by Graves, Jane
"I guess they had a nice date," Brett said.
"Yeah," Kelsey said. "Nice."
"So why do you seem so annoyed?"
"I’m not.”
“Look out, Kelsey. Your pants are on fire.”
She put the bowl on the counter and reached for a dishtowel. “Okay, so I’m annoyed.”
“Care to tell me why?”
“Eduardo is a maintenance man at the hotel where Gloria works. How can he afford to take her to a restaurant like that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he saves a lot of money?”
"Maybe."
"It was two-for-one entrée night?"
Kelsey was silent.
“He won the lottery?”
“Come on, Brett. Admit it. It’s fishy.”
“Just what conclusion are you jumping to?”
"I always wonder about guys who have low-end jobs or none at all, yet they’re throwing money all over the place."
“It was one dinner.”
“It isn’t the first time he’s done it .”
“Maybe he just likes Gloria and wants to do nice things for her.”
“Fine. As long as he actually has the money to do it.”
“Let me guess. You think he’s doing something illegal.”
"Maybe."
“That’s a pretty big leap,” Brett said.
“It’s just a feeling. I don’t have any proof.” She dried the bowl, put it in the cabinet, and then turned the dishtowel to mop up the droplets of water on her countertop.
"I can't say you're wrong,” Brett told her. “I mean, you're a cop. You know way more about the bad guys than I do."
"Exactly. Have you ever met Eduardo?"
"I've seen him with Gloria a time or two. He looks a little…"
"Intimidating?"
"Now, Kelsey. Men don't like to admit that other men intimidate them."
"But he intimidates you."
"Oh, hell yes. I mean, look at him. He looks as if he eats scrap metal for breakfast and single-handedly keeps some lucky tattoo parlor in business.”
“Did you know Gloria's kids have two different fathers?”
“No. I didn’t know that.”
“That’s right. Gloria has two baby daddies already." Kelsey spied a few more drops of water and went after them, her frustration mounting. "I just have a feeling she's doing it all over again. But what am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Gloria. Eduardo might be bad news. Why don't you tell him to hit the road?'"
"Take it easy, there," Brett said, nodding toward the dishtowel she held. "You're going to rub a hole in that countertop."
Kelsey stopped and stared at the towel. She threw it aside, then let out a heavy sigh. Brett leaned against the counter and folded his arms.
"I think you're worrying too much," he said.
"Of course you would say that. You always think everything is wonderful."
"Most of the time, everything is."
"Sofia told me she doesn't like Eduardo. That worries me."
"Sofia is what? Thirteen?"
"Yes."
"Is there a teenager on earth who likes anything?"
“I bet you liked plenty of things when you were a teenager."
“No, not plenty of things. Girls. I liked girls.” He thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, that was about it.”
"And I bet your parents went to all your school plays and teacher conferences," Kelsey said.
“Uh…yeah. Well, I don't know if they went to all of them."
"Your father probably coached your little league baseball team."
"Just one summer. And we lost every game but one."
"And your mother. She probably baked cookies for the PTA."
"Now, that's where you're wrong. My mother was a terrible cook. One time she thought she could make s'mores over the burner on the gas stove and caught the kitchen on fire."
"How awful for you."
"I'm sensing sarcasm."
"Have you ever had anything bad happen to you?" Kelsey asked. "Anything?"
Brett thought about that for a moment. "Well, when I was in the seventh grade, I broke my arm.”
“A broken arm? That’s it?”
“And when I was sixteen, my grandmother died. But she lived in Toronto, so we didn’t see her very often. I didn’t really know her all that well. It was sad, but…”
“That’s all you can come up with? A broken arm and a dead grandmother?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. That’s about it.”
"Then it’s official. You grew up in Disney World."
"You talk as if that's a bad thing."
"Of course not. It's a good thing. But it means you don't understand what bad looks like. If Gloria brings the wrong man into that household, it’s bad for those kids. Do you know how hard that is on them? Do you have any idea?"
"No, but it looks as if you do."
She turned away. "I see it every day as a cop. Single mothers constantly screw around with the wrong men, and their kids suffer."
Brett tilted his head, narrowing his eyes speculatively.
"What?" she said.
"I don't think the way you feel about this has anything to do with you being a cop."
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't professional for you, is it? It's personal."
Kelsey looked away. "Just forget I said anything." She tried to brush past him, but he took her arm and gently pulled her back around.
“Go home, Brett.”
“Nope. You're not doing that to me. I’m not going anywhere.” He swept her hair away from her temples and cradled her face in his hands, his brows drawn together with concern. “Who hurt you?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but absolutely nothing came to her. No sarcastic comment. No smart retort. Nothing.
"Somebody did," he said. "I don't know who, or when, or how, but somebody did. It's written all over you. That's what this is about."
Kelsey felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. It was as if he was looking right through her to a place she didn't want anyone to see. She had the urge to slide out of his grasp and leave the room, but his sharp, perceptive gaze froze her to the spot where she stood.
“Tell me who it was,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I’ll beat the crap out of them. I swear to God I’ll do it.”
