Drawn To You (Taking Chances #3)

ONE

You’ve got to be kidding.

Sam Koo heard the wailing siren before she spotted the flashing lights in her rearview mirror. Out of instinct, she stepped on the brakes and steered her red sedan to the side of the road. She eased into a spot under the canopy of a flowering cherry blossom, grateful for the shade it offered. Holding her breath, she said a quick prayer that the police car would pass her by.

No such luck. The black and white vehicle parked behind her.

Sam turned off her engine as well and rolled down the passenger window. Beads of sweat gathered on her temple as the suffocating September heat filled the car’s interior. The Silicon Valley neighborhood was quiet at a quarter till nine in the morning since school drop-off had passed. At least no one would witness her run-in with the law.

“What did I do this time?” she muttered as she rummaged through her purple fringed purse. Pulling out three tubes of lipstick, she chose a dark pink one and flipped open the visor. She had applied the first coat and closed the mirror when the
click clack
of boots hitting concrete reached her ears. She breathed a sigh of relief when muscular arms and broad shoulders appeared in the side mirror.

To her credit, she’d sweet-talked her way out of several speeding tickets in the past year. She could handle the male officers, especially the newbies. Fingers crossed that this incident would be just as easy to get out of. Turning toward the window, she licked her rosy lips and pasted on a bright smile.

An officer wearing dark shades placed his hands on the window frame and peered into the car. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Officer.” The words rolled off Sam’s tongue with a sweet lilt. She batted her long lashes, thankful she had taken time to put on mascara that morning. “How are you doing today?”

“License and registration, please.”

“Can you believe this heat wave we’re having? It just makes me want to lay by the pool in a bikini. Don’t you agree?” Winking, Sam leaned on the console and rested her chin on one hand.

“A bikini’s not really my style, but, yes, it is warm for this early in the morning.”

“I think you’d look good in just about anything,” she gushed, surprised to find she meant every word she said. Up close, she could tell from the hard curves of his biceps that he worked out regularly. Not only did his physique appeal to her, there was something about his square jaw that made him appear strong and self-assured. Not to mention his mouth. Lips that weren’t too thick or thin, perfect for kissing.

Which was the last thing she should be thinking about at a time like this.

A disappointed sigh escaped her lips, which she dragged out to sound more attractive. Tapping one gold glitter painted fingernail against her mouth, she returned to her flattering. “Look at how well you pull off that uniform. There’s just something about a good-looking man in a uniform.”

“Your license and registration, Miss.”

“Of course.” Apparently, her comments and girly giggles were falling on deaf ears. If she didn’t know better, she’d have assumed the guy was blind, too, since he didn’t seem to be falling for her act. This was obviously a seasoned officer.

Time for a different tactic.

She pulled her driver’s license out of a star-studded leather wallet and handed it over. “Give me a second to get the registration.”

Lucas Choi straightened and stared at the card in his hand. The name in black print confirmed his suspicions.
Sam Koo.
He bent down again to get a good look at the young woman he hadn’t seen in a decade. She had the same heart-shaped face and big brown eyes from high school, but now with the curvy body of a woman. The purple and white polka dotted necktie hanging around her neck by a gold chain reflected the bold, offbeat style she’d had as a teenager. Sam had never been one to follow the rules, a characteristic which both frustrated and intrigued him.

She hadn’t gotten any better at organization either from the looks of her crammed glove compartment. The rest of her car was also—for lack of a better word—a mess, particularly the backseat that resembled the epicenter of an earthquake. Fashion magazines and articles of clothing lay strewn across the grey seats, and empty water bottles littered the floor.

“That
is
a picture of me, in case you’re wondering,” Sam piped up as she sorted through a handful of receipts, candy bar wrappers and elastic hair bands. “I taught at an outdoor art camp the year I renewed my license. My face got so dark, my mother showed up one day to give me her Chinese lady sun visor. You know”—tracing the outline of her face with an index finger— “the ones that cover up your whole face? There was no way I was going to earn my students’ respect looking like a welder, so I ditched the hat. That’s why I’m so tan in the picture,” she added sweetly.

He grunted to keep himself from laughing. Was she trying to build common ground based on their ethnicity? Of course she would try to charm her way out of a citation. He couldn’t wait to see her put some effort into the performance. As he recalled, work had never been at the top of her to-do list.

“Those middle school kids were so precious. Even though the hours were long and the students could be a handful, it was such a rewarding experience.” She let out a yelp of excitement and waved a piece of paper in front of his face. “Here it is!”

