Down on Her Knees by Christine Bell Page A

sheepishly.
    “Wowww…” She opened her mouth, seeming to gear up for a speech, but finally shook her head and repeated, “Wowww.”
    “Yeah, you said that.”
    “I know, but it deserved an echo. How did—” Cat held up both hands and started again. “Like, why didn’t you—” She stopped again and shrugged helplessly. “Some guys suck, and some women are hard nuts to crack, so I guess that part’s not that unusual, but did you not give it the old college try solo?”
    “I gave it many, many tries. College tries. High school tries. Middle school tries. Summer camp tries.” She toyed with the saltshaker absently. “It just seemed like the harder I chased it, the faster it ran.”
    Cat smiled then and patted her hand lightly. “And now Rafe…Jesus, I’m surprised you didn’t knock him over the head and lock him in your basement.”
    That broke the tension as they busted out in giggles at the visual. “Believe me, I considered it.”
    “I bet. And this makes me more excited for you. You like him, right?”
    Like was such a mild word for all the things she felt toward him. He pissed her off, and thrilled her and annoyed her and set her on fire all at the same time. But he was also a great guy. More than once, she’d seen him drop everything to help Shane or Galen move a sofa or build a deck. He was the kind of guy who wound up standing a lot when they all went out because he was the first to give up his chair. Not to mention the fact that he was a bona fide hero. When he’d gotten his commendation for his part in saving that little girl, he’d given all the credit to the rest of the team. And she hadn’t missed the shine in his eyes when the Abbott family, four-year-old daughter included, had rushed in to hug him afterward.
    She swallowed the lump in her throat. Did she like him?
    “Yeah. I like him.”
    “And you’re obviously attracted to him. You’re both unattached and mentally sound. This was an easy sell from the beginning but now? Adding the fact that A: You know he can get you off, and B: No one else has ever been able to, including you?” She swung an imaginary bat and made a clucking sound with her mouth as if she’d knocked it out of the park. “It’s a home run.”
    Cat’s sunshine-and-rainbows view of the situation was rubbing off on her, and she managed a grin. “I guess it seems that way, huh?”
    “It does. And I’m really proud of you for getting back out there. But don’t forget what I said.” Her tone grew serious and she waited until Courtney met her gaze. “A steamy fling should be on everyone’s bucket list, so I’m behind you one hundred percent here. But don’t fall in love with him, Courtney. He wasn’t lying when he told you about the four-scene rule. I’ve never seen him with the same woman twice, besides Monica.”
    Courtney shoved her barely eaten bowl of salad away, her appetite completely gone. “I’ve heard that name twice in the past couple weeks, but never before that. What’s the deal?”
    Cat sighed and shook her head. “She and Rafe met in college. He was studying to be an engineer, and she wanted to teach kindergarten. It got serious fast. They dated for three years and planned to move in together after graduation.”
    Tears filled her friend’s eyes as she paused to collect herself, and Courtney’s heart plummeted to her feet. This wasn’t just a bad breakup. This was something so much worse.
    “She’d made a fancy dinner for Rafe on Valentine’s Day and decided to run out to the liquor store to pick up a bottle of wine. There was a holdup in progress, and when she walked in and the bell jingled, the robber panicked and fired his gun. Monica took a bullet to the chest and died before the ambulance got there.”
    “Oh my God,” Courtney whispered, her own eyes going hot. “Poor Rafe. He must have been crushed.”
    Cat nodded. “He dropped out of school a week later, and joined the police academy to spend his life pursuing violent