Page 8 of Fall Into Temptation
Carter snickered and combed a hand through his dark beard. “No, but I did see the pics of Eva today. You looked like the Big Bad Wolf ready to swallow Little Red whole.”
“Did not,” Donovan argued.
“Too. John, you want pizza, or do you want to wait?” Carter asked, turning his attention to his son who was making drill noises and pretending to stab holes into the wall of file cabinets.
“I wait,” Jonathan announced without taking his attention away from his work.
“Hard worker that one. Where are your ladies today?” Donovan asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from Eva and the things he looked like he wanted to do to her.
“Summer and Meadow are doing a Facebook Live thing for the magazine with Gia and her girls. Something on parenting girls to be awesome instead of nice.”
“Good topic,” Donovan said, reaching for a second slice.
“Back to the original topic. Why haven’t you made a move on Little Red yet?”
Carter was not one to be deterred or distracted and Donovan should have known better, having known the man his entire life. He didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t interested. The entire town saw him mooning over her like a teenager at Phoebe and Franklin’s wedding earlier that year. “It’s a big transition moving to Blue Moon. I wanted to give her some space so she could settle in.”
Carter chomped on a piece of crust. “Commendable bullshit. What’s the real reason?”
Donovan ran a hand absently over the back of his neck. “Ah, hell.”
“Boooolshif,” Jonathan said in a sing-song voice.
Carter grimaced. “I’ll fix that later. Talk.”
“She scares the hell out of me,” Donovan said, giving his confession in a rush. “I saw her and from that moment on I was hooked. I don’t know if I’m ready for those kinds of feelings. I’m not an intense kind of guy, and yet one look at her and something punched me in the gut, and I still haven’t caught my breath.”
Carter combed a hand through his beard. “Are we talking love at first sight here?”
Donovan shook his head. “Man, I don’t know what it is. It was just like ‘there you are.’ Like I was waiting for her or something.”
“And that makes you avoid her at all costs?”
Donovan shrugged, wiping his hands on his pants. “Like I said, she scares the shit out of me. If I ask her out, I feel like that puts me directly on the marriage-kid train.”
“Shif!” Jonathan said cheerfully as he began to hammer the carpet into place, the police bear tucked under his arm.
“Look, one punch in the gut isn’t going to force you down the aisle,” Carter argued. “Get to know her. Otherwise you’re just oozing all this sexual tension and eventually the B.C. will take aim.”
Donovan shook his head. “Uh-uh. I told them if they ever make a move in my direction, I’m arresting them all for assaulting an officer.”
“They’ve gotten a lot sneakier in their ways. You won’t even see it coming,” Carter predicted. “It’s better to jump in of your own free will and see what happens.”
Jonathan appeared at Donovan’s chair, his little arms waving in the universal signal for up.
Donovan picked him up and settled him on his lap.
“Peeza, peez!” Jonathan said, clapping his hands together.
“See? The kid knows what he wants, and he goes out and gets it,” Carter said ripping a few bite-sized pieces off a slice and putting them in front of Jonathan. “So, go find out if Eva’s what you want.”
CHAPTER FIVE
It was after seven, and the sun had set by the time Donovan left the station with his paperwork mostly complete and feeling thankful that no new crises had erupted. His parents didn’t answer his call, so he found himself steering his cruiser toward Pierce Acres. Phoebe Pierce—Merill now—had been tight with his parents. Maybe she’d remember something about this planet bullshit.
He was just crossing his t’s and dotting his i’s, Donovan assured himself. Being thorough enough to investigate threats, no matter how farfetched they seemed, was part of the job.
He turned onto the dirt and gravel lane of the farm where he’d spent as much time as a kid as his own home. He waved to Summer and Gia who were juggling kids and three dogs on their way out of the little red barn that served as headquarters for their online magazine.