Lucas breathed in a whiff of tangerine and mint as she passed him the form. The scent tickled his nose, and he had the unexpected urge to take a deep breath. It had been so long since he smelled anything so feminine that he forgot how much he missed it. He took a step back to clear his way-ward thoughts, and scanned the paper. Just as he predicted: an expired registration.

He opened his mouth to ask for a current one, but stopped when he saw Sam staring at a typed letter in her hands. From the way she furrowed her brows and bit her lip, he guessed she didn’t like what she was reading. She crumpled the paper and stuffed it in the glove compartment before shutting the door. Her quick action piqued his interest. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, no worries.” Sam cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I loved working in East Palo Alto that summer. There’s no place I wouldn’t go to help underprivileged kids. Now Officer, if we’re done here, I really need to get going. I’m late—”

“We’re not done yet,” Lucas interrupted, pointing to the form. “Your registration expired last month.”

“It did? I had no idea.” She took the form back from him and muttered under her breath, “It would’ve been nice for the last guy to tell me. Now I have to pay a late fee!”

“The last guy?”

Sam’s cheeks reddened. “The last, um, officer who pulled me over.”

“When was this?”

“Maybe two weeks ago?” she shrugged. “It was such a minor incident; he didn’t even write it up.”

“Obviously, that officer was paying attention to the wrong details,” he smirked, knowing full well one of the rookies had fallen under her spell. He couldn’t blame the guy though. Sam was a rare combination of sexy and sweet with her sassy mouth and the light sprinkling of freckles across her cheekbones and nose. She was not only attractive, but bold and smart. Bold enough to do whatever pleased her, and smart enough to know she had earned the right to wear that smug smile on her face. “But little gets past me. I spotted the old sticker on your plate twenty feet away. You’re breaking the law by driving with an expired registration.”

“Yes, yes, and I totally feel bad about it. I’ve just been so overwhelmed with work and family and life, but I promise I’ll go to the DMV today and get it done.” She clasped her hands together in a dramatic pose. “Can you give this girl a break? Please, Officer”— she stole a look at the silver plated name tag on his uniform—“Officer Choi. I’ll be forever grateful. I’ll buy you a drink. I’ll call your boss and tell him what an awesome job you’re doing. I’ll even name my future kid after you, assuming your name doesn’t have a trendy spelling, like Aiden with a “y” or Ryan with an “i”. Those poor kids can never find a key chain with the way their names are spelled.” Her voice rose as she pled, “Please. It would mean the world to me, actually the universe, if you would give me a pass, just this once. Pretty please, with sugar on top?”

Lucas chuckled. He’d lost count of the times Sam used that line. There was no shortage of guys in their senior class who would’ve done anything for her had she asked them to. One glance at her puppy dog eyes and pouty lips was all it took for them to hand over their notes or homework assignments. He was probably the only male who had not only resisted her charm, but also called her out on it. “I appreciate your offers, Miss, but I don’t drink on the job. There’s no need to call my boss since I already got a good review this year. And even though my name is spelled the traditional way, I prefer to keep it in the family.” He paused for a beat as the color drained from her face. He felt guilty that he enjoyed watching her squirm, but someone needed to say no to her. For today, that someone was him. “I hope you know you can’t sweet talk your way out of everything, Sammie Koo.”

Sam’s ears perked up. Where had she heard that line before? Pursing her lips, she took a good look at the officer. Jet black hair. High cheekbones. A dimple in his chin. There was something familiar about him, particularly that dimple. If only she could see his eyes. “Do I know you? No one calls me Sammie anymore.” Her eyes roamed over his well-defined chest and over his name tag again. “Choi. Wait a minute. Lucas Choi, is that you?”

The officer lowered his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose. “Hey, Sammie. It’s good to see you, too.”

Her jaw dropped when she met his gaze. Those eyes. She would recognize them anywhere. Brown irises so light in color that they had flecks of green and gold in them. Once upon a time those eyes, so uncommon for an Asian, made her envious, but now they completely infuriated her. Judging from his haughty expression, she could tell he was taking way too much pleasure in tormenting her.
It figures he went into law enforcement.
Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes loved nothing more than following the rules and making those who didn’t pay for it.

Not much had changed since the last time they crossed paths, except that she had her hands free today. She looked around for something to throw, settling for a fistful of candy wrappers, and tossed them at him. “How long were you going to mess with me? I can’t believe you let me beg you for mercy! Stop wasting my time. I know you want to write me up, so do it.”