Page 3 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
Her hands clenched as the endless waiting continued. This had to be some sort of mix-up. Somehow, she didn’t think Mavis would find it interesting.
And then the door of the car behind her opened.At last.Belle watched as the officer got out of the car. Even with the wide-brimmed hat hiding part of his face, she’d know Sheriff Bishop anywhere.
His steps were measured. He wasn’t in any rush. It was almost like he knew she was now officially late for work. And it was all his fault. He better have a good reason for stopping her.
When he neared her car, she lowered her window. A gust of wintry air rushed inside the car. Yet another reason this stop needed to be brief.
The sheriff stopped next to her door. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking because of those tinted sunglasses. She felt as though she were at a disadvantage.
“I wasn’t speeding.” She’d skipped the pleasantries. They weren’t friends, so there was no point in pretending they were.
“For once.” His voice was deep and firm.
Not having time for this nonsense, she asked, “Why did you pull me over?”
“Your tail light is out.”
“My tail light?” Was he serious? By the no-nonsense look on his handsome face, he was perfectly serious. She struggled to keep her voice neutral. “Thanks for letting me know. Now can I go?”
“Not so fast.” He held up his citation book. “Could I have your license and registration?”
“My what?” Surely, she hadn’t heard him correctly. “But it’s only a burned-out tail light?”
His brows rose. “License and registration.”
She was losing her effort to stay calm. He’d just written her a ticket last month. This was starting to get costly.
“You surely aren’t going to give me a ticket, are you?” Rushing on, she said, “I mean, I obviously didn’t know the light was burned-out, or I would have fixed it.”
Without a word, he held out his hand for the requested items.
She frowned at him. It was no wonder they weren’t friends. They hadn’t been friends in school, and things hadn’t changed since they’d graduated. The man was so irritating and such a stickler for following the rules. He never knew what it was to bend rules at times.
Every time she saw him, he was always so serious. Sometimes, she’d swear that if he smiled, his face would crack, which would be a shame because he was quite handsome. Not that she was interested or anything. In fact, if he was the last man alive on the planet, she still wouldn’t be interested.
She wasn’t sure her car insurance could handle another ticket. They already raised the rates for the past two speeding violations. The first ticket had been last summer when she was three miles per hour over the limit. The second time was just last month when she was four miles per hour over. It was why she kept a close eye on her speed when she was in town. In fact, she now drove below the speed limit. And that was why getting pulled over this time really bothered her.
Still, her mother used to say: “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” So, Belle tried to put some honey in her voice. “Couldn’t you just let it pass this time?” She forced a smile to her lips. “After all, I was under the speed limit.”
He arched a brow at her. “You should always drive the speed limit. You shouldn’t get rewarded for following the law.”
No wonder this guy was still single. With a huff, she reached for her purse and grabbed her wallet. She held it out to him.
“Please remove your license.”
She didn’t want to do anything to help him write her a ticket. But she didn’t have time to drag this out. She was certain her boss was wondering what had happened to her. She yanked out her license. Without even looking at him, she held it out.
“And your registration.”
With another sigh, she leaned over and opened the glove box. A bunch of white napkins filled it. It’d been a while since she’d cleaned it out. She’d been distracted since she’d gotten the puppy.
She yanked the napkins out and placed them on the passenger seat. After tossing a few more things on the seat, she finally located the registration card. She handed it over to him.
“I really need to get to work,” she said.
“I’ll just be a moment.” He walked away.
Seriously?She couldn’t believe he was dragging this out. Couldn’t he just write the ticket and be on his way?No.He had to take his good old time. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to be or anything.
