Forever Kind of Guy (2 page)

She shook her
head to clear her thoughts. It wasn’t the time to think of Officer Romano’s hands on her. “Since you know my name, and address. Can I get your first name, Mr. Claus?” she asked, but kept her eyes looking out the window.

“Stefan
.”

Gretchen
turned her gaze back to the mirror, but he wasn’t looking at her. In her head she repeated his name,
Stefan Romano
, and felt her heart speed up. “Stefan,” she whispered and he quickly glanced at her in the review mirror. She forced her eyes away from him and looked around the back seat of the police car. There was a metal cage that separated the back seat from the front. She felt the car come to a stop and looked out of her window. They were at the police station. “What will happen with my car?”

Stefan did
n’t say anything. He just got out of the car, and opened the door. He reached over to her and unbuckled her seat belt.

S
he took in a deep breath. He smelled of peppermint, and vanilla.

“Scoot over, and I will help you out.”

Gretchen did as he said, and when he helped her, she tripped on her own foot, and fell into him. Her face landed against his chest, she remembered how perfect he looked naked, and she flushed. “I am so sorry,” she said as removed her face from his chest.

Stefan smirked down at her
. “Don’t be, and your car will be towed.”

Gretchen
caught her breath as her heart dropped. “Towed? I can’t believe that ass! I don’t have the freaking money to pay for that.” Her tears were threating to break free. Her soon to be ex-husband wanted to ruin her life just because she didn’t love him anymore.

Stefan took her
hands and led her toward the police station. “Do you have a lawyer?” he whispered low enough just for her to hear.

“I do
, my best friend, Laura.” She wondered if Laura could help now or if she was in too deep for a divorce lawyer.

“Good, don’t answer any questions without your
lawyer,” he said in that deep voice that made her shiver. “And don’t tell anyone I told you this or I will get in trouble.”

“I don’t know wh
at you are talking about,” she said with a grin on her face.

Chapter Two

After her one phone call, one in which Laura didn’t answer, Gretchen had left her a message telling her where she was and that she really needed her to get her out. Gretchen eyed her cellmate. The woman was barely wearing any clothes, and her arms were covered in little bruises.

“What the hell are you looking a
t?” the woman asked in a raspy voice.

Gretchen
bit her bottom lip and looked down. When she got out of there she was going to freak out on ex-husband. This was his fault, and now she had to pay to get her car out and had to wait in a jail cell with a prostitute.

“
Gretchen Elliott,” a familiar voice called her name.

S
he looked up and grinned at Stefan.

“Your lawyer worked her m
agic and you are free to go.” He opened the cell, and then motioned her to walk over to him.

She did
n’t waste any time and rushed to the opening door. Stefan putted his hand on the middle of her back and guided her out. She looked around and saw her best friends’ platinum blonde straight hair. Gretchen ran to her, and wrapped her arms tightly around her best friend.

“You stil
l just want the car?” Laura asked as she moved slightly away and smiled. “Because I can get
so
much more.”

Gretchen
knew after what he’d just done, she should ask for more. She was pretty sure that the judge wouldn’t tell her no, but she just shook her head, making her strawberry blonde locks sway across her shoulders. “No I just want my car and him out of my life.”

Laura narrowed
her eyes. “You are dumb, he made you sit in jail because he is a jealous ass and he doesn’t want to let you go. What will it take for you to want more?”

She
didn’t know what to say, so she just stared at her.

“
Gretchen you trust too easily. That is your biggest weakness, but that is why you have me I don’t trust easily.”

“Laura-”
Gretchen started.

But Laura glanced behind her and cut her off,
“Holy crap, who is that?”

She
grinned knowing Laura had finally seen Stefan. “That is Officer Stefan Romano aka Claus,” she whispered, and watched her best friend’s eyes widen.

“Oh…my…G
od,” Laura whispered. After a moment she moved past Gretchen and approached Stefan. “So, you are Claus?”

Ste
fan’s green hazel eyes met Gretchen’s, and she gasped. He didn’t look too happy to be called Claus. “Laura,” she said and Laura turned around. “I want to get my car out.”

Her best friend rolled her eyes
. “And how do you plan on doing that?”

Gretchen
had a few credit cards she could use. But she didn’t say anything; she just stared at her until Laura nodded.

“Fine let’s go.”

Gretchen looked at Stefan, and flushed under his heated gaze. She would have done almost anything to know what he was thinking. Laura grabbed her hand and walked toward the front door, but she felt his eyes watching her as she left.

After paying one hundred an
d fifty dollars she was walking to her car, Laura didn’t say anything as Gretchen paid to get her car out on two different cards. She kept saying how Rob owed her half of what he had, but Gretchen still didn’t believe she should.

“I
will meet you at your house.” She glanced at her best friend, and noticed she wasn’t smiling.

Laura glared at her, and she had to hold back her laughter.
“We need to talk,” Laura said, and turned around to walk way.

The guard walked
Gretchen to her car, and she was surprised when she noticed Stefan leaning against it. He was truly beautiful with his dark brown hair slicked back and when he saw her and the guard he smiled.

“Hey Mike, how’s your wife and kids?”
Stefan asked as he took his eyes away from her.

“They are gr
eat, thanks,” the other man said, and Stefan smiled.

“I can take things from her
e, Gretchen and I have to talk,” Stefan said and pointed at her.

