Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, I was in the hospital a bit, and I'm trying to catch up on my writing now. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, please vote, comment, and/or send feedback. Thank you for reading!
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The next few weeks without Michael were hard for me. He called my house, he called my cell phone. There were even a few times I could've sworn I saw a sheriff's car driving past my house. I answered none of the calls and did my best to keep Michael off my mind.
Most of my time was spent reading. I loved to read, especially when life sucked. It was like I could become whatever character I was reading about, and that I was no longer living my own shitty life. When I finished one book, I would just go to the bookstore and buy another one.
I was driving home from the city one night when I had déjà vu. Red and blue lights flashed behind me. Oh great, I thought, just the opportunity that Michael needed. I pulled over and waited. When the uniformed deputy stood beside my car I didn't even look over.
"Please don't do this Michael," I asked quietly. I was startled to hear an unfamiliar voice reply back.
"Miss, I'm Officer Devereaux."
"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
The officer looked slightly puzzled, but he let it slide.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" he asked.
I didn't know exactly why, but I could guess. I really didn't want a ticket, but I wasn't going to get dirty to get out of it. I had learned my lesson about that.
"I don't know, but I might have been speeding. If I was, I'm sorry."
I tried to look genuinely sorry, and I kind of was. Mostly I was sorry for getting caught, but I was worn out, depressed, and my rocky road was melting in the back seat. Officer Devereaux took a deep breath and looked me over.
"Alright Miss, but slow down. If I catch you speeding again, I will write you a ticket. I mean it."
"Thank you Officer. Have a good night."
I rode home feeling relieved. It was a lot different from the last time I had gotten pulled over. In a way, I was glad to get off with only a warning, but sex with Michael the first time had been great. I didn't want to think about that though.
When I got home, I set my alarm, put away my rocky road ice cream, and went straight to sleep. That had been enough excitement for me.
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Two days later I was about to leave the bookstore when I thought I saw someone I recognized. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I saw him. He had very short sandy blonde hair and grey eyes. He was also pretty tall. I debated going up to him and asking him, but I didn't want to be weird. In the end, I decided to go for it; if I didn't it would bother me. Slowly, I walked over to him.
"Hi. I'm sorry for bothering you, but you look familiar, and I was wondering if we knew each other from somewhere."
He looked up, and looked me over. He seemed to think about it for a few minutes.
"Do you drive a blue Audi A6?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I do" I replied in a surprised voice. A cocky grin curved his lips.
"Then it was you I pulled over a few days ago. I'm Carter Devereaux." He held his hand out for me to shake. I put my hand in his with a blush creeping up my cheeks.
"I'm Rileigh Daniels." I said shyly. However, I couldn't keep myself from smiling.
"Have you been speeding lately Miss Daniels?" he asked cockily.
"It's Rileigh, and I've tried not to."
Okay, maybe I hadn't, but it was only a little white lie. I was pretty sure that sexy Carter was hitting on me, and I had to admit that it was good for my bruised ego.
"Well Rileigh, if I didn't say so the other night, I really like your car."
His car envy made me chuckle.
"Thanks, I like it too. Well, I guess I had better get back to shopping. Stay safe Officer Devereaux."
"It's Carter, and you too."
I was about to walk out to my car when I heard him call my name out from behind me. I turned and waited.
"Would you like to go out to dinner with me Rileigh Daniels?"
He looked so cute; he wasn't sure if I'd say yes or no. I shouldn't, he worked with Michael and I still was a little broken up. But I wanted to. I thought it over. I did really want to.
"Okay." I took one of my old business cards from my purse and wrote my address and cell phone number on the back and then handed it to him. "This is my address and phone number, give me a call when you know the time and place. I'll be waiting."
I smiled and left before he could respond. The entire drive home I had a smile on my face. Fuck Michael, I could move on. I had a date.
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I got a call that evening.
"How about dinner tomorrow night, Olivier's at seven? I could pick you up around between five and six o'clock."
"Perfect. I'll see you then Carter. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Rileigh, sweet dreams."
Well, it hadn't taken him long to call. What was it with me and sexy cops? Maybe I just had a thing for a man in uniform, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that Michael had fucked up, and that I was entitled to go on a date. I didn't want to think about Mike anymore, and Carter did seem like the perfect distraction. He could even prove to be more than a distraction.
That night I had dreams about a hot Adonis with grey eyes.
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For dinner I wore a strapless gold dress. The rich color of the fabric brought out the tan glow of my skin. Every inch of the dress clung to my body and it reached about halfway down my toned thighs. My gold heels made my slim legs look great. I swept my hair up into loose curls so that my neck was bare and I used gold eye shadow and black eyeliner. The entire look was slightly exotic and Egyptian looking, but I liked it.
Carter was true to his word. A silver Ford Ranger pulled into my driveway at about 5:30. He was wearing a blue dress shirt tucked into khaki slacks. He looked gorgeous and completely edible. His lips looked soft and he was still taller than me even though I was wearing heels.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Sure, let's go."
It took a few minutes for us to get a conversation going, but once we did we found that we had a lot in common. We both loved horseback riding and good country music. He was an only child, and so was I. The only real difference there was that I had grown up in the city and he had grown up on his parent's farm.
The drive to Olivier's didn't seem long at all. Olivier's was a very nice, and very expensive, French restaurant. Candles flickered from all over the dining room and the waiters looked like penguins. The atmosphere was definitely romantic. Carter surprised me; he fit in a lot better here than I thought he would. Michael had never taken me anywhere like this.
We ordered a little wine, and looked over the menu. Everything sounded delicious. I went with a lamb dish and Carter went with seafood. That was something else we had in common: we both liked lamb, seafood and other exotic foods. All throughout dinner we talked. He even made me laugh. After dinner we both ordered crème brulée.
"So you're an artist?" he asked me. "It said so on your business card."
"Yes, I guess I am. I dabble here and there. I've sold some paintings, and I've written some novels under a nom de plume. I work from home, and I like it that way. I never liked being in a stuffy office, I'd rather take an easel outside and paint in the sunshine."
