“This is Nic.” Matt settles his hand on my back, introducing me to the kind woman. “Nic, this is Mrs. Rhodes. She makes the best coffee around.”

“Of course I do,” she replies. “But you don’t ever come to get any.”

“Well, you said you were going to leave Mr. Rhodes and run away with me, but you never did that either. You broke my heart.”

“Oh, now you stop that, young man!” She shakes her finger at him, but her eyes are shining with humor. “You’re going to make people talk.”

I can’t help but giggle at their banter. Matt is charming and most likely making Mrs. Rhodes’ year.

“What can I get for you, darling?” she asks me kindly.

“Just an iced tea, please.”

“Do you want me to sweeten it?”

“No, thank you,” I reply.

“And for you, troublemaker?” she asks Matt, who laughs delightedly.

“I’ll have the same.”

She fills our drinks, and when she tries to pass them over the counter, Matt steps behind and takes them from her, then leans in and kisses her cheek.

“If you ever need anything, you have my number.”

“You’re a good boy, detective.”

He smiles softly and hands me my drink, waves at Mrs. Rhodes, and we are off again, wandering around the Seattle Center.

“She is smitten with you,” I inform him.

“Jealous?” he asks me with a wolfish smile.

“No.” I giggle. “I liked her.”

“She’s been serving coffee in that same spot for years. This used to be my beat when I was a beat cop.”

“Oh, cool. Do you miss it?”

“Just Mrs. Rhodes.” He laughs. “She and her husband are good people.”

I nod, not knowing what to say. I’m learning that not only is Matt Montgomery sex on a stick, but he’s just plain…kind.

I’m in trouble.

“Where are we going?”

We’ve stopped by the base of the Space Needle and thrown our empty cups into the trash.

“Up the Needle,” he replies with a raised brow. “You’ve never seen it.”

My mouth drops for a moment, and then I clap my hands and bounce on the balls of my feet. “Awesome!”

“Come on.”

He buys our tickets and leads me into the elevator.

“Have I mentioned that I’m afraid of heights?” I ask as we climb higher and higher.

Matt laughs and then wraps his arm around my shoulders, hugging me against his side. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

The doors open, and I forget my fear of heights.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful.”

I walk to the railing and gaze out at the city that I’ve come to love so much. It’s dark now, and there is a sea of glowing lights below us. The air is still warm. There’s a light breeze, making the ends of my hair tickle my cheek.

“Come this way.” Matt holds his hand out for mine and leads me around to the opposite side of the deck that looks out over the sound. We can see lit-up ferries and boats floating over the water.

“Gorgeous,” I whisper.

“Yes,” he murmurs.

I glance up to find him looking down at me.

“You’re a charmer,” I inform him with a laugh.

“One thing you’ll learn about me, little one, is that I rarely say what I don’t mean.”

We’re standing side by side, not touching, watching the city around us. It’s amazingly quiet up here.

Peaceful.

Suddenly, Matt reaches over and grasps my hand in his, linking our fingers. He doesn’t look down at me, just holds my hand as we watch our city.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Okay, maybe Bailey is right. I need to give this a chance.

Chapter Four

~Matt~

It’s been a long fucking night.

Asher and I caught a case that kept us up all night long, bouncing from the crime scene to the hospital¸ interviewing family members and speaking with the doctors.

Domestic disputes are rarely this bad, but when they are, it’s exhausting.

I arrive home at just before nine Saturday morning. The only thing I can think of is taking a hot shower and climbing into bed, succumbing to oblivion.

I strip my clothes off, leaving a path of dirty laundry behind me on my way to the bathroom. I turn on the shower and step in before the water even has a chance to heat up all the way, scrubbing the night at work off my body. Just as the water hits scalding level, I shut it off, towel myself dry and pad into my bedroom as my cell phone rings.

I scowl when I see Asher’s name on the display.

“Yeah,” I answer and sit on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, I just picked up the cupcakes for Casey’s birthday party tonight, and I thought I should call you.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my body already on alert and the fatigue forgotten.

“Nothing’s wrong, but I thought you’d like to know that your girl is swamped in her shop today.”

“My girl?” I ask drily.

“I’m not stupid, man. I don’t know what you have going on with her, but I can tell there’s something there. She’s shorthanded and running ragged today. She seems okay, just thought I’d give you a heads-up.”

“Thanks, partner. I’ll go check on her.”

“See you tomorrow,” he responds and hangs up.