Rebound (Seattle Steelheads #1)(8)

Officer Logan arched an eyebrow. “Any particular reason?”

I chewed my lip and looked away.

Logan sighed. “He contacted you, didn’t he?”

“Are you surprised?”

“Are you?”

“Not really.” I glanced around the courtyard in front of the garage and was suddenly aware of all the shadowy areas in the woods that my floodlights didn’t quite reach. “Do you, um, want to come inside?”

Logan watched me for a second, then shrugged. “Sure.”

I stood aside to let him through, and closing the door behind us managed to simultaneously soothe my nerves and ratchet them up. There was no telling where my ex was right now, just that he wasn’t here. Officer Logan, though… Officer Logan was in my house. Still hot and built and full of genuine concern, and in my house. Because this day couldn’t possibly get any more surreal.

“You want a cup of coffee?” I asked.

“You don’t have to go to any trouble.” He smiled, the warmth of his expression sending a very different variety of warmth through me. “Like I said, I just came by to check up on you.”

“I appreciate it. And it’s no trouble.” I started toward the kitchen, motioning for him to follow. “I could use some myself, actually.”

He didn’t object, and making coffee gave me something to do. It also gave me a chance to actually look at my guest in the flesh. I’d been so jittery and rattled at the restaurant, I hadn’t even thought to. Now that I was calmer, though… Whoa.

Out of his uniform, he didn’t seem quite as imposing. He’d changed into jeans and a gray hoodie that said MARINES across the chest, and aside from the visible—and, under the circumstances, comforting—holster on his hip, he looked like a regular guy now. Still attractive as hell, but without that air of quiet authority he’d had at the restaurant. Or with less of it, anyway. He didn’t exactly strip off his uniform and turn into a shrinking violet. He just looked…normal. And hot. Couldn’t forget hot.

Especially since, in the warm light of my kitchen, his hair looked even grayer than it had looked earlier. Why was that sexy?

I wondered briefly if it was because my as-of-tonight ex had thick dark hair, and short gray hair was about as different as you could get short of shaving it all off. I didn’t let that thought linger. Officer Logan was hot in his own right. I didn’t need to keep comparing him to my asshole ex. Though admittedly, he came out looking even better by comparison, so…

Yeah. Now that Officer Logan was dressed down, he had this easygoing mellowness about him that I hadn’t realized I’d been craving in a man. In fact, seeing his Clark Kent side was probably what made my senses tingle now. Between Nathan and pro sports, I’d had enough hypermasculine, intimidating, I’ll fight you over whatever bullshit for one lifetime. Give me a man with steady, quiet energy like Officer Logan’s any day.

Where do I find a guy like this when I’m ready to date again?

I poured our coffees and slid one across the counter. “Milk? Sugar?”

He shook his head as he took the cup. “No, thanks. I got used to it black when I was in the military.”

“They don’t let you pollute your coffee?”

“Oh, they do.” He shrugged. “But when you’re in the desert and rations start getting thin, you learn to make do.”

“Hmm, yeah. I guess you would. How long were you in?”

“Twenty years.”

I whistled. “Wow. So you retired and then became a cop?”

“Had to do something.” He chuckled. “It was either this or find some desk jockey job, and I did enough of that during my last couple of years in the Corps.”

“Eww.” I wrinkled my nose. “No thanks.”

“That was my thought. So now I’m a cop.”

“Do you like it?”

“Most of the time, yeah. The hours can be brutal and some of the calls are…” His gaze turned distant, but only for a second before he shook himself and brought his coffee to his lips. “It has its ups and downs.”

I didn’t ask him to elaborate.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and met my gaze. “Listen. There’s a reason I came in civvies tonight.”

I lifted my eyebrows.

“I mean, I’m out of my jurisdiction anyway, so I can’t… In an official…” He waved a hand. “Bottom line, I was concerned, but I’ve, um…” He swallowed hard. “I’ve been there. In a way. And I know some people find it intimidating to talk to a cop. So I’m… I’m kind of here as a cop, but kind of not.”

“Oh.” I had no idea what to say. “Really?”

He nodded. “I’m armed because I didn’t know if your ex would be here. But otherwise, I’m just here as Geoff.”

“Oh,” I said again. “I…” Someone actually knew what I’d been through with Nathan and gave enough of a shit to not only show up off the clock to check on me, but…this too? “Thanks. That’s…really amazing.”

He smiled faintly and brought his coffee up again. “Like I said, I’ve been there.”

“Sorry to hear it,” I muttered.

“Likewise.”