Page 5 of Amore
2
LUKE
Present Day– Thirteen years later
Growingup in a small town outside of Nashville, I had always dreamed of going to college out of state. When I got accepted into the University of California, Los Angeles, I didn’t hesitate to accept. I didn’t know then that I wanted to be a cop, but when they wanted me to pick a major, criminal justice sounded badass. Of course, after I got my bachelor’s degree, I still had to go to the police academy, where I quickly learned that I wasn’t that much of a badass. That was two years ago, and since then, my kick-ass-ness had gotten better by working the streets and bringing down minor criminals.
However, living in Los Angeles was expensive. Even on a cop’s salary, I lived paycheck to paycheck. When I was in college at UCLA, no one told me I needed to pick therightmajor to afford a house in LA if I stayed after graduation. I thought choosing to major in criminal justice would set me up for life and that police officers who protected the city and the people in it would get a lot of money.
That wasn’t the case at all.
Of course, I wasn’t a cop because of the money. I enjoyed the rush I felt chasing down a burglar, breaking up a fight, or looking for suspects to bring in for questioning. To make ends meet, I had a part-time private security gig for a very exclusive club in Beverly Hills.
“Want to grab dinner after shift?” Candace asked, toweling off her hair from the shower we’d just taken together. We had been partners on the force for about a year and dating for six months of that. Some drinks after a shift had led to a drunk night that led to the bedroom, and we’d been doing it ever since, but no one knew we were a couple because that was against the rules.
“Sure, where do you want to go?” I lathered my face with shaving cream as I stood at my bathroom sink.
Candace played with the short hair at my nape, looking at me through the mirror. “I was thinking somewhere fancy since it’s our anniversary.”
I blinked. “Anniversary?”
“Six months.” She grinned.
I blinked some more, confused. “Ah, was I supposed to buy you a gift or something?”
I’d dated women in college and here and there during and after the academy, but never longer than a few months. None of them wereher—the girl next door I’d fallen in love with instantly over a decade ago. The girl next door who had taken my heart and threw it on the ground one night. The girl next door who I still loved even though I hadn’t seen her in nine years. I had only been dating Candace for so long because we were partners, and I didn’t know how a breakup would go. I liked her, and the sex was always good, but I wasn’t in love with her. How could I be, since I was still holding out hope that fate would make me and Frankie cross paths again?
“If you want, but I’ll settle for a night out.”
“Okay.” I smiled. Food was food, and since I had some money saved from working at Sensation on the side, I could treat Candace. “But you know we have to go out of the city.”
“I know.” Her smile widened. “I was thinking about a night in Santa Barbara.”
I thought for a moment as I ran the razor blade down my cheek. “That should be far enough, but remember I have the security gig tomorrow night.”
“I know. We’ll be back in time.”
“So, you already have it all planned out?”
“Maybe.” She winked and walked out of the bathroom.
“Then how could I say no?”
After we got dressed, I entered the code for my gun safe and pulled out our service weapons. I handed Candace hers as she stood next to me. “Ready to go catch some bad guys?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ll meet you at the station.”
* * *
After shift,I picked Candace up at her place to head to Santa Barbara for the night. We worked the seven to five shift, which meant we were going to hit a shit ton of traffic on the drive up.
I knocked on the door, and a few moments later, she opened it with a smile. “Long time no see.”
I grinned in return. It had only been about a half-hour since we departed the station. Of course, we had to go our separate ways so people wouldn’t ask questions or get suspicious. “Ready to go?”
“I am.” She reached down and grabbed her suitcase, but I took it from her.
“I thought we were only going away for the night?”
