All I Need (Hearts of the South) (3 page)

He rubbed a finger over his stubbled jaw. “Um, sure.”

“Wonderful.” She twirled her key ring around her finger. “I was planning to try the little diner over on Scott Street.”

“Sounds good.” Oh, she liked the raspy quality of his voice. Small lines fanned out from his blue eyes, made even brighter by his untucked white buttondown, sleeves cuffed to reveal those muscled forearms. The hems of his jeans frayed above leather Reefs. Heavens, she might just understand Amy’s assertion that feet could be sexy. The cane was nowhere in sight.

With an unspoken reminder that they were going for dinner, not a couple of rounds of hot, sweaty sex, she held her keys aloft. “Ready?”

“Yeah, let me lock the door.” Any limp was minor as she watched him walk away. She doubted he used the cane every day.

In the car, silence and cool air flowed around them. The quiet wasn’t uncomfortable, so she didn’t break it during the scant minutes it took to reach the diner. She found a spot on the street close to the door and met him at the front of the car. A young couple exiting the diner greeted Emmett with smiles and curious glances at her.

Emmett returned the pleasantries and held the door, ushering her in with a gesture. The interior, decorated in campy, fun fifties-retro style, was packed with patrons, but they managed to find a small table in the second dining room. Savannah smiled up at a black-and-white poster of Marilyn Monroe, all pouty lips and sex appeal. “This is great. A little like that place in
Pulp Fiction
.”

“Yeah, it’s a fun place.” Emmett reached for the laminated menus tucked behind the napkin dispenser and handed her one. “They have live music most Friday nights.”

“I’ll have to remember that.” She perused the standard diner fare offerings—burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches—and pursed her lips. “What’s good?”

“Just about anything.” His voice emerged huskier than normal, and she glanced up to catch his gaze on her mouth. She smiled and dropped her attention to the menu again.

After they’d ordered and the server had brought their drinks, Savannah folded her hands on the table. He’d stretched his leg out to one side and rubbed idly at the muscles in his thigh. The lights overhead glinted off his thick hair, the kind a woman wanted to ruffle. “So, grad school while you’re recuperating.”

“Kind of.” He shrugged, broad shoulders rolling under white cotton. “I’d already started the online program part-time before, and I figured it was a good time to start taking a full load.”

She sipped her water. “May I ask what happened?”

“Got shot working a domestic. I’d been cleared to go back on light duty, but then I got an infection and needed another surgery.” He tilted his glass, gaze on the lemon floating among the ice cubes. “And sometimes I’m afraid I’m pretty much out of a patrol car for good, but I’m working toward it, although I doubt it’ll be at Coney’s PD. Small department, and they couldn’t hold my car open forever. My physical therapist says my progress is good, though.”

“I’m sorry.” She’d spent enough time with her sister and brother-in-law to realize how much personal identity got wrapped up with a law-enforcement career. “It’s hard when things out of our control throw our lives off course.”

“Tell me about it.” His chest moved with a deep breath, and he shook his head on a smile. “I put in my resume for a couple of administrative jobs today.”

“I wish you the best. I hope something works out for you.”

The server arrived, arranging plates of before them. Savannah shook out her napkin and laid it in her lap. The food looked good—basic, but fresh and well prepared. Emmett reached for the pepper and sprinkled it over his fries. “So you’re in medicine?”

Savannah speared a blueberry from the fruit cup accompanying her chicken wrap. “ER doctor.”

One eyebrow lifted, he eyed her a moment. “What are you doing here?”

“Having dinner and getting to know you.” She winked, then shrugged. “The hospital system I work for bought out several smaller medical centers. Chandler was one of them, and they transferred me over to smooth the transition in the ER. So here I am. My sister’s here, though, so that’s good. Do you have siblings?”

“A sister. She and her husband live in Tallahassee.” Eyes going a little cool and guarded, he bit into his burger. “My parents recently retired to Orlando of all places.”