She watched t
he other man shrug and turn around, returning from the direction they’d come from. Slowly Gretchen looked back at Stefan, and realized he was staring at her.

“You know
, when I saw your picture on the license I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even think we lived in the same city, it never crossed my mind.” His eyes seemed to burn through her, and she had to take a deep breath. She had wondered about him every day since their one night.

“I never thought about that.”
She felt like she was going to faint. She wasn’t good at lying and she couldn’t keep her mind away from his naked body.

“I did, and I thought about looking
for you,” he said and slowly moved to her; she bit her bottom lip. “I wrote you so many emails asking if we could meet up again, but I never sent them. I knew we promised one night, and I left it at that.” Stefan stopped in front of her leaving only inches between them. He wore a wicked grin on his perfect face. “Tell me have you thought of me?”

Her breath caught in her throat at
his question.
Claus
was all she thought about. “All the time,” she whispered.

H
e wrapped an arm around her back pulling her closer to his hard body. “You aren’t seeing anyone, are you?” Stefan asked and she shook her head. “Good, I won’t be the other man. When we met at Christmas, were you still with your husband?” His eyes harden with his words.

S
he shook her head. “No I’d left him three months before that, and haven’t been with him sexually in eight months now. You were my last,” she said and looked down.

“Good.”

Gretchen looked back up at him and Stefan lowered his head. As soon as his sweet lips met hers, she groaned. He still tasted of peppermint, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She moaned in protest when he pulled away, his breathing matched her own labored breathing.

“Not here,
I will follow you to your place,” he murmured.

She
remembered that Laura would be there at her apartment and she wouldn’t leave until they’d talked about Stefan. “Laura wants to talk about what happened, give me an hour?”

He made
a face, and she couldn’t hold back her grin. “She wants to talk about me, doesn’t she?”

Gretchen
looked down to hide her smile.

“What have you told her about me?”

“Nothing,” she said and he arched one dark eyebrow at her, she laughed. “Okay everything.” Gretchen looked back up at him, and he smiled.

“Like what?”

She shook her head. He didn’t need to know what she’d told her best friend. That was between them. “It doesn’t matter, she’s my best friend. She’s been the only one there for me these past eight months.”

Something dark flashed
in his hazel eyes. “I will see you in an hour.” When he let go of her, he took away his warmth.

She watched him walk
away from her, leaving her alone next to her car. She sighed, got into her car and headed in the direction of her apartment. Gretchen knew that she didn’t live in the best part of town, but it was what she could afford. After she’d left her husband, she’d started working at a used book store. She didn’t care about the money, she was there because she loved to read, but she barely made enough to cover her bills and rent. She knew she might have to look for something that paid better, and could offer her more.

Laura was waiting for her in her
one bedroom apartment. She was the only person to have a spare key. Her apartment was basically bare, a few pictures hung on the wall of her and her parents as well as a couple of her and Laura. Laura was sitting on the light blue couch watching television. She glanced at Gretchen as she walked in. “You took your sweet ass time,” she said as she turned off the television.

Gretchen
bit her bottom lip to keep her smile away. “Sorry I got…tied up.” Laura narrowed her dark green eyes and Gretchen burst out laughing.

“You aren’t funny,
” Laura said had little grinned playing at the corner of her lips. “I will say Claus is sexy, but he might be…too sexy.”

Gretchen
smiled and walked into the kitchen. If they were going to talk about this, then she needed wine, and a lot of it. She walked back into the living room to see Laura leaning against the back of the couch. She handed her a glass of wine and she took sip. “Why is he
too sexy
?” Gretchen asked looking over the edge of her glass of wine at her.

Laura sighed
. “Honey he looks like the kind of man that will use you until he is tired of you and then go somewhere else. I love you and don’t want to see you get hurt. I know you are the one that wanted this divorce from Rob, and you aren’t hurting, but Claus will hurt you.”

Gretchen
lost her smile and slowly placed her wine glass on the table next to her. She shook her head and frowned. “First, his name is Stefan, not Claus.”

Laura shrugged.

S
he continued, “And secondly, maybe I don’t care if I get hurt. He is the first man in years to make me feel something besides me being worthless. He showed me what passion truly is, and since that night with him, I’ve wanted more. I know he isn’t the forever kind of guy, he said that in the emails, but I want to feel alive.” She wanted to feel like she was someone again, then maybe she could find her forever kind of guy.

Laura’s face softened
. “I see this ending badly, but if it’s what you want then I will support it.” She grinned as Gretchen picked up her glass wine again. “But I want naked pictures of him.”

Gretchen
choked on her wine, and start coughing.

“Can you blame me
? He looks like a freaking model, and from what you told me he could model for playgirl!”

Gretchen rolled her eyes
, and glanced at the clock. “Whatever. That isn’t going to happen, but you need to leave.”

“Why
? Are you and Stefan going to play bad cop, good cop? Or hide the nightstick?”

Gretchen didn’t answer Laura she just took another sip from her wine.

“Okay I am leavi
ng. Have fun,” she said as she walked to the door, waggling her fingers at her.

As soon a
s Laura left, Gretchen ran into her bathroom and stared in the mirror. She looked like a complete mess. Quickly, she ran a brush through her messy hair and sprayed some perfume on her chest and a little in her strawberry blonde hair. She walked out into the living room, and glanced at the clock, he would be there anytime.