Page 36 of Wreck Me
A woman who looked to be in her fifties with fiery-red hair pulled up in a bun looked up when the door shut behind Megan. She was dressed in tan khaki pants and a black polo shirt with the Madison Ridge Sheriff’s Department embroidered on the front pocket. She smiled and walked over to the waist-height counter. “Can I help you?”
Megan returned her smile. “Hi, is Aidan available? I mean, Officer Reynolds? Or is it Deputy?”
“He’s the Deputy Sheriff.” The smile never wavered but the woman’s eyes sharpened on her and she tilted her head, tapping a pen in her palm. “Is he expecting you?”
Megan shifted her feet and clasped her hands in front of her but also kept the smile on her lips. “Um, no. He isn’t. I—”
“If you want to leave your name and contact info, I can leave a message for him. Or you can set up an appointment—”
“That won’t be necessary, Rhonda. Hey, Megan. Come on back.”
Aidan stood at the end of a short hallway in front of an open office door. He smiled, and she swore her heart skipped a beat.
“Hey, Aidan.” Her heart beat a tapping rhythm against her ribs.
Damn, now she was a freaking cliché.
How many days had it been since she’d really seen him in the flesh? For more than a passing “hey, how are you?”
Over a week and that was too long in her mind. She ignored the little voice that told her that was a dangerous thought.
Army-green cargo pants covered those long legs, worn with work-battered boots that shouldn’t be sexy as hell but were, and topped by the same type polo Rhonda wore that hugged his biceps and stretched across his broad shoulders. The backwards black cap just added to the sex appeal, showing off his stupidly handsome face.
God, it wasn’t fair at all.
“Rhonda, this is Megan. My…roommate I told you about.”
“Ohhhh…” The older lady’s smile became friendly as opposed to feral. She swung the half door open. “Please come in.”
“Thanks.” Megan went through and as she passed, Aidan’s co-worker didn’t hide the fact that she was checking Megan out. If Amelia was to be believed, the whole town would soon know that Deputy Sheriff Reynolds’s roommate brought him baked goods.
She walked down the short hall to where he stood. At the doorway, he stepped aside and held out an arm. “Welcome to my home away from home.”
“Thanks.” She walked past him into his bigger-than-expected one-window office.
He smelled so good, she nearly stumbled.
He closed the door behind him as she stood looking around his office. There were a few personal touches here and there, including a couple of glass awards on the shelves of a tall bookcase that lined one wall. He also had a scanner on a short filing cabinet next to his desk. A comfy looking sofa lined one wall and a low coffee table stood in front of it.
She raised a brow and turned to him. “It really is your home away from home, huh?”
He chuckled and turned down the scanner. “Yeah. Since the sheriff has been on leave, I’ve been here on call a lot. I was always here doing something.” He gestured toward a chair, then leaned against the edge of his desk. “So what brings you in? I haven’t seen you much over the last few days. Is everything okay?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, biceps straining against the shirt material. Her mouth watered at the long length of him in his tactical uniform. The dark shadow of stubble on his strong jaw, along with that backwards ballcap, gave him an edge of danger and power. Power that he kept on a tight leash.
There was something to be said about a man in uniform. She wanted to climb him like a freaking tree.
“Everything’s fine. Just busy with work.” Wow, she managed to get that sentence out and still sound normal. She held up the pastry bag. “Amelia said you forgot your cinnamon roll.”
His brow furrowed and he reached for it, looking inside. “I didn’t…Ah,” he said, a smirk on his lips. “That girl is such a troublemaker.”
More like wannabe matchmaker, but Megan kept that to herself.
“You got one too?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, I haven’t been able to dig in yet though. Nate called me on my walk here.”
He pushed off the desk to his full height. “Want to take these over to the sofa?”