Kelsey was stunned. From one moment to the next, the most profound feeling came over her she couldn’t name. It was as if he'd slipped inside her mind, filtered through her memories, and suddenly he had a sense of the very things she wished she could forget.
All her life, it had been just her. Fighting her own battles, making her own way. She'd clawed and scraped to grow stronger, making damned sure she could take care of herself because she'd learned early that nobody else was going to. But now…
She’d never had a man offer to be her knight in shining armor, and it gave her a feeling of warmth she’d never experienced before. And suddenly the last thing she wanted was for him to leave.
“You’ve never struck me as the combative type,” she murmured.
“Think again,” he said, stroking his thumb along her cheek. “I was hell with a water gun.”
“If you beat somebody up, I'll have to arrest you.”
“By the book as always,” he said, shaking his head. “What do you say we throw that damned thing out?”
“Maybe we should talk about something else.”
“Whatever you want.”
For a moment all she could do was stare into those gentle blue eyes, eyes that held more understanding than she ever could have imagined.
“I think maybe I don’t want to talk at all,” Kelsey said. She touched her fingertips to his cheek, then reached up to kiss him, closing her eyes and letting herself get lost in the feeling.
When she finally opened them again, she happened to glance over his shoulder to her living room window. With the blinds open, she could just make out something between two skyscrapers that made a warm shiver skim
the back of her neck.
A half moon.
11
At roll call the next morning, Angi was surprised when Kelsey told her she wanted to go to Gianelli's on a non-Tuesday night. Kelsey explained that since she hadn’t been able to get there last night, she had to make up for it. Angi never turned down a chance to go out, so she didn't argue.
That evening, as Kelsey left her apartment building and walked toward the bar, she played the night before with Brett over and over in her mind, just as she’d done about a hundred times that day already. He hadn’t pushed to stay with her last night, even though she could tell he wanted to. He’d simply suggested that they should try for Gianelli’s again since she’d gotten waylaid taking care of Ricky. Then he’d given her a goodnight kiss and left.
She tried to tell herself one more time that he was all part of a master plan, that he was a devious, opportunistic womanizer who didn't stop until he got what he wanted, but that ship had sailed. Instead she pictured his face as he looked down at her and offered to beat the crap out of somebody on her behalf. No, he wouldn't actually do it. But the sincerity in his eyes when he said it would stick with her for some time to come.
When Kelsey reached the roadblocks, she stopped and considered her options. She could walk three blocks out of her way, or she could skirt them and head straight for her destination. When her heart pounded at the very thought of not obeying the signs, she realized just how tired she was of being a rule‑follower.
Live a little. Risk that misdemeanor.
She edged around them and hurried along the street, where big pipes rested on the sidewalk, waiting to be installed. Her heels clicked against the pavement, the sound reverberating off the towering buildings. She imagined those tiny noises alerting the SWAT guys, who would race around the corner, rappel off skyscrapers, and leap from armored vehicles to chase her down and bring her to justice. But all she got in the end was a much faster walk to her destination. When she scooted between the roadblocks at the other end of the street, she took a deep breath of exhilaration. There. She’d done it. It felt good.
No, it felt great.
She walked another half block to Gianelli’s. As she came through the door, she saw Angi on her usual barstool. Then she spied Brett behind the bar. Excitement swept over her, and the very air she breathed seemed filled with possibilities.
Then she saw who he was talking to.
Elena sat at the far end of the bar, and Brett was showering her with his usual megawatt smile as he poured her a glass of white wine. She returned his smile, but even from across the room, Kelsey could see just how predatory that smile was.
Kelsey hated this. Hated it. Women like Elena had always made her feel as if she'd forgotten to show up the day God handed out beauty, wit, and sexiness. When Kelsey saw Brett with a woman like her, she felt like a total outcast. She slid onto the stool beside Angi.
“Look at that,” Angi said. “Elena’s on the prowl again. And Brett sure is smiling a lot. I guess he’s on the rebound since you got pissed at him about the clothes thing.”
All at once Kelsey felt like a fool. She’d assumed everything was good between her and Brett. Maybe it was. But maybe things weren’t exclusively good between them?
Then Brett turned around. The moment he met her eyes, his expression of generalized hospitality changed into something completely different. His mouth tilted into a tiny, knowing smile. He walked toward her, his smile growing brighter with each step. Leaning across the bar, he slid his hand along the back of her neck, pulled her to him, and gave her a kiss.
A kiss.
A kiss? Right out there in front of the whole world?
Okay, so technically the whole world wasn’t sitting at Gianelli’s right then, but it felt that way to Kelsey. She glanced at Elena, who had a look of utter disbelief on her face. Kelsey wanted to say that she didn't enjoy that, but she did. A lot.
“I’ll bring you your usual,” Brett murmured.
“No,” she said. “Give me one of those pinky-blue things.”
His smile lit the entire room. “Coming right up.”
As he walked away, Angi was having a hard time picking her jaw up off the floor. “Holy crap. What’s up with you two?”
“What do you mean?"
"You're seeing him again?"
