Page 39 of Before We Fell

I couldn’t even try to debate that. “My lack of ability to throw a dart has made it clear that something as deadly as a flying golf ball might not be in my best interest. Especially to the general public.”

“I’d offer to teach you—”

“For another date?”

“No.” He bent down and brushed his lips so close to my ear I shivered. “I’m sort of hoping after tonight, I won’t have to blackmail you into another one, but you’ll agree willingly.”

Wow. This man was smooth. He was also really, really pretty. He’d taken time with his appearance, doing his hair and he was clean shaven as always. There was something about that I liked. In an age where all men wore beards, seeing a man’s full face was a pleasant surprise. It made his cheekbones more pronounced, his jaw more square, and the dip at the bottom center of his lips was too tempting to ignore. Plus, he smelled really good, a woodsy scent that hinted at masculinity but not overpowering. Pairing all of that with a simple white dress shirt, neatly pressed and tucked into dark gray dress pants, shirt sleeves rolled up his forearms, made him dangerous to women’s libidos. Shawn was so good looking he could have his own HotCop social media page.

My voice was breathy as I replied, “I suppose we’ll see, won’t we?”

“Mr. Blakely? Your table is ready, sir.”

“Thank you, Matt,” Shawn replied, but his dark blue eyes were still fixed on me. Eyes twinkling as if he wanted to tease me. Or kiss me. I wasn’t certain of which, but there was one I’d prefer.

The kiss. Definitely the kiss.

I leaned in and those eyes lit with something darker. Yeah. He was definitely thinking about kissing me.

Shawn tossed out his arm, gesturing toward the host who had menus in his hands. “After you, Lauren.”

Turning, I followed Matt, this time unsurprised when Shawn’s hand resting on my lower back again as he came up almost beside me.

My gaze took in everything as we weaved through the rounded center tables. There were booths on the sides with high backs. The wood gleaming like the floor. At the center of the tables were candles, real ones, that flickered from the air conditioner and movement through the restaurant. The familiar clink of restaurants and soft conversations hummed a soft rhythm in my ears. All around us were faces I recognized. Many parents from school who tossed me a casual smile as we passed by. Many more whose eyes widened when they saw who stood behind me.

Matt stopped at a booth and I slid in, pressing my trembling hands into my lap.

This was weird. The sensation of being watched, inspected, was an eerie feeling, prickling at my skin as I smoothed down the skirt of my pale yellow dress. My gaze skipped over the other customers and that strange feeling refusing to dissipate.

“Everything okay?” Shawn asked. He’d slid into the booth across from me and was leaning forward.

I blinked, surprised at the fact the menus had already been set down and Matt was halfway back to the front of the restaurant. I shook my head to clear it. “Um. It’s fine. Weird, though, isn’t it?”

“What’s weird?”

“There are a lot of people watching us. Like a lot.”

His lips twitched as if fighting a smile, but his head turned and he scanned the area. As he did, many who had been surreptitiously glancing at us, dipped their heads. Turning back to me, he tilted his head to the side. “Does that bother you?”

“I don’t know.” Did it bother me? Not in theory. I’d lived in Carlton for three years, but until that long walk through the restaurant, it hadn’t occurred to me how many people I knew, or who knew me…or the same for Shawn. And had it happened before? I never noticed it when I was out with Brooke or Tinley. Was it that I was on a date?

The thought hit me at the same time realization struck. Had I really not been on a single date since I graduated college? Or had it really been that long since I’d had sex? How depressing. And embarrassing.

“If it bothers you, we can go somewhere else.”

I was still stuck on the fact that it’d been so long since I’d had a date…which meant even longer since I’d had sex…that my cheeks heated. I adjusted my perfectly placed silverware and shook my head, unable to look him in the eye. “Is there someplace we could go where everyone wouldn’t know you?”

“Yeah, my place or yours.” I flinched, and my head snapped up. Had he really said… his smirk told me he was teasing, and I blew out a breath. I was being silly.

Stupid, really.

“Something tells me we’ll wait for that date,” he said, smile widening.

My own lips tugged in a similar movement. “I’m being silly. It just took me by surprise is all.”

“It comes with the territory of being a cop and the fact I’ve lived here my entire life. You get used to it eventually. Although I don’t think it’s all me. Several men checked you out on the way to the table as well.” I jumped at that and his smile widened. “But truly Lauren, if you’re uncomfortable, we can go somewhere else.”

As he spoke, that eerie sensation evaporated, and something warmer, more comfortable replaced it until I grew too warm for my skin. Man. He wassucha good guy. “I’m okay, I promise. But thank you for the offer.” I grabbed my menu and opened it. “Now, since you’ve been here before, what have you tried and liked?”

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