Susan Mallery - Chasing Perfect

Charity glanced up to see a forty-something woman wearing a dark blue police uniform walk into her office.

“Alice Barns,” the woman said as she crossed to the desk and shook Charity’s hand firmly. “Fool’s Gold’s Chief of Police. Thought I’d come introduce myself.”

Charity motioned to the chair on the other side of her desk. “I’m glad you did. It’s nice to meet you.” She tilted her head and smiled. “What should I call you?”

The other woman grinned. “Chief Barns in front of the press or my men. Alice when we’re off the clock.”

“Good to know.”

“How are you settling in?” Alice asked.

“It’s been a busy week. Lots to learn. So far, I adore the town.”

“It’s a good place to live,” Alice told her. “Not a lot of crime. A few teenagers thinking they’re smarter than they are. The occasional break-in at one of the vacation rentals. Tourists speeding. Nothing my force can’t handle.” She shifted in her seat. “There might be a new homeless person in town.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Someone’s stealing from the local grocery stores. Mostly snacks and convenience foods. A few toiletries. Not to worry. We’ll find out who’s doing it and put a stop to the stealing.”

While Charity hated the thought of someone going hungry, she understood that local businesses didn’t want to be paying for shoplifters.

“You plan to go exploring around town?” Alice asked.

“Yes. I want to get to know the area.”

“Good idea. Just a word of caution. The abandoned mines are dangerous. Don’t go slipping past the fencing and try to hike down.”

“I’m not much of a hiker,” Charity admitted.

“You’d be surprised how many people try it. They think an old, dangerous mine sounds romantic. If I had my way, we’d leave ‘em lost and let natural selection work things out for us. But Mayor Marsha feels we need to show the tourists a good time, regardless of how stupid they are.”

Charity couldn’t help laughing. Alice’s lips twitched.

“Not that I would say that to the mayor,” Alice murmured.

“Probably for the best.”

Alice rose. “Well, that’s about it. We have zero tolerance for drunk driving, but you’re not the type to try, so I won’t lecture you.”

Charity stood and joined the chief on the other side of the desk. “How can you tell I wouldn’t do that?”

“Am I wrong?”

“No, but you sound sure.”

“I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

They walked out together.

On the main floor of the building Chief Barns shook hands with her again.

“You have any problems, you get in touch with me or anyone in my office,” Alice told her. “Mayor Marsha is very impressed with you and your work and that’s good enough for me.”

Charity felt herself flush a little at the compliment. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble.”

“I know you will.”

The chief put on her blue cap and walked out onto the sidewalk. Charity watched her go. She’d meant her staying out of trouble comment to be a joke, but Alice had taken it seriously. As if she knew that Charity always did the right thing. She was just that kind of person.

Which was a good thing, right? She’d never believed that bad girls had more fun.

“Alice trying to scare you?”

She turned and saw Robert coming down the stairs.

“I liked her.”

“Wait until she pulls you over for speeding. She can be very intimidating. She has three sons. They play football in high school, so they tower over her. But I swear they all tremble in her presence.”

Charity chuckled. “That could be more a mom thing than a police thing.”

“You’re probably right.” He paused. “I’m heading out to San Francisco this weekend, to meet up with friends. But I wanted to know if you’ll be free next weekend for dinner.”

Dinner with Robert. It sounded…nice.

“I’d like that,” she said.

“Great. We’ll firm up the day and time during the week.” He glanced at his watch. “I need to get going, if I’m going to be in San Francisco on time.”

“Sure. Enjoy your time with your friends.”

“I will.”

He left through a side door that led to the employee parking lot.

Dinner with Robert would be a very pleasant way to spend an evening, she told herself, then winced. Pleasant? Couldn’t she do better than that? So what if she didn’t feel sparks when she was around him? Sparks were dangerous, not to mention highly overrated. Better substance than flash.

She returned to the second floor, but before she got all the way to her office, Sheryl came running out to meet her.

“You’re going to be late,” her assistant told her. “You’d better hurry.”

“For what? I don’t have any more meetings today.”

“You have one now.” Sheryl sounded delighted. “Marsha called a little bit ago and put it on your calendar. I’m beyond jealous. Not that I need a tour, but still. I wish it were me.”

Charity didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s the meeting?”

“Josh is coming here to show you around town!” Sheryl’s eyes brightened with excitement. “Just the two of you, alone. It would make all my fantasies come true. Well, not all of them, of course, but at least the ones I can talk about.”

Time with Josh? “Why would Marsha set something like that up? I can find my way around town on my own.”

“This is with Josh! You’re so lucky. Marsha is doing you a really big favor.”

Charity privately thought she didn’t need those kinds of favors, but she wouldn’t say that to Sheryl. Not only was the mayor her boss, but she had to assume Marsha was simply trying to be nice. It wasn’t as if Charity could confess her total lack of control whenever Josh was within twenty feet of her.

Her reaction to him was bad enough, but being a cliché made everything even worse. Apparently every woman in town reacted the same way. The poor man, so overwhelmed by female interest. It was amazing he got anything done in a day. She frowned. Maybe he didn’t. For all she knew, he sat around and lived on his racing proceeds and naked-butt-picture royalties.

None of which mattered, she reminded herself. She had a meeting to get through.

“When am I supposed to meet him?” she asked Sheryl.

“Now,” a low male voice said from beside her.

The sudden explosion of her heart speed took her breath away. Her thighs trembled and she watched the world narrow to a single person illuminated by an almost otherworldly light.

What was it about him that got her entire body in on the conspiracy to betray her? It had to be chemistry, or a deficiency on her part. Nutritional or possibly mental. Maybe if she went to the gym more. Or at all.

“Hello,” she said, going for calm and hoping she made it. “Nice to see you again. I understand we have a meeting scheduled.”

“Marsha thought I should show you the town.”

“Isn’t she the best?” Charity asked, trying not to clench her teeth. “And while I appreciate the thought, I’m pretty good at finding my own way around Fool’s Gold, so if you have something else you need to get to…”

He didn’t take the hint. Instead he smiled. “You’re my only priority.”

He was teasing, she told herself. He had to be. Yet there was something about the way he spoke the words that made her want to moan…or purr.

“Oh, my,” Sheryl breathed.

Charity looked at her. Sheryl grinned unapologetically before returning to her desk.

Charity tugged on the hem of her conservative tweed jacket. “Fine. Good. Then we’ll take our tour.” She hesitated. “We’re not riding bikes, are we?”

His perfect mouth curved into a knowing smile. “You’ve been talking about me.”