“My mom keeps trying to get my dad to retire. He won’t give in.” She lifted another bite of fruit. “Not even for the promise of twenty-four-seven golf.”

They indulged in leisurely conversation while they ate, swapping likes and dislikes. They paid separate tickets, and outside on the sidewalk, Savannah rummaged in her bag for her keys.

“Do you mind if we walk a minute first?” Emmett massaged his outer leg. “Sometimes I need to stretch out the muscles after sitting.”

“Of course.” The heat had dissipated somewhat, leaving behind an evening perfect for a twilight stroll. The town square offered a variety of storefronts to peek into while ambling along the sidewalks, and they weren’t the only couple taking advantage of the late-evening breeze. Only they weren’t a couple, Savannah reminded herself. He walked beside her, leaving a decorous distance between them. It was okay—a girl needed friends too. Even if this particular friend was attractive as hell. She’d focus on his skill at conversation and his sly humor rather than wondering how skilled he was at other activities.

A bright display of beach reads in the bookstore window caught her eye. Among them was her favorite suspense author, mainly because she could count on there being no romance in the text. “Oh, look, they have the new one by Clarissa Penrod in paperback. I wanted a copy to read by the pool, but I don’t like to take my tablet near the water. Do you mind if we go in?”

A quick grimace, gone before she was sure she saw it, crossed his face before he reached for the door. “Sure.”

Inside, scents of lavender and sage wrapped around them. Muted light gleamed on polished wooden floors and plush couches offered a spot to relax and preview a book, and Savannah sighed. “This is wonderful.”

“Yeah.” A tight note invaded his voice. “It’s a nice place.”

She darted a quick glance at him. “Should we—”

“Can I help you…oh, Emmett. Hey.” The sweet female voice shifted from welcoming to extremely uncomfortable in record time. Savannah glanced from Emmett to the young blonde, who was brushing her hair away from her face in an awkward gesture.

Yep, they’d been a couple at one time, and apparently that breakup had not been pretty.

“Hey.” Emmett tucked his hands in his back pockets. “Lacey, this is Savannah. She was interested in one of the books you have in the window.”

“Awesome.” Lacey latched on to the change of subject, her expression clearly relieved. She turned a bright smile on Savannah. “Which one?”

“The new Clarissa Penrod.”

“It’s great. I think you’ll love it. I’ll get you one.” Lacey gestured around the store. “Anything else you’re interested in or do y’all want to browse or…you know, whatever?”

“The Penrod is fine.” Savannah took pity on her. Wow, that had to have been a really bad breakup. She looked Emmett and shrugged. “Unless you wanted to look around?”

“I’m good.” His muted chuckle bordered on a snort. “I’m a regular at the local library, and I have enough required reading for at least three months.”

Checking out didn’t take long as Lacey seemed nervous and almost desperate to end the interaction, although Emmett had wandered to the front of the store to browse the nonfiction shelves.

With her purchase tucked in a brown paper shopping bag, Savannah grinned at him once they were outside. “She’s an ex, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” He tucked his hand under her elbow and steered her toward the diner and her car. “I mean, sort of. We’d been dating a couple of months when I got shot. The long haul of it was a little more than she could stand.”

“You’re lucky, then.”

He glanced at her askance, his palm still a warm contact at her elbow. “That she dumped me?”

“That she didn’t stay until you were more emotionally invested and then dump you.”

He laughed, a deep rumble that built in his chest and shook his shoulders. “Thanks.”

“You don’t seem any the worse for wear, Emmett.” She could feel his laughter through the light connection of his hand. “But I’m serious. Obviously, she wasn’t that invested in the relationship, and she could have stayed out of guilt, which I’ve seen people do when someone is sick or injured. Then, they leave anyway, and the patient is bereft for lack of a better word.”

“I’m not bereft over Lacey.” A small frown brought his brows together. “I’m not sure I ever was. The only thing that makes it uncomfortable is that the whole town knows, and they all seem to think I should be bereft.”

