Page 15 of Risk Assessment
“You don’t know me well enough to picture me as anything just yet.” Raleigh whispered as she pinned him with her eyes. “So, you were saying?”
“Right. As I said before, I’m currently on desk duty.”When would that not grate to say?“I used to work in the Emergency Services Unit at NYPD, mostly SWAT stuff.” He paused to look around the room. So many of the people here were friends from his old unit. “Andrew works in SWAT. He used to be computercop or tech wiz for the unit, but I heard he just got a promotion to Sergeant.”
“You might have mentioned that sooner. I’m already on thin ice with Lydia.”
“You’re right. Sorry.”
Raleigh let out an exaggerated sigh. “So, your ex-fiancée is marrying your former teammate six months after you broke up and you’re accidentally attending their wedding. Oh, my God, Dylan. That’s a romance novel gone bad.”
Just then their drinks arrived. He took a long pull on his beer. After he swallowed, he said, “Yeah, it sucks. The thing is, it would have sucked just as much once I found out about the marriage anyway. At least by being here, everyone can see I’m over her.”
He was, wasn’t he? Over her?
He’d been so screwed up after what happened, he just didn’t want to have to deal with anything else. Jenn was high maintenance and had gotten worse when shit went down and she wasn’t the focus of his world. He didn’t have it in him to cope with Jenn, so he’d set her free that very night. He looked around the room as he tried to process everything.
Cope with Jenn. Those words echoed around his brain.
Not how guys were supposed to feel about their fiancées. Jenn was talking to an older couple across the room. Friends of her parents, he guessed. He’d almost lost it in the lobby when he first saw her, but now the tug he’d usually felt just wasn’t there. Was he really over her?
His mom had dragged him all over the Northeast, never really letting him set down roots. Then she up and died. When he’d met Jenn, he thought he might finally get some roots. He really wanted a steady home life. When he’d broken it off with her, he’d thought he was saving her from being dragged downin his mess. Seeing Jenn now, he couldn’t decide if it was her he missed or the idea of having someone waiting at home for him.
“Earth to Dylan! I hate to ask, but is there more to the story?” Raleigh asked, a frown marring her forehead. “I’m getting a strange vibe from these people.”
He grimaced. “Like I said, I’m on suspension from ESU. There was an incident.” He took another swallow of beer.
Raleigh’s phone dinged and she looked at her text messages. “I have to go to work. Maybe we can discuss this more back in the room later.”
“No.”
She abruptly leaned back in her chair, her eyes wide in surprise.
Damn. He hadn’t meant to be so curt, but he wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. Not with friends, and not with someone he’d just met even if she was supposed to be his girlfriend.
Raleigh looked nonplussed. If she kept that up, people really wouldn’t buy their story.
Dylan put his arm around her and brought her close. “Look, I’m sorry for being rude. I just don’t want to talk about it anymore. And all this frowning isn’t doing our cover story any good. So,” he said, keeping his voice low, “why don’t you tell me something about yourself?”
“I don’t really have time for this now.” She pulled back a bit as if to stand up, but he tugged her against him.
Crazy or not, he really was attracted to Raleigh. Her scent was giving him all kinds of ideas. Some sort of citrusy, wildflower mix. As soon as he’d seen Raleigh in that dress, he knew pretending to be her boyfriend was not going to be a problem.
“What if people ask me questions? I need to know a bit about you so I can sell the story.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“As it stands, I know you’re an ambitious public relations guru from Connecticut, I think you mentioned on the phone. I need to know more.”
“Um, okay.” She blinked and took a sip of her drink.
“Just tell me some random fact. Don’t over think it.”
“Uh… I hate going to the gym,” she blurted.
He grinned. “Not into exercise?”
“No,” she said and shook her head for emphasis.
“That’s too bad. I like to work out. Gets my mind focused. Makes my body stronger.”