"Uh…yeah."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I guess it just didn't come up."
"Are you kidding me? This is big!"
"We're just having fun. That's all."
There it was again. The "F" word. She was definitely making progress toward being a free and easy person who didn't have a care in the world. Baby steps, but progress just the same.
"Fun?" Angi said. "What does that mean? Are you sleeping with him?"
"You sure ask a lot of questions."
"Okay, then. Forget sex. Something bigger is going on here, anyway. He kissed you in public."
"So a kiss is bigger than sex?"
"Come on, Kelsey! You know what I mean. Paul barely kisses me when we have sex, much less outside the bedroom." Angi looked positively perplexed. “I don't get it. I thought you were going to hate him forever."
“I changed my mind.”
“No. That’s wrong. You never change your mind. About anything. If you think something, you think it for life.”
Kelsey laughed. “That’s insane.”
“I know! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you since the day I met you!” Then she turned and looked across the bar. "Ha!" she whispered. "Look at Elena. She's not liking this one little bit."
Kelsey turned to see that Elena had tugged her stretchy top down to within inches of her nipples, and now she was leaning forward in such a way that anyone in the place could see down her cleavage all the way to China. But instead of stopping to admire the spectacular monuments that were her breasts, Brett simply poured her another glass of Chardonnay and moved on down the bar.
Elena tossed back a hefty swig of her wine, staring back and forth between Kelsey and Brett, her brows drawn together with confusion. Kelsey imagined the justification running through her mind. She has some kind of superpower over Brett. Or maybe he owes her money and she's taking it out in sex. No! I know! She made a deal with the devil!
Paul slid onto the stool next to Angi. “Hey, did I just see Brett kiss Kelsey?”
“Yeah,” Angi said.
His face flatlined with shock. Then he leaned toward Kelsey, his eyes alight. “Wow. Just how good in bed are you?”
Angi slapped his arm. “Will you shut up? That’s awful!” Then she turned to Kelsey and whispered, “Just how good in bed are you?”
The old Kelsey would have taken great offense at the suggestion that it was nothing but her sexual prowess that caught and held any man. But now all she did was smile and say nothing, which she could tell drove Angi crazy.
"Fine," Angi said. "Don't tell me your secret. But there's something big going on when Elena's practically stripping naked in front of Brett, and all he does is look at you. Weren’t you the one who said opposites don't belong together?"
Kelsey shrugged. "Maybe I was wrong."
"Did you just say you were wrong?"
"I said maybe."
"Close enough." Angi turned to Paul. "It's official. The pod people came in the middle of the night and took the real Kelsey away."
Kelsey couldn't deny it. After all, ever since Brett had come into her life, she did feel like an entirely different person.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Angi asked Paul.
"Yeah." Then he looked at Brett and frowned. “I don't know how I feel about him being promoted to manager."
“What do you mean?” Kelsey asked.
“He knows how many smoke breaks I take and how many times I'm late for my shift. He'd better not turn into one of those dictatorial assholes who nitpicks the crap out of his employees, or I'm out of here."
"Brett?" Angi said. "Really?"
“A lot of people h
ave been here longer than he has, including me," Paul said, eyeing Brett. "Just because he fills in sometimes for Jerry doesn't mean he's the right guy for the job permanently. So why did Jerry give it to him?"
“He does have a Master’s degree,” Kelsey said. “Education counts for a lot.”
"There!” Paul murmured. “Did you see that? Brett just gave me a dirty look."
Actually, no, he hadn't. And Kelsey would know, since she'd watched pretty much every breath he'd taken since the moment she walked through the door.
"Well, your shift did start ten minutes ago," Angi said.
"Yeah, okay," Paul said. "But I'm telling you—I don't have a good feeling about this."
As Paul headed for the kitchen, Angi turned to Kelsey. "So what are the odds?"
"Of what?"
"Brett turning into a dictatorial asshole."
Kelsey laughed. "Brett? No. Trust me. He won't turn into one of those."
"Yeah, I don't think it'll happen, either," Angi said. “Still, anytime friends supervise friends, there's a really good chance the friendship will go by the wayside."
That could happen. But if it did, how solid was the friendship to start with?
"So how are things going with you and Paul?" Kelsey asked.
Angi sighed. "It's a little weird."
"How so?"
"Well, his ex-wife came by his apartment the other night when I was there. She said when they broke up, Paul took their melon baller, and she wanted it back. Can you believe it? Who even uses a melon baller, much less goes across town to retrieve one?"
"A crazy woman who watches too many shows on the Food Network?"
"I think it was just a ploy so she could see him."
"Didn't she ask for the divorce?"
"Now, there you go again, trying to be logical. This woman is not logical."
"How did Paul feel about her coming by?"
"Well, he let her shout about the melon baller for about five minutes before he told her he didn't think he had it. That didn't stop her. She went to his kitchen drawers and started digging through them."
"While you were sitting right there in his apartment?"
"Yeah. She was either blind, or I was invisible. Or she just didn't give a damn."
"Or she's nuts."
"Well, there is that."