“Small towns are the pits.” She used the remote to unlock the car. He opened the driver’s door, waited until she was behind the wheel, then walked around to ease into the passenger seat. She fired the engine and smiled as cool air washed over them. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me too.” He shifted sideways in his seat, pale blue gaze holding hers. “This wasn’t a date.”

Back to uninterested. She reached for the gearshift. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Too bad.” His warm hand covered hers on the shift lever. Her gaze jerked to his, and a lazy smile quirked at his mouth. “Because I damn sure want to kiss you good night.”

Chapter Two

“It’s mutual.” Her warm fingers flexed under his on the gearshift, but for once, that perfect mouth didn’t have a smile. “I’m not looking for a traditional dating relationship, Emmett. I’d like to spend time with you, and I’m not averse to exploring the physical side of things.”

“You’re suggesting we be fuck buddies?”

“If we decide we’re that attracted, sure.” She shrugged. “If not, we hang out and stay friends.”

His brain felt somewhat like it was short-circuiting. “That’s a little cold, Savannah.”

“I don’t want to be emotionally invested.”

He stared at the sidewalk beyond the windshield. This had to be the oddest relationship conversation he’d ever had with a woman. Usually they wanted hearts and flowers and all the feelings, right up front. The crazy thing was…it wasn’t a bad idea. He hoped to start a new career phase, and he didn’t really have time for a relationship.

But damn it, he was tired of being alone all the time too. Besides, if it were all about sex and friendship, he didn’t have to worry about her leaving him.

“There could be another advantage for you.” Savannah’s quiet, even voice interrupted his thoughts. “Our being seen together could dispel the lingering gossip about you and Lacey.”

“Well, hell, why didn’t you say that sooner?” He gave her a quick grin, but then frowned. “I’ve never done anything like this. Have you?”

“No. Kind of like you, I haven’t gotten out much the last couple of years.” She pulled her hand from beneath his and splayed both hands on the steering wheel, stretching out her fingers. “Maybe it’s time.”

The subdued words felt more like she was talking to herself than him. Silence descended, wrapping around them.

“Okay.” Emmett blew out a long breath. “Let’s do this.”

Surprise flashed over her pretty face, then she smiled. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, why not? We both watch football and action movies and like concerts. Neither of us wants a messy emotional involvement.” When he said it aloud, the idea made a crazy kind of sense. “Getting physical can’t hurt, right?”

“Right.” Her smile widened.

He couldn’t resist a grin. “So I get to kiss you good night.”

“Definitely.” On a light laugh, she put the car into gear and backed into the sparse evening traffic. Comfortable quiet hovered around them on the way back to the apartment complex. Anticipation coiled in him. More months than he cared to admit had passed since he’d held a woman, and he wanted to press those curves of hers against him, wanted to experience what her mouth would feel like under his. Wanting tingled in his balls, and he dropped a hand over his lap. Hell, he was half-hard from thinking about kissing her.

This might turn out to be a very good idea.

She zipped into her parking space, and he carefully unfolded himself from the seat. Getting in and out of her low-slung car was damned harder than his truck. She waited for him on the walkway before their respective apartments. In the dim light, he couldn’t tell if her eyes held desire or not. He stopped a couple of footsteps away. In the moment, he couldn’t make himself pull her close, couldn’t make himself kiss her. What the hell?

He glanced away on a chuckle. “It’s weird.”

“I know.” Her husky laugh tickled his ears, and she stepped closer. “Maybe we can work up to it. Start with hugging instead of kissing.”

“Hugging?” He lifted a brow at her, askance. “I can’t remember who I hugged last. Probably my mama. Maybe my sister.”

“My sister. Sometimes my brother-in-law.” She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “Let’s at least give it a try.”

She took another step closer and wrapped her arms about his waist. He draped his arms around her shoulders in an awkward embrace. After a moment, she leaned in, their chests aligned, her chin at his shoulder. He soaked in the sensation of warmth and soft curves pressed into him, and he pulled in a deep inhale. Damn, she smelled good—a blend of florals and clean skin.