on me.

“Souza. Amy?” Luke didn’t yell or raise his voice in any way, but the hardness of his tone whipped around us.

The man straightened his shoulders, his eyes on Luke, looking like he was addressing his superior. Maybe he was. I had no idea. “Yeah. I saw her heading toward the breakroom a minute ago, so if she isn’t in her office, she’s probably there.”

“Thanks.”

“It was nice to meet you,” I called to him as Luke escorted me further into the building.

Amy Lingard was the human resources manager who interviewed me two weeks ago. Her frazzled blonde hair and 1980s deeply curled bangs greeted us as soon as we entered her office, a steaming cup of coffee on her desk.

“Scarlett,” she cried, her round face breaking into a grin. “Welcome. I see you’ve met Officer Wilder already. Thanks, Luke. I’ll take it from here.”

“Good morning, Amy,” he said before turning to look at me. “It was nice to meet you, Scarlett. Welcome to the Calla Bay Police Department.”

“Thank you.”

My eyes tracked him as he walked away. I turned back to find Amy watching me with her brows raised. “Okay, well, let’s get started, shall we?”

We spent the rest of the day together going over new-hire orientation and processes. I saw Luke Wilder again, only once—in the breakroom at the end of the day—but it was enough to make my pulse quicken.

The next day was chaos, being thrown into the fire on my first real day on the job.

Everyone had been super nice, introducing themselves and making conversation.

Chief Williams walked through the precinct regularly, making the rounds.

It was a relatively open space, from the entry greeting window, where visitors would state their business or sign in, to the dispatch station—where I was—to the desks where the officers were stationed.

There were offices along the sides designated for the police chief and police captain, as well as the office staff, interrogation rooms, and holding cells.

From what I had gathered, it was a pretty relaxed work environment, at least as far as police departments went. There wasn’t a lot of heavy crime in Calla Bay, so it was mostly drunk and disorderly, property damage, or occasionally theft.

I was sitting at the visitors’ window, covering for Officer Brimley, when Luke walked in, coming in to start his shift.

Our eyes met, and my body started tingling, as if an electric current had just been sent through my veins.

“Back for day two. That’s a good sign.” He smiled.

“Yup. And I only had to give myself your pep talk three times,” I joked.

He laughed at my joke, or at least chuckled like he did yesterday, and my insides lit up.

“Wilder,” Officer Monroe called, greeting him. I was proud of myself for remembering all of the names and faces that I had been introduced to in the last two days, but I was still figuring out the pecking order. “Your thing is this weekend, right?” he asked.

“Yeah. Saturday, anytime after 1:00 p.m.” Luke turned back to me. “I’m having a housewarming party. You should come,” he said.

My heart was hammering in my chest. Just his gaze on me made my mouth go dry.

“Yeah, sure.” Internally squealing with delight, I tried to keep my face a mask of professionalism.

He nodded. “Good. It’ll be a great way to meet everyone and get to know people. My wife is making a boatload of food, and I’ll have the grill going with burgers, hot dogs, and chicken. It’ll be a good time.”

My gaze dipped to his hand. His left hand specifically.

Yup. There it was.

A ring.

I had no idea how I didn’t clock that initially. Of course he was married. He was beautiful, charming, a protector—and looked amazing in a uniform.

He gave me the address and his phone number in case I had any trouble finding it.

I smiled politely as I took down the info, feeling like a complete idiot the entire time.