Every Little Kiss Read Online Free PDF Page A

those bad things firsthand, given his job. It wasn’t an explanation she could argue with—she hoped she would have done the same, in his position. Of course, she would have been gone like a thief in the night before things got all weird and embarrassing.
    This guy didn’t seem to have any qualms about it.
    “Does Aaron know that—”
    “He knows,” the cop interrupted smoothly. “I was under strict orders to keep him posted.”
    “You’re . . . friends, then,” Emma said, frowning as she tried to remember the connection. Mostly she just remembered lying in front of Aaron’s house. That there was a connection at all, though, eased her mind a little. It was better if this was a friend of Aaron’s and not just some random cop who’d been driving by and taken pity on her.
    “He and I are neighbors,” the cop said. “Though after this, I think ‘friends’ works, too. He did say he owes me dinner.” He angled his head down, tilting it to one side. “You sure you’re okay? You’re still pale, and you were pretty sick. Want me to grab you some juice or something before I take off?”
    “No,” Emma said, a quick denial that was forceful enough to make him blink. “No,” she said again, trying to soften the sound of it. “I . . . appreciate it. And everything. I just need to, ah, recover. I guess.” She closed her eyes and gave a short, rusty laugh. “I feel like something somebody scraped off the bottom of a shoe.”
    His grin revealed perfect, very white teeth. “Yeah, you mentioned you don’t get out much.”
    She managed a rueful half smile. “Not like that, anyway.”
    The cop’s serious eyes softened, and some small, stupid part of her wished, just for a moment, that he was here because she’d brought him, not because she’d needed a babysitter. It was a stupid wish, and she banished it as quickly as she could. Guys like him were not for women like her. That was a decision she’d made a long time ago.
    No jerks. No loose cannons. And definitely no heroes.
    “It’s not a big deal. Nobody’s perfect,” he said, drawing her out of her unpleasant thoughts. Emma could see he really believed that platitude. He obviously hadn’t been in the Cove very long.
    I’m supposed to be perfect. It’s all I’ve got. But that’s not something I’m going to stand here explaining to you.
    “Hmm,” was the best reply she could manage. She wanted a shower. She wanted her coffee. . . . Well, maybe weak tea would be better this morning. What she really wanted was the Hot Arm of the Law here to clear out and pretend they’d never met. To his credit, he finallyseemed to get that. He swung his legs over the side of the couch, set Boof gently on the floor, and began to put on the shoes he’d set neatly beside her coffee table.
    As she watched her cat flop onto his back and demand belly rubs as a plot to keep the cop’s attention, all sorts of questions occurred to her, most of which she wasn’t all that sure she wanted the answers to right now. But with a little effort, she finally remembered one important thing.
    “Seth,” she said, and he looked up at her while he tied his shoe. “Your name is Seth. I’m sorry I don’t remember the rest of it.”
    “It’s okay,” he said, flashing that killer smile again as he reached over to give Boof’s belly a quick rub. “You never really got the hang of it last night. Andersen. New guy in town. I know you’re Emma Henry, though.”
    “Yeah,” she said, a silly smile curving her lips before she banished it. Totally inappropriate to be smiling at a guy you wanted out of your life ASAP. It would help if he didn’t seem like he was enjoying her company. And that had to be an act, because guys didn’t tend to enjoy her company even when she had her shit together. And that was always.
    Make that
almost
always.
    “Well,” she said as he finished tying his shoes and stood. She hated being at a loss for words, but she couldn’t blame Seth for it.